
Every Drop of Blood
Hatred and Healing at Lincoln's Second Inauguration
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Adam Barr
-
By:
-
Edward Achorn
A brilliantly conceived and vividly drawn story - Washington, D.C. on the eve of Abraham Lincoln’s historic second inaugural address as the lens through which to understand all the complexities of the Civil War
By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. After a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors - every drop of blood spilled - might well have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery.
Edward Achorn reveals the nation’s capital on that momentous day - with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians - as a microcosm of all the opposing forces that had driven the country apart. A host of characters, unknown and famous, had converged on Washington - from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor in a Washington hospital and the embarrassingly drunk new vice president, Andrew Johnson, to poet-journalist Walt Whitman; from soldiers’ advocate Clara Barton and African-American leader and Lincoln critic-turned-admirer Frederick Douglass (who called the speech “a sacred effort”) to conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth - all swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln.
In indelible scenes, Achorn vividly captures the frenzy in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history and the tension-filled hope and despair afflicting the country as a whole, soon to be heightened by Lincoln's assassination. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis, and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 by Edward Achorn. Recorded by arrangement with Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2020 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...

The book is interesting and informative.
Powerful, informative and thought provoking
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fascinating tale
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Outstanding history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
DC politics during Lincoln Presidency
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A True continuous story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Adam Barr's narration was very good -- perfect pace, tone, and enunciation.
An extraordinary work of history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Emotional description of Lincoln and Civil War
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lincoln’s Times in Three Dimension
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You are caught up in the swirl of events leading to the 2nd Inauguration: the many different people, the weather and terrain, the generals, political associates and opponents, all the chance meetings and who is related or acquainted with whom. The structure was not a linear one, but circular, always spiraling back to Lincoln and his minute-by-minute date with destiny (inauguration and assassination). Explanations (evidence) of how different people thought of this terrible war. States Rights or Abolition of slavery? Why is he moving so slowly? Etc, etc, etc. So much information not generally known, but it is riveting. So much detail about Lincoln himself: his childhood (so much worse than what I was taught in school), how his looks changed from all the stress, his family relationships.
The narrator gave an excellent performance, distinguishing voices, and was able to distinguish between narrative and actual quotes.
It was astounding from the beginning how much of what he did with his powers is mirrored in 2025. The difference being, he was trying to save the union and democracy, and today our democracy is being torn down by unqualified and unelected people.
A thriller not unlike our present time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thank you it was very enjoyable
Tremendous
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.