林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)

林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)（精选6篇）

篇1：林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)

在我现在第二次来到这里宣誓就任总统职位的时候，就不十分必要像第一次就职时那样作长篇演说了。那时，一篇关于我将采取的方针的比较详尽的说明，似乎是比较合适和理所当然 的。可是现在，四年任期刚刚结束，在这期间，关于那至今仍吸引着举国上下的注意，消耗着全民的精力的巨大斗争的各个阶段的任何一个细节，随时都有公告发奉，现在也实在再没有多少新东西可讲了。关于我们的军事进展情况——它是其它一切的主要依靠所在——，公众也了解得和我本人一样清楚；而且我相信对所有的人来说都是相当满意和令人鼓舞的。既

然对未来充满了希望，那么在这里也就无意冒昧作出预测了。

也正是在四年之前我就任总统的那一场合，所有的人都在为即将来临的内战惴惴不安。所有的人都害怕内战——都竭力想避免内战发生。而当我在这里发表就职演说，决定不惜采用一 切力量，但不用战争，拯救联邦的时候，叛乱分子的代理人却在全城到处活动，力求不用战争摧毁联邦——力求通过谈判瓦解联邦，分裂国家。——双方都声称反对战争；但可是他们中的一方却宁愿发动战争也不让这个国家生存下去；另一方也则宁可接受战争也不能眼看着

国家灭亡。于是战争便打起来了。

在全国人口中有八分之一是黑人奴隶，他们并非遍布在全国各地，而是大部分集中在我国南方。这些黑人构成一个特殊强有力的权益。大家都知道这权益是导致战争的原因。为了达到加强、永久化保持和扩大这个权益的目的，叛乱分子甚至不惜通过战争瓦解联邦；而政府方面，只不过是要求有权限制奴隶制扩大其地域。双方谁也没有料想到，战争竟会达到现在已出现了这种规模，或持续这么久。双方谁也不曾料到，冲突的缘由可能会随着冲突的结束而结束，或甚至在冲突本身结束之前，便已终止；每一方都寻求能比较轻易地获得胜利，战争的结果也不那么带有根本性和惊人。双方都读着同一部《圣经》，祈祷于同一个上帝；每一方都求上帝帮助他们一方，而反对另一方。这看来也许有些不可思议，怎么可能有人公然敢于祈求公正的上帝帮助他从别人的血汗中榨取面包；不过，我们且不要论断别人，以免自 己遭到论断吧。双方的祈祷都不可能得到回应；任何一方的祈祷也没有得到充分的回应。全能的上帝另有他自己的目标。“由于种种罪过，世界受难了!因为这些罪过是不可避免的；但是，让那引来罪过的人去受罪吧。”*如果我们假定美国的奴隶制是这里所说的罪恶之一，它按上帝的意旨是不可避免的，而现在在经过了上帝规定的时限之后，他决心要消灭它，再假定上帝使得南北双方进行了这场可怕的战争，以作为那些犯下罪过的人应该遭受到的苦难，那么我们从中能看出有什么地方有悖于信仰上帝的信徒们总是赋于永远存在的上帝的那种神性吗?我们衷心地希望——热情地祈祷——但愿这可怕的战争灾祸能迅速过去。然而，如果上帝一定要让它继续下去，一直到奴隶们通过二百五十年的无偿劳动所堆积起来的财富烟消云散，一直到，如三千年前人们所说的那样，用鞭子抽出的每一滴血都要用刀剑刺 出的另一滴血来偿还，而到那时，我们也仍然得说，“主的审判是完全公正无误的”。**

我们对任何人也不怀恶意，我们对所有的人都宽大为怀，坚持正义；上帝既使我们认识正义，让我们继续努力向前，完成我们正在进行的事业；包扎起国家的创伤，关心那些为战争作出牺牲的人，关心他们的遗孀和孤儿——尽一切力量，以求在我们自己之间，以及我们和所有的国家之间实现并维护一个公正和持久的和平。

篇2：林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)

——将自由带到全世界

“世界和平的最大希望在于把自由扩展到全世界。”

今天，按宪法规定我们举行这仪式。在此，我们来欢庆我国宪法持久的智慧，追寻我们团结全国的深切责任感。我感佩这时刻带来的荣耀，意识到我们时代的期盼并期待着完成我的誓言，请你们做证。

这是我们第二次聚会，我们的责任并非由我的讲演来确定，它源于我们当前历史时期的要求。半个世纪以来，美国在遥远的边界上捍卫着我们的自由。共产主义破产后我们有相对平和，懒散的年月，而后是火光四射的那一天。

