Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861. (Benjamin Brown French album, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Two weeks after Jefferson Davis was proclaimed president of the Confederacy, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the nation at his inauguration.

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection,” Lincoln famously implored. “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.”

It makes for a rather marked contrast to our own embattled and embittered president-elect:

For those who wish dwell more in the past than the present, the Library of Congress has an exhibit you may wish to lose yourself in.

In addition to the text of Lincoln’s first inaugural address, it will feature handwritten speeches from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, along with souvenirs from incoming presidents’ parades and parties (the National Building Museum also has a display on inaugural balls).

Many of the documents and press clippings are also available on the Library’s presidential inaugurations website.

The bible that Lincoln used in his swearing-in will also be on view. Say a prayer.

“Presidential Inauguration Treasures” will be on view from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., from Jan. 23-Feb. 4, 2017 on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building (10 First St. SE)

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