President Abraham Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
In this 1862 annual message President Lincoln sought to re-inspire Congress after the horrifying battle at Antietam—the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Likening the war to a "fiery trial," Lincoln summons the Union to the great task of abolishing slavery, declaring that "in giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free." In the tradition of the time this annual message was read aloud not by Lincoln, but by the Secretary of the Senate.
Page 85 of President Abraham Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862, SEN37A-F1; Records of the U.S. Senate, RG 46.
Page 85 of President Abraham Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862, SEN37A-F1; Records of the U.S. Senate, RG 46.