我们已明了自身的弱点，我们也深知其根源。只要世界某些区域酝酿着不满滋生着暴君，就会产生宣扬仇恨和为屠杀寻找借口的意识形态，就会聚集暴力和毁灭的能量，它们会越过严密把守的边界带来毁灭的威胁。这世界只存在一种力量可以冲决仇恨揭露暴君的虚伪，扶植容忍培育尊严，那就是人类的自由。

我们受常识的指引和历史的教诲，得到如下结论：自由是否能在我们的土地上存在，正日益依赖于自由在别国的胜利。对和平的热切期望只能源于自由在世界上的扩展。

******

基于此，美国的政策是寻求并支持世界各国和各种文化背景下成长的民主运动，寻求并支持民主的制度化。最终的目标是终结世间的任何极权制度。

这个目标最终不应由暴力达成，尽管在必要时，我们将以武力自卫，并保卫我们的朋友。自由的性质要求公民去自觉地选择它，捍卫它，并通过立法加以维护，同时保障劣势者。当一个国家的魂魄最终选择自由时，它的制度将反映着不

同于我们的文化和传统。美国将不会强迫任何国家接受我们的国家体制。我们的目的，是帮助其他国家找到自己的声音，获得自身的自由，发现自己的自由之路。

终结专制统治的巨大使命是几代人努力的目标。其难度不是束手无为的借口。美国的影响有限，但值得庆幸的是，美国的影响也是有力的，我们将充满信心地在追求自由的道路上帮助你们。

我最庄严的责任是保护我的国家和它的人民不再受到任何袭击和威胁。有些人不明智地选择了试探美国的决心，他们发现了我们坚定的意志。

我们坚定地给每一个统治者每一个国家提出这样的选择：请在压迫——这终究是错的，与自由——这永远是正确的，之间做道义的选择。美国不会装模作样地默认被关押的异议者自我选择了枷锁，也不会默认妇女成为可耻的代名词，看着她们变成奴仆，同样不会默认任何人类一员仰人鼻息地生活。

我们将鼓励其它政府的改革，我们将明确表示与美国良好的关系要求他们善对自己的公民。美国对人的尊严的信念将指导我们的政策，但是人民权力并不是源于独裁者违心的让步，它们应该源于人民反对的自由和被统治者的平等参与。长远看，没有自由，就没有正义，没有人民的自由就不存在人权。

我知道，有些人质疑全球自由，尽管经过四十年自由迅猛的发展，这怀疑似乎不合时宜。美国全体人民，不应被我们理念的力量所惊吓。最终，自由呼唤将发自每一个心灵。我们拒绝接受永恒的专制，因为我们拒绝接受永久的奴役。自由将来到热爱她的人们中间。

今天，美国再次向世界人民说话：

那些生活在专制下绝望的人民应该知道，美利坚和众国不会漠视你们被压迫，不会原谅你们的压迫者。当你们保卫自己的自由时，美国将站在你们一边。

那些面对着压制，监狱和流放的民主变革的参加者应该知道，美国知道你的潜力：你们自由国家未来的领袖。

那些无法无天的统治者应该知道，我们仍然抱有林肯总统的信念：“那些剥夺他人自由的人不配享有自由，而且在上帝公正面前，他们也不会长久。”

那些习惯于控制人民的统治者应该知道，为了服务你的人民你应给予他们信任。开始踏上进步和正义之路，那样，美国将站在你这一边。

美国的全部盟友们应该知道：我们珍视我们的友谊，我们尊重你们的建议，我们依赖于你们的帮助。分裂自由国家的团结是自由敌人的目的。自由国家相互配合的推进民主是我们敌人失败的开始。

今天，我也要对我的同伴，公民们说：

我要求你们全体的耐心，保卫国家安全是艰巨的任务，这样的耐心你们给予我很多。我们的国家承担着一个困难重重的义务，中途放弃是可耻的。正是因为我们继续着我们国家解放者的传统，成千万的人们获得了自由。希望催生新的希望，更多的人将获得自由。通过我们的努力，我们点燃了火种，那火种在人们心中。它温暖着感受它力量的人们，它烧毁那些试图阻挠进步的人。终有一天，这无可熄灭自由之火将照亮我们世界最阴暗的角落。

