Annotation
[1] LS, IHi; ADf and ADfS, DLC-RTL. The present text follows the letter sent to Conkling, which was copied by a clerk from the final draft and corrected and signed by Lincoln. An insertion sent later by telegraph and significant deletions and emendations in the preliminary and final drafts are indicated in the succeeding footnotes.
[2] The second page of Lincoln's final draft begins with this paragraph, the first page having been revised from a non-extant first page of the preliminary draft. The second page of the preliminary draft, however, preserves at this point the last few lines of the introduction as Lincoln first wrote it, to wit:
`` . . . Grandfathers employed to establish it? and our own fathers have already employed once to maintain it? Are we degenerate?---Unworthy sons of noblest sires?
``But, say some of you, we know for what our sires fought; what fight we for now? So far as it is for me to answer I have told you many times. I will repeat in another form. You desire peace. . . .'' etc.
[3] The preliminary draft has the additional sentence: ``I desire it also.''
[4] This and the succeeding three sentences are not in the preliminary draft.
[5] The preliminary draft has, ``or with the people first liberated from it's domination, by its first having been vanquished by our enemies.''
[6] The final draft is emended to the present reading from ``are utter humbuggery and falsehood.''
deleted at this point in preliminary draft.
[8] ``Everything'' emended to ``all'' in preliminary draft.
[9] The next two sentences in the preliminary draft read: ``If it is not so valid, the courts will hold accordingly, and men of your views will not be hurt by it. If it is valid, it can no more be effectually retracted, than a judge can retract a judgment after its final rendering.''
[10] ``Work wonders'' changed to ``work favorably'' in preliminary draft and to ``operate favorably'' in the final draft.
[11] An additional sentence appearing in the preliminary draft at this point was omitted in the final draft and in the letter sent: ``Some generals in the field, not originally partial to to [sic] the proclamation, now think it has been of service to them.''
[12] The remainder of this paragraph was inserted by means of a telegram which Lincoln sent to Conkling on August 31 (infra). The text of the letter sent is marked by the parenthetical ``Here insert Telegram,'' probably inserted by Conkling.
[13] This sentence does not appear in the preliminary draft.
[14] The preliminary draft reads ``are creatures of motives.''
[15] The preliminary draft ends at this point.
[16] ``Well-borne'' changed to ``well-poised'' in the letter sent.