With deep gratitude to my countrymen for this mark of their confidence; with a distrust of my own ability to perform the duty required under the most favorable circumstances, and now rendered doubly difficult by existing national perils; yet with a firm reliance on the strength of our free government, and the eventual loyalty of the people to the just principles upon which it is founded, and above all with an unshaken faith in the Supreme Ruler of nations, I accept this trust.
On the recordFebruary 8, 1865
Source
presidency.ucsb.eduEditor's note · Context
Message of Reply to a Committee of Congress Reporting the Result of the Electoral Vote Count
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