一些美国人已接受这事业中最困难的工作——那些默默无闻的情报和外交工作„„这理想主义驱使帮助自由政府的工作。那些打击我们敌人危险而必要的工作。他们中的一些人献出了生命，他们的国家永远以他们为荣耀—我们也会永远记住他们的名字和他们的贡献。

所有的美国人都见证了这理想主义，有些人是第一次看到。我要求我们的青年相信自己的观察。你们看到了我们士兵们充满责任和忠诚的坚毅面孔。你们也

看到了生命的脆弱和魔鬼的真实，你们更看到了战胜的勇气。请选择参加这一进程，它比起个人需要重要得多，比个人大得多。一旦轮到你们，你们不但增加了我们国家的财富，将更为她增添光彩。

美国需要理想主义和勇气，因为我们要完成国内的任务。美国自由的未竞之业，在一个走向自由的世界里，我们要展示自由的真义和自由的承诺。

在美国自由的信念里，公民享有尊严和经济上的独立，不是生活在撩倒的边缘。这是更广义自由的定义，它促生了《房屋法案》，《社会安全法案》和《人权法案》。现在，我们将改革行成伟大的制度来服务于我们的时代，并扩展这一定义。每个美国人将分享国家的承诺和未来。我们将用最高的标准来要求我们的学校，建立一个有产者的社会。我们要让更多的人拥有自己的住房和事业，拥有自己的退休基金和医疗保险。(注：不要错误理解为美国没有这种保险，他在推销他的改革计划，所谓自己的是相对政府的而言。)让我们的人民对自由社会未来的挑战做好准备。让每个公民做他自己命运的主人。我们将把美国人民从匮乏和担忧中解脱，并把我们的社会建成更为富强平等的社会。

在美国的自由信念中，公共利益依赖于个人品质，这包括完善人格和宽容他人，以及有理性的生活。自我管理依赖于管理良好的自我。个人的全部特征建立于家庭内，得到邻里的支持和约束，并在国家生活里惯以始终，它依赖于西奈的真知，宝山临训，可兰经的教诲，与各种各样的信仰，在每一代美国人民人的推动下前进着，他们坚信源于历史的有益和真实——公正的理念和适宜的行为——都将被保有，从昨天，今天，直到永远的未来。

在美国自由的信念中，个人权力的运用是由服务，宽容和对弱者的同情构成。为全体的自由并不意味着人们的互相背离。我们国家依赖于那些互相守望的邻里和用爱围绕失途者的人们。美国人，最良好的表现，在于珍重我们每一个人的生活，而且永远记得那些所谓无用之辈也有他们的价值。我们的国家一定要丢弃一切种族主义的习性，因知我们不可能肩负自由的使命而又同时携带偏见的包袱。

从每一天看，就以今天为始，我们国家面临着诸多问题。从一个世纪看，我们面对的问题是集中而突出的。我们庖淮忻挥型卣棺杂傻慕?我们的作为有没有为这事业增添光彩?

这些问题是我们的裁判，也团结了我们。因为无论是何党派，自我选择或是出生于此，美国人在自由的道路上不可分离。我们知道分裂必须弥合我们才能向伟大的目标前进。我将做出最大的努力去弥合这分裂。但是这种裂痕不能左右美国。当自由受到威胁时，我们深感相互的统一和关联，我们的反击也如出自同手一心。当美国所行正义，当灾民们得到希望，当正义得到伸张，当人民获得自由，我们也同样自豪感到我们是统一体。

我们以全部的信心踏着自由胜利之路前进。并非历史进程不可避免。人类的选择构成进步。我们并不认为我们国家就是上帝的选民。上帝自有他的意志和选择。我们坚信是因为自由是人类永恒的希望，是黑暗中的渴望，是灵魂的渴望。当我们的立国先贤宣布时代新的准则时，当一批批士兵为了保卫基于自由的联邦而牺牲时，当公民手举“立即自由”的横幅和平抗议时---他们在实践着那古老的希望，这希望一定会成为现实。公正在历史上有潮起潮落，但是历史也有一条清晰的脉络，那是由自由和自由的实践者确定的。

当独立宣言第一次对公众宣读，自由的钟声震响。一个观者如是说：”它在鸣响着，好像意味深长。”在我们的时代，这钟声依然韵味深长。美国，在这年轻的世纪，向世界向所有的它的居民宣播着自由。更新了我们的力量，较量过但并没有疲倦——我们已做好准备去完成自由史上最伟大的功绩。

篇3：林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)

一、心中要有一杆秤——“我是总会计师”

