Rating: 
Summary: A great book about a great speech
Review: For those of us who have always sensed that the 2nd inaugural speech rivals and in some ways even surpasses the more acclaimed Gettysburg Address, Ronald White's book is a masterly vindication. In it White carefully traces the speech's genesis and follows its implications, both political and moral. The clear message is that the themes of conciliation, justice, equality, and compassion apply in all social contexts, not just in this one historical moment in early 1865. The distance between Lincoln as a statesman and today's politicians is even greater in style and substance than in years. What politician today would dare to call for equality and conciliation when it's so much easier (and profitable) to sabre-rattle and flag-wave?Of special interest and value is White's reflections on what Lincoln might mean in his almost apocalyptic references in the speech to divine will and bloodshed, as well as Lincoln's almost agonized acknowledgment that religious convictions can be used to defend opposite sides of an issue. (As Lincoln says in his speech, "Both [the North and the South] read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other..."). The conclusion? Be extremely wary about claiming divine favor in conflicts. All in all, an excellent, insightful, well-written book. Anyone interested in White's book might also appreciate William Miller's recently published *Lincoln's Ethics.*
Rating:
Summary: "...the judgements of the Lord, are true and righteous..."
Review: Forget about Gary Wills at Gettysburg.Historian and theologian, Ronald White has written definitively on President Abraham Lincoln's definitive speech on THE CAUSE & NATURE of the American
Civil War.In the considered and studied judgement of Lincoln,our Civil War...[The bloodiest conflict ever fought by Americans;and where at--for example: ANTIETAM(9/17/1862)26,000 Americans killed each other in one day; at Gettysburg,56,000(equivalent of America's combat fatalities of the entire Vietnam war)were killed in three days from July 1-July 3,1863;in the killing field of Spotsylvania's BLOODY ANGLE(5/12/1864)12,000 were killed in one day;and at Cold Harbour(two weeks later on June 2,1864:7000 of General Grant's soldiers were killed in fifteen minutes]...was TRIBULATION Punishment by Almighty God for the SIN,"the offence...of AMERICAN SLAVERY".
The Apocalyptic tone and Biblical measure of THE SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS--granting its profoundly prayerful;hopeful;and mercy imploring coda/conclusion)are analytically examined by White. Only a most obtuse reader can avoid the implication of Lincoln's statement: "Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.Yet,if God wills that it continue,until the wealth piled by the bondman's
two-hundred and fifty years of unrequitted toil shall be sunk,AND UNTIL EVERY DROP OF BLOOD DRAWN WITH THE LASH,SHALL BE PAID FOR BY ANOTHER DRAWN WITH THE SWORD,as was said three thousand years ago,so still it must be said,'the judgements of the Lord,are true and righteous altogether.'"(p.16,handwritten text;p.19). Professor White provides unimpeachable evidence of the profoundly religious character of this President and his inescapable resignation to the will of God(and his own agency as President of the United States(cf:Apendix II,p208):"'if God wills the removal of a great wrong,and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South,shall pay fairly for complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.'Yours truly,A.Lincoln"
In addition to White's superb text of explication,Lincoln's MEDIDATION ON DIVINE WILL 9/2/1862[in Appendix III,pp.209-210]is
provided to thwart typical PM revisionist/deconstruction to oppose our greatest leader's Confession that,"the will of God prevails... that this present civil war...is part of God's purpose: GOD WILLS THIS CONTEST(sic!!!)"...
Implication for America's Blue/Red divide is equally unavoidable.
We have a Nation divided. One asserts an often unreasoning(!) "rationalist" secularism that would remove THE WILL OF GOD from our Polity,schools;legal discourse;and ethical foundations...
[46,000,000 ABORTIONS cannot possibly be defended by anything espousing to comprise or defend freedom. First Amendment rights have been deconstructed and bent to justify perversion of our children's innocence: per Media glorification of sexual promiscuity; pornographic language; violence-in/as-entertainment/sports; and meretricious exultation of rank materialism.The degredation of our Public School system by its oligarchs and lackey meidocrities in the name of a narcissistic agenda of Self-centered "esteem"(using a full panoply of racist victimology and PC psycho-babble)is too self-evident to warrant serious debate...
