May we say that Abraham Lincoln failed in his first inaugural? We may.
Lincoln's purpose in his first inaugural address was to become president of the thirty-three states in which the 1860 presidential election was held. It is a fact that did not happen. Therefore, he failed. Why did he fail? Did he fail because he was "out of touch with reality?" Yes. On the following facts Lincoln's choral appeal in his first inaugural was out of touch with reality: (1) He, Abraham Lincoln, had been elected by a brand new political party that was not accommodating to slavery. (2) Many slave state leaders vowed to secede if a Republican were elected president. (3) Lincoln had made consistently in his public and private lives, statements of personal antipathy toward slavery which he regarded as immoral. (4) Within a month and one half of his election the first Southern state had seceded and by the time of his inauguration six more had.
I wonder, perhaps you do too, why in hell on those facts he ever thought his inaugural address had a prayer but if you don't wonder it is of no matter as it is only an abstract question and we as good pragmatists are only here concerned with facts and if pragmatic truth is a belief that works for us then Lincoln's belief that his inaugural would work for him FAILED.
Are there other reasons why Lincoln failed? There may be. Lincoln never said he hated slavery in his inaugural address. He never said in his inaugural that he didn't hate it, though, so we cannot say that he lied when he said he hated it but we can say that he never said in his inaugural address that he hated slavery. We can say that he never used his hatred of slavery, his belief that it was immoral, in his first inaugural in an attempt to become president of thirty-three states. He didn't think that would work, I don't think it would have worked, no scholar that I have read has ever suggested it would work but all pragmatists can agree that the speech he gave did not strike a mystic chord in his Southern friends, that is, it did not work. Period there.
What if Lincoln had been in touch with reality, that is, had recognized the facts in paragraph two and instead of mystic chords had played some music that was more...martial? What if Lincoln had said in his first inaugural something to this effect: "You mother-fuckers dissolve your kiddie-confederacy now, free your slaves or I'll come down there and arrest your asses for treason and string you all up!" What if he had something like that, which would have united his belief in slavery's immorality with the police power of the government in Washington, as well as his power as "Commander in Chief?" I don't think the threat would have worked. What if he had done it? Ahh, now that is a different question. Professor Burlingame in fact suggests that he might have arrested the confederate leaders and generals. And, of course, in the end, at the end of three long years of constant war, he did, or rather Grant, Sheridan and Sherman did. They waged total war. They did more than arrest the Confederates, they leveled the Confederacy!
But, Lincoln did not do that.
What if Lincoln had been in touch with reality, that is, had recognized the facts in paragraph two and instead of mystic chords had played some music that was more...martial? What if Lincoln had said in his first inaugural something to this effect: "You mother-fuckers dissolve your kiddie-confederacy now, free your slaves or I'll come down there and arrest your asses for treason and string you all up!" What if he had something like that, which would have united his belief in slavery's immorality with the police power of the government in Washington, as well as his power as "Commander in Chief?" I don't think the threat would have worked. What if he had done it? Ahh, now that is a different question. Professor Burlingame in fact suggests that he might have arrested the confederate leaders and generals. And, of course, in the end, at the end of three long years of constant war, he did, or rather Grant, Sheridan and Sherman did. They waged total war. They did more than arrest the Confederates, they leveled the Confederacy!
But, Lincoln did not do that.