这个必须要把握好。做总会计师的首先心里要有一杆秤, 这杆秤是什么呢?就是“我是这个企业的总会计师”。这一点对企业来说、对财会队伍来说、对总会计师本人来说, 是特别重要的一点。如果这一点把握不好, 后面的其他工作都难以展开, 财会队伍也难以在你的带领下做强做大, 企业的财务管理工作也不会做好。十年来, 我感觉最重要的一点就是一定要铭记着“我是这个企业的总会计师”。为什么要这样说呢?因为, 总会计师是由国家的法律、法规对其地位、职责有明确界定的。这就是《会计法》和《总会计师条例》。在企业的日常经营管理过程当中, 总会计师所分管的工作要能够等于或者大于法律法规所规定的职责, 绝对不能小于法律法规所规定的职责。为什么说不能小于呢?因为, 对于法律法规所赋予你的职责, 你必须要纳入你的工作范围之中。为什么可能要大于呢?因为总会计师干到一定的程度、有了一定的工作经历以后, 你可以在干好本职工作以外, 担负更多更重要的工作。比如说在胜利油田工作期间, 我除了分管财务工作以外, 还分管了信息化、法律工作;到了中航油以后, 也曾经分管过这些方面的工作。就是说干到一定程度以后, 你的工作业务内容不要仅仅局限于法律法规所规定的总会计师的职责。因为有好多业务是能够帮助你来实现总会计师职责的, 反之, 这些业务做不好会影响总会计师工作的完成。因此, 在日常工作中, 一定要把总会计师的职责圈定好。

二、要有下属意识——“我是副职”

你到了这个班子里面, 就是它的成员, 就是这个班子的一部分, 就是班长的下属。树立这么一个意识有个好处, 总经理知道他是一把手, 其他的人都是协助他工作的, 大家都有共同的目标, 是为了搞好企业走到一起来的。这样, 地位摆明白了, 领导就会支持你的工作。

在工作当中, 你可以说我现在有哪些事情需要领导的帮助, 当好副职, 就要注意方法, 有事就要和总经理讲明白, 总经理会支持你的。如果你不讲明白, 就会出现一系列问题。在日常工作过程中, 你只有有了这个意识, 才能认真负责地、全心全意地辅助一把手、辅助总经理。在具体工作当中, 这方面的沟通非常重要。

三、总会计师心中要有做事业的冲劲——“我是财会工作的发动机”

不管是公益性的企业, 还是营利性的公司, 其目的都是在财务收支平衡过程当中寻求生存、发展。财务收支平衡是主要领导最关心的, 到底做到平衡与否, 到底盈利还是亏损, 这个平衡就是基准点。总会计师首先要把平衡点找清楚, 这是总经理很关心的, 我想这也应该是我们总会计师所关心的。总经理的方向就是我们班子的方向, 班子的方向就是财务的方向。应该是这么一个协调的关系。只有如此, 这个事情才能好办, 企业才能发展。

在处理财务收支平衡的时候, 要把握三点: (1) 谁来做财务收支的平衡? (2) 如何来做? (3) 如何处理总会计师和财务处长或者财务经理的关系?这三点特别重要, 我分别说一下:

首先, 谁来做这个平衡。这就要首先解决财务人员的数量、质量、素质的问题。因为高素质的人干出来的工作基本上也是高水平的。在解决谁来做的问题时, 需要总会计师和总经理讲清楚, 我现在需要多少人来做财务工作, 现在我们的企业规模应该由多少人来做, 现实当中有多少人在做, 缺多少财务人员。举一个例子, 有一个比较大的企业集团, 原来它的机关是一个管理型的机关, 所有的责权都在下属企业, 比如下属企业的党委书记、总经理的任命, 都是股东会、董事会确定的, 集团班子不一定清楚, 只有主要领导知道。这个集团机关部门也认为管的事情越少越好, 让各成员企业有充分的自主权、充分的决定权。但是, 权力放得太大, 就要出问题了。这种放权放得超过了“度”。这就是说, 在日常工作当中, 一定要解决好集团和下属企业之间的关系。要放权, 但是要有度。

第二就是要解决数量、质量的问题。质量就是财务人员要有相应的学历、能力, 但不一定非要是学财务的。我认为在招聘财务人员的时候, 要注重财务人员善不善于思考的问题。因为财务工作不是简单的算账, 管理越来越重要, 信息化后, 核算的工作量越来越少, 管理的成分越来越多。管理是需要动脑筋的, 在财务人员使用上要注重善于思考的人。再一个就是要有素质的人, 有素质的人考虑问题全面。

