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Let us strive on to finish the work we are in.

Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865

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Lincoln spoke these words on 4 March 1865, as his second term began, with the Civil War nearly won. The speech was about 700 words. Instead of celebrating, he named slavery as the cause of the war, and closed with a call to act 'with malice toward none, with charity for all': to finish the work, bind up the nation's wounds and seek a just and lasting peace. About six weeks later he was shot at Ford's Theatre. The speech is carved into a wall of the Lincoln Memorial.

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Abraham Lincoln, İkinci Göreve Başlama Konuşması, 1865

Lincoln bu sözleri 4 Mart 1865'te, ikinci başkanlık dönemi başlarken, İç Savaş'ın kazanılmasına az kalmışken söyledi. Konuşma yalnızca 700 kelime kadardı. Lincoln zaferi kutlamak yerine savaşın nedeninin kölelik olduğunu söyledi. Sözlerini bir çağrıyla bitirdi: Kimseye kin beslemeden, herkese merhametle, ulus eldeki işi bitirmeli, yaralarını sarmalı ve adil, kalıcı bir barış aramalıydı. Lincoln aşağı yukarı altı hafta sonra Washington'daki Ford Tiyatrosu'nda vuruldu. Konuşmanın metni bugün Lincoln Anıtı'nın bir duvarında yazılıdır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Abraham Lincoln
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