150 Years Ago: Abraham Lincoln is sworn is as President

“Everybody longing for the Inaugural,” George Templeton Strong confided to his diary. It had been four long months since Lincoln was elected, nearly a year since he was nominated. Today, at last, was March 4, the perfect day in the calendar for parades and pageantry (march forth!). And also, more darkly, for the armies already assembling. Lincoln rose at 5 a.m., restless. How long had he been getting ready for this day?

Beyond the pageantry, there would also be substance, in the form of his Inaugural Address, the most highly anticipated speech in American history. There are more beautiful speeches in the Lincoln canon (Second Inaugural, Gettysburg), and more impressive displays of research (Cooper Union). But no Lincoln speech was ever delivered with more preparation, under more scrutiny, for higher stakes than this one.

There was no room for misstep. Every syllable had to be just right, not only to keep the border states in the Union, but also to assure his core audience in the North that he was not another doughface, like his predecessor. He had been writing the speech for months, in his peculiar way, putting thoughts down on scraps of paper, which he then glued to an early printed master copy — a crude version of cut and paste.

After his arrival in Washington, he turned to William Seward, the man he had defeated for the nomination, for help with the final edits. Seward responded with 49 editorial suggestions; Lincoln accepted 27. The most valuable was a request that he conclude the speech with a plea for moderation. So a remarkable final paragraph was born, completely unlike the rest of the speech, written out by hand.

At noon, Lincoln was escorted by President Buchanan in an open barouche to the unfinished Capitol, where they found a throng of 30,000 gathered. The moment had arrived. Lincoln quietly reached into his pocket and put on his steel-rimmed spectacles, at which point a wag in the audience yelled, “Look at old goggles!” and was promptly arrested.

Read the rest here.