其次, 如何来做财务平衡。这里一定要高度关注一个问题, 就是总经理从企业经营管理的角度、从企业发展的角度认为收支平衡应该是个什么样的结果。比如说, 他想2010年收入要增到多少、成本要控制在多少、利润要实现多少, 一定要听一下总经理的想法。这是一个企业的发展方向的问题。你只有明白了总经理的想法以后, 总会计师、财务部与业务部的人员在做收支平衡的时候、在做预算的时候、在做具体的核算工作的时候, 你才能知道我应该怎么做。比如哪一些下属单位是贡献销售收入的, 哪一些下属企业是贡献利润的, 一定要分清楚。一般情况下, 我们会不自觉地对企业按经营品种分类、经营性质分类, 也就是提醒大家, 要注意对下属企业按贡献性质分类。再一个就是费用与收入的确认方法、折旧的摊提方法、税务的筹划等等。

再次, 和财务处长或财务部经理的分工问题。总会计师作为财务系统的最高领导, 一定要想着你是个领导。“领导”这个词是由两方面组成的:第一个是“领”, 第二个是“导”。“领”是一种职能。总会计师是领导, 既然有“领”的职能, 就要有自己要干的那一部分活。总会计师要带领着大家干活, 就要注意哪些是我领着大家干的, 就像我们农村锄地一样, 队长在前面领着大家锄地, 不是站在地的另一头看着别人锄地。所以, 你要弄明白, 哪一些是属于你要干的活。在这几年的工作当中, 我感觉到有这么几点:

1. 财务收支平衡这个系统性工作是总会计师要带领着干的工作。比如说收入应该怎么组成, 应该由哪些单位来贡献;工资明年要比今年增长多少, 如何来实现;安全计措费用怎么来筹措, 应该用到哪些方面, 应该用到哪几个资产项目上去, 等等。

2. 在集团的层面, 在企业的层面, 总会计师要预留多少预算指标, 这是需要你干的事情。因为你不能把所有的指标都分下去, 最后把自己弄成了一个“光杆司令”, 没有一个能调用的“兵”, 没有一个可以调用的指标不行, 一定要有所预留, 要考虑该预留多少、在哪个方面预留、如何预留。

3. 主要的财务管理干部的聘任权你要管。你要领着财务部、组织部的人员来考虑张三或者李四的问题, 一定要想着, 这个事情不能下放。如果你把财务系统的人事权放掉了, 总会计师的工作职责就至少丢掉了一半。因为财务处的处长、财务部的经理、下属企业的总会计师与财务部经理都是要直接对你的工作负责任的, 要是对他们的任命你没有绝对的话语权, 那你所负责的财务工作也就没有绝对的话语权。

我原来在胜利油田的时候, 在我之前, 总会计师永远是排在末位的。我们下属企业有五十多家, 只有一两家有总会计师, 后来, 经过一番努力, 各个企业都配备了总会计师。但是这个过程是一个很艰苦的过程, 需要总经理支持你, 需要局长给你支持。也正因为如此, 胜利油田的财务管理水平是走在中石化所属企业前列的。

4. 总会计师要有信息的知情权。这个信息的知情权包括以下几个方面:第一, 你直接管的财务部或者财务处的月例会或者周例会的内容你要知道, 也就是你要知道你直接管的财务处处长是在如何管财务处的。要求财务处、财务部每个月、每周要把例会的内容报给你, 你要知道这些人在干啥;第二, 要知道你下属企业的经营情况, 同时, 这些企业总会计师们的工作情况你要知道。要按照“我可不管, 但是我不能不知道”的原则来掌握。这就是信息的知情权。

我感觉到, 如果这四个方面把握好了, 总会计师就能干得好。

最后, 我将自己多年来工作体会的精华送给大家:“适应、顺应、领导、改造”八个字。“适应”就是适应环境, 与社会形势适应。社会从计划经济发展到市场经济了, 管理也由粗到细了, 我们总会计师、财务人员一定要适应这种环境, 在适应的过程中抓紧时间把我们该做的工作做好。第二个一定要“顺应”, 顺应企业的潮流, 顺应企业内部管理的潮流, 总会计师要把握好工资总额的问题、销售收入的问题、安全技措费的问题。这“领导”是什么意思呢?就是领导强大的队伍, 干什么事情得有人干, 得有高质量高素质的人组成的队伍, 否则, 总会计师单枪匹马, 纵有天大的本事也做不成事情, 所以一定要领导强大的队伍。再一个就是“改造”, 就是一定要改造具体工作, 改造我们的学习, 改造我们的工作, 改造我们的系统, 改造我们的手段, 最后使我们的财会工作越做越好, 我们的企业管理越来越好。

