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Lincoln and a Divided Nation
This is a free streaming event presented via Zoom. To get the link please email [email protected]
Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech is, of course, the Gettysburg Address. But the stakes were even higher on March 4, 1861, when the 16th president was sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol. America was divided. The emotional debate over slavery seemed likely to end in bloodshed. In this program, Connecticut historian Mark Albertson will dissect Lincoln's speech, explaining how the president tried to ease tensions, reassure Southerners, and – unsuccessfully, it would turn out – stave off Civil War. "We are not enemies, but friends," Lincoln told the nation. "We must not be enemies."
