What Biden’s inaugural address may owe to ‘David Copperfield’

Lawyers' Forum

By Timothy P. O’Neill

Timothy P. O'Neill is Professor Emeritus at UIC-John Marshall Law School.

Posted February 8, 2021 11:39 AM

President Joe Biden’s inaugural address included this description of the American spirit: “Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our ‘better angels’ have always prevailed.” The written text placed “better angels” in quotation marks for a good reason. That phrase came directly from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address delivered 160 years ago. In his unsuccessful attempt to stave off the Civil War, Lincoln closed by saying: “The mystic chords of memory …

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