The Lincoln Memorial Interior

The interior of the Lincoln Memorial. The north chamber can be seen through the columns.

Lincoln's second Inaugural Address (4 March 1865) is depicted in the north chamber of the memorial. This speech, delivered just one month before the conclusion of the Civil War, creates the policy for reuniting the divided states. The re-elected president firmly believed that the northern states should welcome their southern sisters and brothers back into the Union with open arms. Lincoln's willingness to show compassion, "…with malice towards none; charity for all," meant to quell any lingering hostility.

Ernest Bairstow completed the engraving. The adjacent depictions of eagles and bundles of rods (fasces), carved by Evelyn Beatrice Longman, symbolize the union of the states.