The unfinished work
The unfinished work being referred to in this address by Abraham Lincoln was directly related to the South, where three major issues were interpreted by various politicians, which are social, political, and economical. This was the time efforts were being shown to fight the slave trade issue in the United States. Various politicians, including Lincoln, wanted to address the major issues affecting most of the blacks in the United States, with an effort to bring equality in the United States. The reconstruction in the address addressed voting rights and what the president required to form the state government. The issue of amendment in the South was started by Lincoln, and by the time he died, he had not made efforts to reach the decision. This made his successor, Johnson, to take over, where he introduced various conflicting ideas. He postulated that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution to be ratified in the South. He also wanted the blacks in the United States to get justice.
Foner, in his lecture, has referred to reconstruction as the second founding. In his lecture, he has addressed that civil war and reconstruction have shaped what America is today. The equality in every race has been seen in America in the contemporary days. Blacks and whites have equal access to education and other rights in the social environment without being intimate. Thus, according to the lecture, the reconstruction and changing some of the regulations made sure that every race and background are treated equally. It is also the second founding because it has brought in a new role in citizenship. The citizens of the United States have several rights while fostering the relationship between the citizens and the national government. The reconstruction, therefore, is the new face of the United States. It directly deals with the problems facing the people of America and showing concern about improving the general community.
In explaining reconstruction in the United States, Foner has used three major amendments to the Constitution. They include the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. These are the tangible effects that reconstruction brought in the United. The Constitution was an amendment from time to time to address the issues facing the citizens of the United States. The amendments brought in a new face which addressed the major questions that are that is entitled to citizenship? The other question that the amendments intended to answer was who has a right to vote? Defining and describing such questions brought in the need to reconstruct the Constitution so that they are accommodated. Citizens’ rights were highly upheld in the reconstruction and amendment of the Constitution. To expound more on the questions, defining who is entitled to citizenship in America was to recognize everyone as equal. It gave a chance to anyone, regardless of their race and background, to be a citizen, which fostered equality. At the same time, everyone who has attained the age of voting was entitled to vote for the leader, bringing in democracy and a citizen to have a voice in the government. Citizenship was the core subject in the amendments of the Constitution. Similarly, Foner addresses that every citizen in the United States is entitled to enjoying fundamental rights. No one can deter such rights as they are well outlined in the Constitution. This has enhanced democracy and equality to all citizens, at the same time, enlightening them about their rights. The amendments outlined that both the whites and blacks had equal access to rights and resourced within the social environment.
In conclusion, the reconstruction completed the unfinished work Lincoln referred to in the Gettysburg Address. In history, Abraham Lincoln has been one of the well-known leaders in the United States who advocated equality and democracy in the United States. By doing this, various changes were experienced during this reign as the president of the United States. He ruled at the time where most of the blacks were being tormented in the United States and working as slaves. Most of their rights, such as citizenship and even voting, were denied. In simple terms, most blacks in the United States had no voice in the government and were to be ruled. The reconstruction was to address such issues that citizens were facing and bring a new face in the United States, which is more characterized by equality. As a result, to enhance equality in the United States, various amendments were done to the Constitution to address the issues during the reconstruction period and civil war. The Constitution’s major amendments that resulted in the new face of America are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. Looking at these amendments, they were just addressing Lincoln’s unfinished work, where they defined new roles of the citizens and enlightened them about their rights in the country. Therefore, looking at the United States after the reconstruction, it can be postulated that it answered Lincoln’s unfinished work, of bringing equality and redefining citizenship in the United States.