all men are created equal

In my book, Maelstrom, I included a scene in which Lincoln sends an address to Congress after a recess. At that time, it was customary for a clerk to read the address aloud. Not much had happened during the recess: eleven states had seceded from the Union, Fort Sumter had been bombarded and surrendered, the Union occupied a small area of Virginia, Lincoln had exceeded his executive powers by spending unauthorized money, building an army, arresting insurgents, and suspending habeas corpus, among many other actions.

He desperately needed Congress to backfill behind him.

Lincoln’s first formal communication with Congress was crucial—not just for him but for the country as well. Although this address is not one of his most famous speeches, the clarity and simplicity with which he explained his actions were impressive.

Lincoln stated that the struggle was to maintain a form of government:

“whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.”

On the brink of war, Lincoln repeatedly used the word “all.” He had previously declared that this was the most important word in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence and reportedly wrote it incessantly on scraps of paper.

I can’t think of a loftier goal for government. Perhaps, in this age of divisiveness, we should all take a moment to write the word “all” over and over again.

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