The OTHER prays and pleads.(Sometimes with genuine humility. Sometimes with Savonarola's Inquisitorial shrillness). The War in Iraq is not the question. THE WAR for the heart & Soul,"of the last best hope of mankind"is. Professor Ronald White's essay is a marvelous opportunity to ponder the spiritual wisdom of one of the greatest men who ever lived and...under terrible challenge...perhaps the Greatest American. Forget Gary Wills"erudition" on GETTYSBURG. Forget the pseudo-intellectual dilettanism of Maureen Dowd and the NYT homies. Take and read TRUTH. As White observes:"Lincoln speaks forever against any 'God Bless America'theology that fails to come to terms with evil and hypocracy in its own house.While the audience waited to hear words of self-congratulation,Lincoln continued to expalin the implications of the judgement of God. He knew the peril of theological politics is the danger of self-righteousness"(p.203).
BUT THAT WAS THEN! The United States has come full circle.Post -modern secularism(obeying self-apotheosis; and Un-Natural Law)worshiping its own deconstrucion of "Enlightenment" Reason is now rampant.The HOUSE is again divided.TAKE and read TRUTH: "God wills this contest,and wills that it should not end yet...and having begun...He could give the victory to either side any day: THE CONTEST PROCEEDS..."(p.216,Abraham Lincoln)[10 stars:A magnificent study in a time of National danger]
Rating:
Summary: An Inaugural Sermon
Review: Forty-one days after delivering his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln was dead. As people looked back to the March day he took the Presidential oath of office for the second time, they accepted the words of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address as his last will and testament for the Union he fought so hard to preserve. There is always a dramatic moment in the life of a person, party, organization or nation that cries for the uplift and release of a speech. Someone steps forward to articulate the pride, hope or grief of it all. The speaker becomes the center of attention and the world stops to listen. And on that dreary March day, Lincoln addressed a nation shaken by four years of horror and sacrifice on both sides. This book's focus is on Lincoln's words, but a larger portrait of the deep, brooding sprit that inspired the words emerges. The speech paints a portrait of Lincoln agonizing with his struggle for justice and reconciliation for the South. His seven minute treatise spoke to a nation and to a world that was overwhelmed by death and the issues that lead to the killing by offering hope and judgment. To a time that lacked statesmanship and leadership, his words transcend the time in which they were delivered. He spoke with a simple conviction that carried healing to his listeners and readers, then and today. Ronald White transforms this speech from one man's struggle with doubt into a promise of hope and redemption for the ages.
Rating: 
Summary: A look inside Lincoln's thinking.
Review: I never thought a book about a speech would be so very interesting. White does a great job dissecting this short speech and Lincoln's thinking behind it. At the time, the speech was not thought of well, but after his assassination, the words became the last testament of this great president. With malice toward none and charity to all, these words came to embody Abraham Lincoln.
I was especially interested in the spiritual aspects in both the speech and Lincoln. White makes Lincoln come across as a spiritual person, who believed in fate. The book examines his experience in three Protesant denominations. As we look at Lincoln's spiritual growth, we find this reflected in his speeches, especially his Second Inaugural. The last speech contained many references to God.
This is a great book about Lincoln. For those who want to understand Lincoln more, White's book examines a crucial episode in the final stages of this president's life.
Rating:
Summary: A look inside Lincoln's thinking.
Review: I never thought a book about a speech would be so very interesting. White does a great job dissecting this short speech and Lincoln's thinking behind it. At the time, the speech was not thought of well, but after his assassination, the words became the last testament of this great president. With malice toward none and charity to all, these words came to embody Abraham Lincoln.
I was especially interested in the spiritual aspects in both the speech and Lincoln. White makes Lincoln come across as a spiritual person, who believed in fate. The book examines his experience in three Protesant denominations. As we look at Lincoln's spiritual growth, we find this reflected in his speeches, especially his Second Inaugural. The last speech contained many references to God.
