dfsdfsfswgAbraham Lincoln's ability to write and deliver great speeches made him a rising star in national politics and propelled him to the White House.
And during his years in office, classic speeches, especially the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, helped to establish him as one of the greatest American presidents.
Follow the links below to read more about Lincoln's greatest speeches.
Lincoln's Lyceum Address
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Addressing a local chapter of the American Lyceum Movement in Springfield, Illinois, a 28-year-old Lincoln delivered a surprisingly ambitious speech on a cold winter night in 1838.
The speech was entitled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions," and Lincoln, who had just been elected to local political office, spoke on matters of great national significance. He made allusions to a recent act of mob violence in Illinois, and also addressed the issue of slavery.
Though Lincoln was talking to a smalltown audience of friends and neighbors, he seemed to have ambitions beyond Springfield and his position as a state representative.
Lincoln's Address at Cooper Union
In late February 1860 Abraham Lincoln took a series of trains from Springfield, Illinois to New York City. He had been invited to speak to a gathering of the Republican Party, a fairly new political party which was opposed to the spread of slavery.
Lincoln had gained some fame while debating Stephen A. Douglas two years earlier in a Senate race in Illinois. But he was essentially unknown in the East. The speech he delivered at Cooper Union on February 27, 1860, would make him an overnight star, elevating him to the level of running for president.
Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address was delivered under circumstances never seen before or since, as the country was literally coming