Abraham Lincoln delivers his inaugural address before the unfinished capitol building
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
– Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
Tomorrow’s Presidential Inauguration ceremonies, as we mentioned earlier, will be presented on the large screen in the library community room via internet connection. The event is open to any interested member of the public.
For those who might like to delve more deeply into the history of American Presidential inaugurations, there are a number of interesting options available beyond those discussed in that earlier post. The Winter 2005 edition of American Scholar, for example, offers quite an interesting essay by Ted Widmer on the fifty-four inaugural addresses delivered to date entitled “So Help Me God”, a phrase with origins explained in the course of the article. (As we observed in that earlier post, all of the presidential inaugural addresses are available in print and, where available, in video or audio formats at the American Presidency Project.) You can also find a treasure trove of information at the American Memory project of the Library of Congress.
