Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

History tends to repeat itself. When reading president Lincoln's Inaugural address I noticed that it can relate to some ongoing wars now. Lincoln's second inaugural address relates to two present day war related situations, in the sense that Lincoln supported a war then, while Bush supports a war in Iraq and Obama supports a war in Afghanistan in current society. Abraham Lincoln's role in the civil war tends to be controversial, although he did pro long the war he did it for the sake of saving the Union.

"So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power of the government; and resist force, employed for it's destruction, by force, for it's preservation." -Abraham Lincoln. July 4 1861 Message to Congress

Lincoln said himself, in the quote above, that the reason he called for war was to preserve the Union. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for three months in the civil war. Even with the loss of so many lives, the war went on for four years. All this was done to keep the north and south together to keep the Union together and at the same time be slavery free. In Lincoln's second inaugural address Lincoln states:

"Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."

This statement right here I think sets the tone for the entire inaugural address. When reading the address the sound of remorse for the war is in it. It was not about the triumph they gained from the Civil War by abolishing slavery, but it was the fact that so many died in order to gain emancipation for all. Contrast to how Lincoln was involved in a war, Bush called was for a different reason. After the attack on 9/11 Bush retaliated by sending soldiers to Iraq. Although he should have not been sending them to Iraq but rather to Afghanistan

"the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves." -Zbigniew Brzezinski. The Washington Post

Similar to Lincoln supporting the Civil War to benefit society, Bush thought supporting the Iraq war would benefit today's current society as well. Throughout the time of the Iraq war Bush did not receive full support from his country. Even though it was a strain on the country he believed the the war could help the US and provide safety as well. In Lincoln's second inaugural address it says:

"The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured."

"the war had damaged the country’s reputation, strained its military and now threatened its economy."

Even though the war has damaged our own country and another country(Iraq) Bush insists on "winning this war". He was thinking of the safety of America and had high hopes of winning the war. Like Lincoln, he supported a war to help benefit our country.

Our current president Obama relates to what Lincoln did during his presidency during the Civil War. Obama sees that where are troops need to be is in Afghanistan not Iraq and there is where they will be able to protect the US and other countries from terrorism. In Lincoln's second inaugural address it states at the end:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Obama sees the problem is in Afghanistan and by putting our troops there it may eliminate the problem entirely

"Obama has said the real front line of the war on terror is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq. As many as 30,000 new U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan in the coming months, almost doubling the U.S. forces in the country."

Even though it seems contradictory that in order to achieve peace we have to make war, if it will help nations then it must be something worth doing.
Even though Lincoln's inaugural address is about after the Civil War it can relate to current day presidents and related events going on by how the war is handled and the reasons for the war. The common reason for presidents supporting the war is thinking it will benefit out country in some way.

• "Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: Why President Lincoln Fought a War to Stop Southern Secession." US Civil War @ Suite101.com. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Bush Defends Iraq War in Speech - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Bush gives new reason for Iraq war - The Boston Globe." Boston.com. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Military Analysis - Afghan Strategy Poses Stiff Challenge for Obama - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Obama talks to troops in Afghanistan - Chicago Breaking News." Chicago Breaking News. 25 Jan. 2009 .