1. Who is the author of this source? When was it written and delivered? Who is the intended audience?
2. How does this source differ from the previous sources on this topic?
3. Why does Burrows begin his discourse by condemning people who try to justify an evil act (pages 3, 4)? How does this opening help frame the rest of the speech?
4. Why does Burrows say that he and other southerners should not put themselves out there as “special eulogists” of President Lincoln (page 4)?
5. How does the crime of “condemning the innocent” relate to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and its aftermath, according to Burrows (pages 5-7)?
6. How does Burrows refute the accusation that the entire South, and the institution of slavery, are responsible for Lincoln’s assassination (pages 7, 8)?
7. What titles or labels does Burrows use to describe Lincoln?
Reading questions for the sermon excerpt:
1. What are the “sentiments of the Southern people,” regarding Lincoln’s assassination (page 10)? Why might Burrows feel the need to speak for all southern people at this time?
2. How does the tone of Burrows’s sermon differ from that of his discourse more than a month later? What might explain this difference?
3. Why is Lincoln’s assassination particularly damaging to the South, according to Burrows (page 11)?