Lincoln's Farewell Address from Springfield
"Friends, no one in a like position, can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting." --Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln addressed a crowd of about 1,000 well-wishers before boarding a train for Washington, D.C.
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There are three versions of this speech. Version C is the speech Lincoln gave at the train station while versions B and A are revised copies for later publications.
Linked excerpts of responses to Lincoln's farewell address
Letter from Francis Springer, a Lutheran minister and neighbor, to Abraham Lincoln
"When the train bearing you passed my residence this morning, my heart said, God bless Lincoln, & make him second to none but Washington!" (February 11, 1861)
American Memory, Library of Congress
"When the train bearing you passed my residence this morning, my heart said, God bless Lincoln, & make him second to none but Washington!" (February 11, 1861)
American Memory, Library of Congress
Letter from John Keep and Henry Cowles, ministers associated with Oberlin College, to Abraham Lincoln
"Your farewell remarks to your neighbors at Springfield on the 11th have moved our hearts deeply & strengthened our hopes of our country under your adminstration." (February 14, 1861)
American Memory, Library of Congress
"Your farewell remarks to your neighbors at Springfield on the 11th have moved our hearts deeply & strengthened our hopes of our country under your adminstration." (February 14, 1861)
American Memory, Library of Congress
A newspaper article published two days after Lincoln died. The article is a mix of the author's remembrance of the day Lincoln left Springfield for Washington, D.C. as well as Lincoln's farewell address.
President Lincoln’s Last Speech in Springfield--Affecting Reminiscence Daily Illinois State Journal April 17, 1865
"The scene was most impressive and affecting. The simple and touching eloquence of the great and good man saddened every heart and moistened every eye; and all turned away, as the train moved off, with many misgivings and forebodings for the future."
(April 17, 1865)
Northern Illinois University Digitization Project
President Lincoln’s Last Speech in Springfield--Affecting Reminiscence Daily Illinois State Journal April 17, 1865
"The scene was most impressive and affecting. The simple and touching eloquence of the great and good man saddened every heart and moistened every eye; and all turned away, as the train moved off, with many misgivings and forebodings for the future."
(April 17, 1865)
Northern Illinois University Digitization Project
Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
Click here to watch a more detailed look at Lincoln's First Inaugural Address by Matthew Pinsker, Dickinson College.
Comparison letters to Lincoln's Inaugural Address
"I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper, ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our national Constitution, and the Union will endure forever---it being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself….
…It follows from these views that no State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union,---that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void; and that acts of violence, within any State or States, against the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
Letter to Lyman Trumbull, December 10, 1860
"I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken; and, to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part; and I shall perform it, so far as practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite means, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend, and maintain itself.
In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power the confided to me, will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property, and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion---no using of force against, or among the people anywhere….
… Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy. A majority, held in restraint by constitutional checks, and limitations, and always changing easily, with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible; the rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissable; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy, or despotism in some form, is all that is left…."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
Letter to Alexander H. Stepehens, December 22, 1860
"I am loth to close. 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 hearthstone, 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."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
William H. Seward's suggestions for the end of the speech
…It follows from these views that no State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union,---that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void; and that acts of violence, within any State or States, against the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
Letter to Lyman Trumbull, December 10, 1860
"I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken; and, to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part; and I shall perform it, so far as practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite means, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend, and maintain itself.
In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power the confided to me, will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property, and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion---no using of force against, or among the people anywhere….
… Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy. A majority, held in restraint by constitutional checks, and limitations, and always changing easily, with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible; the rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissable; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy, or despotism in some form, is all that is left…."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
Letter to Alexander H. Stepehens, December 22, 1860
"I am loth to close. 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 hearthstone, 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."
House Divided: The Civil War Search Engine at Dickinson College
William H. Seward's suggestions for the end of the speech