Address of President Roosevelt at the Lincoln dinner of the Republican club of the city of New York, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, February 13, 1905

In this historic address, a young Theodore Roosevelt steps onto the Waldorf‑Astoria stage to remind a New York Republican audience of Abraham Lincoln’s timeless call for “malice toward none” and universal charity. He weaves Lincoln’s words from the second inaugural into a vivid portrait of the nation still healing from civil war, emphasizing the need for patience, steadfastness, and a common effort to bind the country’s wounds.

Roosevelt’s eloquence turns the past into a guide for today, urging Northerners and Southerners alike to recognize each other’s bravery and to extend goodwill across color lines. Listeners will hear the rhythm of early‑20th‑century political rhetoric, complete with applause cues, as the future president argues that true progress springs from humility, shared purpose, and the relentless pursuit of a just peace.