Abraham Lincoln died on this day, April 15, in 1865. His assassination by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth was less than a month after beginning his second term. Lincoln’s second inaugural address set a different tone than his first.

At just over 700 words, it included three direct quotes from the Bible—Matthew 7:1, Matthew 18:7, and Psalm 19:9—and focused on the horrors committed by both the Union and Confederacy and the emerging crisis of authority as both sides asked God for favor. Lincoln said, “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other ... the prayers of both could not be answered ... the Almighty has his own purposes.”

Sign up to receive The Book Minute in your inbox every Monday at museumofthebible.org/thebook!

Copyright © 2018 Museum of the Bible. All rights reserved.