In order to form a more perfect union

On this day in 1862, Abraham Lincoln gave a State of the Union Address to a divided congress where he summarized, "We can succeed only by concert. It is not "Can any of us imagine better?" but "Can we all do better?" Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, "Can we do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
Ultimately, this country found a way out of a bloody war and freed the slaves. We now find ourselves at war, and we are a country of citizens enslaved by debt. In the words of George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."