President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural address, considered by many historians to be one of the best inaugural speeches in U.S. history, came five weeks before the end of the U.S. Civil War and six weeks before Mr. Lincoln was assassinated.

Portions of this address are etched in stone in the Lincoln Memorial.

The recording used on this podcast, by Lincoln impersonator Walter Trumbull, attempts to re-create what the speech likely would have sounded like, as Mr. Lincoln spoke to a large outdoor crowd without amplification.

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