Last Best Hope of Earth, as a blog focused on U.S. history and politics, is intended to capture the spirit of the words of President Abraham Lincoln in his December 1, 1862 address to Congress amidst the Civil War:
“We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We—even we here—hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.” Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, Dec. 1, 1862 in Roy P. Basler (ed.), Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln.
President Lincoln’s words reflect the optimism for America’s future, the uniqueness of America’s role in the world, and the direness of the Civil War. Labeling America as the last best hope of earth implies that other countries provide hope for the future but none surpasses America in embodying the principles of self-government, liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness. This blog intends to evoke the spirit of President Lincoln’s words by uncovering the past and juxtaposing it with contemporary events to reveal the identifiable characteristics that make America a beacon of hope in the world.
Last Best Hope of Earth further aspires to both inform and inspire the reader by showing that despite the doomsayers (modern and historical), the United States is not only adhering to its founding principles but is also on an upward trajectory, as it has been since its inception.
But at the moment Lincoln spoke, and immediately for an extended period immediately preceding the statement, The United States had entered a downward trajectory, which Lincoln’s speech was attempting (and did) correct. They were not then adhering to the founding principles (namely, that all men are created equal). We are clearly not now adhering to our founding principles, and once again a return to those principles is indeed the last great hope of Earth, or under the sun.