This is a great book about Lincoln. For those who want to understand Lincoln more, White's book examines a crucial episode in the final stages of this president's life.
Rating:
Summary: Lincoln Speaks Today
Review: I picked up Ronald White's impressive book to learn not only about Lincoln's March 4, 1865, Second Inaugural Address, but also about persuasive speech. And learn I did. Thus, I think others who speak or write about things important will be instructed by Lincoln and White's analysis of his effective rhetoric. For them, that alone will be worth the price of the book. But there is much more in these pages. I'm neither a Lincoln scholar nor an historian, and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but when I read histories I first check for the wide range of material the authors draw upon. I then look for the care they take not to read into their texts and sources what they want readers to hear, but to read out of them what they actually say and to tell us what they have found between the lines. I appreciated White's integrity and discipline in this regard. I also found myself fascinated by both the president's penetrating insights into human nature and White's deft ability to spell them out. I was impressed, too, with the author's lucid descriptions of the historical setting, emotional context and profound theological influences that shaped Lincoln and his address. They helped me to identify with the president as he struggled to heal and unify the nation and to see why he approached his daunting task the way he did. Moreover, both White's competence as an historian and his training in theology helped me to understand better not only this critical American moment, but also to grasp what Lincoln's message says to us today. When finished reading, I went to our back bedroom to be alone. I read the speech to myself several times. Then I stood at the window and looked down on the plants in our garden, envisioning them as Lincoln's inaugural audience. Then, imagining I were the president at his podium, giving his greatest speech to the war-weary people before him, I read his words aloud, trying to capture his cadence, milking his use of alliteration, and pausing to stress what I now believed he wanted to emphasize. I don't cry at the drop of a hat, but as I read the last paragraph -- "With malice toward none; with charity for all ... a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations." -- my brain brought me back to our present world. Tears filled my eyes, and I could hardly finish.
Rating:
Summary: LINCOLN'S GREATEST SPEECH THE SECOND INAUGURAL
Review: Lincoln's thought the Second Inaugural to be his greatest speech even more profound and powerful than the Gettysburg Address. Ronald C. White's remarkable analysis of the Second Inaugural will convince readers that Lincoln was right. A meditation on God's purpose in the Civil War, the Second Inaugural had several layers of meaning. In lucid prose, White explores each level and places the speech in a broad historical and theological context.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Worth the Time or Effort
Review: Ronald White calls Lincoln's Second Inaugural his "last will and testament to America," and he provides powerful support for that judgment in this book. The speech itself was only 703 words long. White's text probably runs to more than 50,000 words, yet his discussion never flags. He provides rich commentary, revealing biographical insights, and engrossing historical background for a speech that was initially received with little enthusiasm, yet is remembered today as one of the greatest orations of American history. The address was steeped in biblical references, revealing not only Lincoln's substantial biblical scholarship but also his profound religiosity. White correctly states that the separation of church and state in the United States has never meant the separation of religion and politics, and he makes it abundantly clear that, in Lincoln's mind, the fate of the United States could never be separated from God's plan for the world. Often confused with fatalism, Lincoln's religious view was centered on the Presbyterian tradition of the providence of God, the faith that "His kingdom ruleth over all." Lincoln's religion was not self-righteous; he did not wear it on his sleeve; and he explicitly rejected the view, popular among war leaders, that God was on his side and against his enemies. In his mind, the Almighty was the major actor in the Civil War, and the contesting parties were his agents. White writes clearly, logically, and often movingly. He brought tears to my eyes when he described Frederick Douglass's visit to the White House reception given at the close of the second inaugural day. A book that can touch the heart while it informs the mind and uplifts the spirit is rare. This one does that. It is a gem.
Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: Ronald White calls Lincoln's Second Inaugural his "last will and testament to America," and he provides powerful support for that judgment in this book. The speech itself was only 703 words long. White's text probably runs to more than 50,000 words, yet his discussion never flags. He provides rich commentary, revealing biographical insights, and engrossing historical background for a speech that was initially received with little enthusiasm, yet is remembered today as one of the greatest orations of American history. The address was steeped in biblical references, revealing not only Lincoln's substantial biblical scholarship but also his profound religiosity. White correctly states that the separation of church and state in the United States has never meant the separation of religion and politics, and he makes it abundantly clear that, in Lincoln's mind, the fate of the United States could never be separated from God's plan for the world. Often confused with fatalism, Lincoln's religious view was centered on the Presbyterian tradition of the providence of God, the faith that "His kingdom ruleth over all." Lincoln's religion was not self-righteous; he did not wear it on his sleeve; and he explicitly rejected the view, popular among war leaders, that God was on his side and against his enemies. In his mind, the Almighty was the major actor in the Civil War, and the contesting parties were his agents. White writes clearly, logically, and often movingly. He brought tears to my eyes when he described Frederick Douglass's visit to the White House reception given at the close of the second inaugural day. A book that can touch the heart while it informs the mind and uplifts the spirit is rare. This one does that. It is a gem.
Rating:
Summary: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
Review: Several recent and outstanding books have each examined in detail a single address by Abraham Lincoln. These books have the overall goal of explaining Lincoln's Presidency, the meaning and significance of the Civil War, and the continued impact of the issues raised in this conflict upon today's United States. These books include Gary Wills's study of the Gettysburg Address, the books by John Corry and Harold Holzer on Lincoln's Cooper Union speech, Allen Guelzo's study of the Emancipation Proclmation, and, the book I will discuss here, "Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural" (2002) by Ronald C. White, Jr.
Ronald White is a professor of American Religous History at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Given his background as a scholar of religion, it is unsurprising that Professor White focuses on President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and on the religious vision he finds Lincoln set forth in that great speech.
The book begins with a chapter setting the stage on the cold and rainy March 4, 1865, in Washington D.C. when Lincoln delivered his brief 703-word address. Union arms were close to victory, and the large audience undoubtedly expected a paean to the might of the Union Army together with tones of triumph.
President Lincoln delivered a speech entirely different. In short compass, he delivered a meditiation on the origin of the War, its cost in human life, its origin in the institution of slavery, a call to forbearance and charity, and, most importantly for Professor White, a religious understanding of the meaning of the War.
Professor White explores the speech on a paragraph-by-paragraph, line-by-line basis. He discusses closely the words of Lincoln's text, and he places the text in context of events in the War and of mid-19th Century America. He offers illuminating insights on the Second Inaugural by discussing a short letter Lincoln wrote on April 4, 1864, to the Governor of Kentucky in which Lincoln explained his reasons for issuing the Emancipation Proclmation. He also relies heavily on a short passage of jottings Lincoln prepared for himself in September, 1862, captioned "Meditation on the Divine Will."
The Second Inaugural as Professor White expounds it sets forth a complex religous message. The War, as Professor White reads Lincoln, was the will of a living and ethical God and was a recompense for the sin of slavery. This sin was nation-wide in scope and could not be imputed only to the rebelling Confederates. During the course of the conflict, Lincoln had moved from the agnosticism and determinism of his youth to a concept of a personal God. His God was nondenominational and nontribal rather that the God of any particular creed (Lincoln never joined a church) or of factions, including the North or the South. The scourge of slavery had brought on the War, but the end of the War opened the opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice, "with malice toward none,with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right."
It is an impressive and theologically-complex vision. Professor White writes with a purpose of encouraging meditation among his readers on the role of religion (not denominationalism) in our public life and on the continuing sruggle in our country to eliminate the vestiges of slavery and racism. He writes (p. 202):
"The Lincoln that is available to us comes with no simple answers. The chasm of race, which undergirded the legal structure of slavery, continues even though the Civil Rights movement, a hundred years after the Civil War, spearheaded political and legal action intended to right ancient wrongs. Martin Luther King, Jr. chose to speak with the imposing statue of Lincoln as the background when he offered his dream for America."
Those readers interested in exploring further the complicated question of Lincoln's philosophical and religous beliefs may wish to read Allen Guelzo's biography "Redeemer President" together with his more recent study of the Emancipation Proclamation.
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