The 1862 State of the Union Address was written by the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and delivered to the 37th United States Congress, on Monday, December 1, 1862, amid the ongoing American Civil War.[1]
| Date | December 1, 1862 |
|---|---|
| Type | State of the Union Address |
| Participants | Abraham Lincoln |
| Previous | 1861 State of the Union Address |
| Next | 1863 State of the Union Address |
This address was Lincoln's longest State of the Union Address, consisting of 8,385 words.[2]
In the closing paragraphs of this address, Lincoln penned words which have been remembered and quoted frequently by presidents and other American political figures. Lincoln's concluding remarks were as follows:
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.[1]
Last best hope of Earth
editLincoln in this address coined the phrase that the United States is the "last best hope of Earth." This phrase has been echoed by many US presidents:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt closed his 1939 State of the Union Address by quoting these words from Lincoln.[3]
- Lyndon B. Johnson quoted it in a special message to Congress on equal rights.[4]
- Richard Nixon cited this phrase in his acceptance of the nomination at the 1960 Republican National Convention[5] and again as president in his remarks establishing the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.[6]
- Gerald Ford quoted these words in his remarks on the United States Bicentennial.[7]
- Jimmy Carter quoted the phrase in a live, televised address on national security.[8]
- Ronald Reagan was especially fond of this phrase, as he quoted it at least 50 times in various speeches and writings.[9] Reagan first quoted it in his 1964 "A Time for Choosing" speech.[10] He also alluded to it in four of his State of the Union Addresses (1981,[11] 1982,[12] 1984,[13] and 1987[14]) as well as his Second Inaugural Address.[15]
- George H. W. Bush cited the quote in remarks he made to the American Society of Newspaper Editors.[16]
- Bill Clinton quoted these words in a radio address after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.[17]
- George W. Bush alluded to the phrase in a commencement address at Ohio State University.[18]
- Barack Obama also used the phrase frequently in his speeches, such as when he gave remarks commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment.[19]
- Joe Biden quoted these lines during his remarks after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[20]
References
edit
- ^ a b "Second Annual Message". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Peters, Gerhard. "Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses in Words". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Roosevelt, Franklin D. (January 4, 1939). "Annual Message to Congress". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
This generation will 'nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. . . . The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just-a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.'
- ^ Johnson, Lyndon B. (February 15, 1967). "Special Message to the Congress on Equal Justice". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
The issue of the struggle was, as Lincoln said, whether 'we shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth.'
- ^ Nixon, Richard (July 28, 1960). "Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Chicago". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Nixon, Richard (August 18, 1971). "Remarks on Signing Bill Establishing the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
Lincoln also had a very profound sense of destiny about the United States of America—what it was, what it meant to its own people, and what it meant to the world. We all remember what he said: that the United States of America was man's last, best hope on earth.
- ^ Ford, Gerald (December 31, 1975). "Remarks on the Eve of the Bicentennial Year". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
Behind us lie 200 years of toil and struggle, 200 years of accomplishment and' triumph. We remain, in Lincoln's words, 'the last, best hope of earth.'
- ^ Carter, Jimmy (October 1, 1979). "Peace and National Security Address to the Nation on Soviet Combat Troops in Cuba and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
At another time of challenge in our Nation's history, President Abraham Lincoln told the American people: 'We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.'
- ^ "Results". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (October 27, 1964). "Address on Behalf of Senator Barry Goldwater: "A Time for Choosing"". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (February 18, 1981). "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Program for Economic Recovery". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
I'm here tonight to reaffirm that pledge and to ask that we share in restoring the promise that is offered to every citizen by this, the last, best hope of man on Earth.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 26, 1982). "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on the State of the Union". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
...saying that we met the test and preserved for them in their day the sacred flame of liberty—this last, best hope of man on Earth.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 25, 1984). "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
How can we not believe in the greatness of America? How can we not do what is right and needed to preserve this last best hope of man on Earth?
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 24, 1987). "Radio Address to the Nation on the State of the Union". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
And in President Lincoln's second message, we read of America as 'the last, best hope of Earth.' Freedom, Lincoln stated, is a way that is 'plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.'
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 21, 1985). "Inaugural Address". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
...we are all Americans, pledged to carry on this last, best hope of man on Earth.
- ^ Bush, George H. W. (April 9, 1992). "Remarks to the American Society of Newspaper Editors". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
It's a mission that can advance our economic and security interests while upholding the primacy of American values, values which, as Lincoln said, are the 'last, best hope of Earth.'
- ^ Clinton, Bill (February 12, 1994). "The President's Radio Address". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Bush, George W. (June 14, 2002). "Commencement Address at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
You will show your love and allegiance to the United States, which remains what it has always been, a citadel of freedom, a land of mercy, the last, best hope of man on Earth.
- ^ Obama, Barack (December 9, 2015). "Remarks Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the 13th Amendment". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Biden, Joseph R. (January 7, 2021). "Remarks to the Nation by President-elect Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
Watching the scenes from the Capitol, I was reminded of Abraham Lincoln's words in an annual message to the Congress whose work has today been interrupted by chaos. President Lincoln said: 'We shall nobly save or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth....'
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