On the recordMarch 4, 1861
His duty is to administer the present government, as it came to his hands, and to transmit it, unimpaired by him, to his successor.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
From his first inaugural address, Lincoln defined the President's core responsibility as preserving the existing government and passing it on intact.
Share
More from Abraham Lincoln
Mar 26, 1865
Ordered, first. That at the hour of noon on the 14th day of April, 1865, Brevet Major-General Anderson will raise and plant upon the ruins of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, the same United States flag which floated over the battlements…
Mar 26, 1865
Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from Fort Sumter and by a national salute from every fort and rebel battery that fired upon Fort Sumter.
Mar 7, 1865
It is due to this officer to state that he was passed over in consequence of physical disability, this disability having occurred in the discharge of his duties; and prior to his misfortune he bore the reputation of an efficient and…
Mar 16, 1865
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim and direct that all persons detected in that nefarious traffic shall be arrested and tried by court-martial at the nearest…
Other voices in this conversation