篇4：林肯第二次就职演讲(中文)

4月28日，青岛广东商会举行了第二次会员代表大会暨成立三周年庆祝活动，选举产生了新一届商会理事，青岛(香港)梁智明设计有限公司董事长梁智明成为新一届会长。市委常委、市委统战部长臧爱民，市政府市长助理武铁军等领导出席了大会，并表示祝贺。同时，美国广东商会、香港中华总商会、香港广东同乡会、加拿大广东同乡会、印尼广东会馆、北京等地市27个社团组织发来贺电贺信。

青岛广东商会第二届理事会是2006年经会员代表大会选举产生。三年来，商会已成为粤商在齐鲁大地自己的家园，成为畅谈乡情友情的场所，交流共谋发展的平台，招商引资的桥梁。就职典礼上，新任会长梁智明的典礼寄语《春天的心情》，让人振奋，倍感激昂。作为商会的领导核心，他让我们分明的感到带领商会前进的决心，分明感到广东商会独占潮头，引领风骚，成就辉煌的美丽前景!

这是一个奋发向上的团队，一个团结互助的团队。青岛广东商会成立三年来，致力于促进青岛广东经济合作和企业发展，充分发挥沟通、服务、桥梁、纽带职能，务实、高效开展工作，帮助广东企业在青岛投资搭台唱戏，有力地促进了两地的经贸合作。自成立以来，商会建立健全了完善的内部管理制度、定期组织会员企业开展互动交流、扶贫帮困活动，积极沟通和服务企业，想办法帮助会员企业解决各种困难和问题，增强了商会的凝聚力，扩大了商会影响，促进了会员队伍的壮大。

这是一个有着社会责任心的团队。广东商会的前身为广东会馆，一百多年的历史上，一直为青岛的经济事业和社会事业做着自己的贡献。商会成立三年以来，许多会员单位在企业不断发展的同时，积极参与社会公益事业，捐助帮助贫困人群，帮助地震灾区重建。据不完全统计，三年来商会会员企业在青岛投资、增资约35亿元，提供就业近万人，上交税金8亿元：会员企业和会员个人在扶贫、济困、助学、阳光工程以及赈灾等活动中，共捐款120多万元。商会还利用与香港中华总商会、美国广东社团总商会、广东省商业联系总会等30多个国内外社团的平台，积极宣传青岛，扩大了青岛的知名度。一连串数字呈现的是广东商会作为一个社会团队的典范和强大力量。

篇5：奥巴马第二次就职演讲(英文版)

MR.OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr.Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.We affirm the promise of our democracy.We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing;that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.For more than two hundred years, we have.Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce;schools and colleges to train our workers。

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone.Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.But we have always understood that when times change, so must we;that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.A decade of war is now ending.An economic recovery has begun.America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;diversity and openness;an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work;when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.That is what this moment requires.That is what will give real meaning to our creed.We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm.The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative;they strengthen us.They do not make us a nation of takers;they free us to take the risks that make this country great.We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.But America cannot resist this transition;we must lead it.We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways;our croplands and snowcapped peaks.That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe;and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.We will support democracy from Asia to Africa;from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity;human dignity and justice.We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still;just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall;just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone;to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity;until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American.Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life;it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.

篇6：林肯总统的就职演讲

First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1861

Fellow-Citizens of the United States:

In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the President before he enters on the execution of this office.“

I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered.There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension.Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection.It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you.I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that--

I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations and had never recanted them;and more than this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read:

Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend;and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.I now reiterate these sentiments, and in doing so I only press upon the public attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is susceptible that the property, peace, and security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming Administration.I add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given will be cheerfully given to all the States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause--as cheerfully to one section as to another.There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor.The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions:

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves;and the intention of the lawgiver is the law.All members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution--to this provision as much as to any other.To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this clause ”shall be delivered up“ their oaths are unanimous.Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not with nearly equal unanimity frame and pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath?

There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or by State authority, but surely that difference is not a very material one.If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is done.And should anyone in any case be content that his oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept?

Again: In any law upon this subject ought not all the safeguards of liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free man be not in any case surrendered as a slave? And might it not be well at the same time to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that ”the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States“?

