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 Lincoln
spoke to a small audience in the upstairs room of the courthouse.
Wanting to give people a couple of extra minutes to find their way
to the room, Lincoln conversed with the audience while everyone
waited. In typical Lincoln fashion, he told stories and made jokes
to help the time fly by faster.
Once he began, Lincoln talked about a speech he gave to the Illinois
Legislature in September of 1863. The legislature was largely
Democratic at the time. Many of the legislators wanted to keep the
Union alive but did not want to abolish slavery. Lincoln then read
the speech to the audience he gave that day. The speech was very
impactful, posing three possible ends to the Civil War: fighting,
surrender, or a compromise of some kind. Lincoln appealed to the
good nature of the legislators, going into the evils of slavery. He
also spoke on the fact that his desires of all men being equal, and
the Union being preserved did not have to be mutually exclusive.
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At the end of the speech, Lincoln continued his
banter with the audience, answering questions and making jokes. He
also stated that the people were able to leave whenever they wanted.
Someone in the audience made a retort that Lincoln would have to
dismiss the audience much in the same way as a pastor would. When
Lincoln obliged, several people left, but many stuck around to
continue their conversations with the president.
[Matt Boutcher]
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