Episode 31: Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address | Can America Survive Secession?

Creating America · Oct 15, 2026 · 30m · transcript

In March 1861, the United States stood on the brink of civil war. Seven Southern states had seceded, the Confederacy was establishing a rival government, and Abraham Lincoln was about to take office as president of a nation threatening to tear itself apart.

In this episode of the Creating America Podcast, we hear Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4, 1861, in which Lincoln sought to preserve the Union and prevent a bloody conflict.

Lincoln addresses the South’s fears over slavery, defends the permanence of the Union, and challenges the legality of secession. He…