I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules;and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much safer for all, both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional.It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President under our National Constitution.During that period fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the Government.They have conducted it through many perils, and generally with great success.Yet, with all this scope of precedent, I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of four years under great and peculiar difficulty.A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted.I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual.Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments.It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination.Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself.Again: If the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as acontract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it--break it, so to speak--but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it?

Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history of the Union itself.The Union is much older than the Constitution.It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774.It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776.It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778.And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was ”to form a more perfect Union.“

But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union;that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances.I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States.Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, and Ishall perform it so far as practicable unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite means or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary.I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend and maintain itself.In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority.The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government and to collect the duties and imposts;but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere.Where hostility to the United States in any interior locality shall be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident citizens from holding the Federal offices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious strangers among the people for that object.While the strict legal right may exist in the Government to enforce the exercise of these offices, the attempt to do so would be so irritating and so nearly impracticable withal that I deem it better to forego for the time the uses of such offices.The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts of the Union.So far as possible the people everywhere shall have that sense of perfect security which is most favorable to calm thought and reflection.The course here indicated will be followed unless current events and experience shall show a modification or change to be proper, and in every case and exigency my best discretion will be exercised, according to circumstances actually existing and with a view and a hope of a peaceful solution of the national troubles and the restoration of fraternal sympathies and affections.That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy the Union at all events and are glad of any pretext to do it I will neither affirm nor deny;but if there be such, I need address no word to them.To those, however, who really love the Union may I not speak?

Before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our national fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes, would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it? Will you hazard so desperate a step while there is any possibility that any portion of the ills you fly from have no real existence? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones you fly from, will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake?

All profess to be content in the Union if all constitutional rights can be maintained.Is it true, then, that any right plainly written in the Constitution has been denied? I think not.Happily, the human mind is so constituted that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this.Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a plainly written provision of the Constitution has ever been denied.If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might in a moral point of view justify revolution;certainly would if such right were a vital one.But such is not our case.All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by affirmations and negations, guaranties and prohibitions, in the Constitution that controversies never arise concerning them.But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may occur in practical administration.No foresight can anticipate nor any document of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions.Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by national or by State authority? The Constitution does not expressly say.May Congress prohibit slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not expressly say.Must Congress protect slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not expressly say.From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities.If the minority will not acquiesce, the majority must, or the Government must cease.There is no other alternative, for continuing the Government is acquiescence on one side or the other.If a minority in such case will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which in turn will divide and ruin them, for a minority of their own will secede from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority.For instance, why may not any portion of a new confederacy a year or two hence arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present Union now claim to secede from it? All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being educated to the exact temper of doing this.Is there such perfect identity of interests among the States to compose a new union as to produce harmony only and prevent renewed secession?

Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy.A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people.Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism.Unanimity is impossible.The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible;so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left.I do not forget the position assumed by some that constitutional questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that such decisions must be binding in any case upon the parties to a suit as to the object of that suit, while they are also entitled to very high respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments of the Government.And while it is obviously possible that such decision may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect following it, being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a different practice.At the same time, the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.Nor is there in this view any assault upon the court or the judges.It is a duty from which they may not shrink to decide cases properly brought before them, and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their decisions to political purposes.One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended.This is the only substantial dispute.The fugitive-slave clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself.The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each.This, I think, can not be perfectly cured, and it would be worse in both cases after the separation of the sections than before.The foreign slave trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived without restriction in one section, while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other.Physically speaking, we can not separate.We can not remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them.A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our country can not do this.They can not but remain face to face, and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them.Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you can not fight always;and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you.This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.I can not be ignorant of the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous of having the National Constitution amended.While I make no recommendation of amendments, I fully recognize the rightful authority of the people over the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the instrument itself;and I should, under existing circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being afforded the people to act upon it.I will venture to add that to me the convention mode seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting them to take or reject propositions originated by others, not especially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be precisely such as they would wish to either accept or refuse.I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitution--which amendment, however, I have not seen--has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to service.To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable.The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have referred none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the States.The people themselves can do this if also they choose, but the Executive as such has nothing to do with it.His duty is to administer the present Government as it came to his hands and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor.Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences, is either party without faith of being in the right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American people.By the frame of the Government under which we live this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief, and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their own hands at very short intervals.While the people retain their virtue and vigilance no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years.My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole subject.Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.If there be an object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time;but no good object can be frustrated by it.Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it;while the new Administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either.If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for precipitate action.Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty.In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.The Government will not assail you.You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to ”preserve, protect, and defend it."

