When Words Failed: Lincoln's Impossible Inauguration - March 4, 1861

On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most eloquent inaugural addresses in American history, appealing to shared memory and "the better angels of our nature." Seven states had already seceded. Five weeks later, the Civil War began. This is a story about the power and limits of eloquence: Lincoln delivered a masterful speech that achieved everything except its primary goal. Sometimes divisions are too deep for words to bridge, no matter how brilliant those words might be.