I am loath to close.We are not enemies, but friends.We must not be enemies.Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.【中文译文】：

永久联邦与总统权力

亚伯拉罕-林肯

第一次就职演讲

星期一,1861年3月4日

我今天正式宣誓时，并没有保留意见，也无意以任何苛刻的标准来解释宪法和法律，尽管我不想具体指明国会通过的哪些法案是适合施行的•但我确实要建议，所有的人，不论处于官方还是私人的地位，都得遵守那些未被废止的法令，这比泰然自若地认为其中某个法案是违背宪法的而去触犯它，要稳当得多。

自从第一任总统根据我国宪法就职以来已经72年了。在此期间，有15位十分杰出的公民相继主持了政府的行政部门。他们在许多艰难险阻中履行职责，大致说来都很成功。然而，虽有这样的先例，我现在开始担任这个按宪法规定任期只有短暂4年的同一职务时，却处在巨大而特殊的困难之下。联邦的分裂，在此以前只是一种威胁，现在却已成为可怕的行动。

从一般法律和宪法角度来考虑，我认为由各州组成的联邦是永久性的。在合国政府的根本法中，永久性即使没有明确规定，也是不盲而喻的。我们有把握说，从来没有哪个正规政府在自己的组织法中列入一项要结束自己执政的条款。继续执行我国宪法明文规定的条款，联邦就将永远存在，毁灭联邦是办不到的，除非采取宪法本身未予规定的某种行动。再者：假如合众国不是名副其实的政府，而只是具有契约性质的各州的联盟，那么，作为一种契约，这个联盟能够毫无争议地由纬约各方中的少数加以取消吗？缔约的一方可以违约——也可以说毁约——但是，合法地废止契约难道不需要缔约各方全都同意吗？从这些一般原则在下推，我们认为，从法律上来说，联邦是永久性的这一主张已经为联邦本身的历史所证实。联邦的历史比宪法长久得多。事实上，它在1774年就根据《联合条款》组成了。1776年，《独立宣言》使它臻子成熟并持续下来。1778年《邦联条款》使联邦愈趋成熟，当时的13个州都信誓旦旦地明确保证联邦应该永存，最后，1787年制定宪法时所宣市的日标之一就是“建设更完善的联邦”。

但是，如果联邦竟能由一个州或几个州按照法律加以取消的话，那么联邦就不如制宪前完善了，因为它丧失了永久性这个重要因素。

根据这些观点，任何一个州都不能只凭自己的动仪就能合法地脱离联邦；凡为此目的而作出的决议和法令在法律上都是无效的，任何一个州或几个州反对合众国当局的暴力行动都应根据憎况视为叛乱或革命。因此，我认为，根据宪法和法律，联邦是不容分裂的；我将按宪法本身明确授予我的权限，就自己能力所及，使联邦法律得以在各州忠实执行。我认为这仅仅是我份内的职责，我将以可行的方法去完成，除非我的合法主人——美国人民，不给予我必要的手段，或以权威的方式作出相反的指示，我相信大家下会把这看作是一种威胁，而只看作是联邦已宣布过的目标：它将按照宪法保卫和维护它自身。

以自然条件而言，我们是不能分开的，我们无法把各个地区彼此挪开，也无法在彼此之间筑起一堵无法逾越的墙垣。夫妻可以离婚，不再见面，互不接触，但是我们国家的各个地区就不可能那样做。它们仍得面对面地相处，它们之间还得有或者友好或者敌对的交往。那么，分开之后的交往是否可能比分开之前更有好处，更令人满意呢？外人之间订立条约难道还比朋友之间制定法律容易吗？外人之间执行条约难道还比朋友之间执行法律忠实吗？假定你们进行战争•你们不可能永远打下去；在双方损失惨重，任何一方都得不到好处之后，你们就会停止战斗，那时你们还会遇到诸如交往条件之类的老问题。

总统的一切权力来自人民，但人民没有授权给他为各州的分离规定条件。如果人民有此意愿，那他们可以这样做，而作为总统来说，则不可能这样做。他的责任是管理交给他的这一届政府，井将它完整地移交给他的继任者。

为什么我们不能对人民所具有的最高的公正抱有坚韧的信念呢？世界上还有比这更好或一样好的希望吗？在我何日前的分歧中，难道双方都缺乏相信自己正确的信心吗？如果万国全能的主宰以其永恒的真理和正义支持你北方这一边，或者支持你南方这一边，那么，那种真理和那种正义必将通过美国人民这个伟大法庭的裁决而取得胜利。