Max Lilienthal, President Lincoln's Obsequies in the Broadway Synagogue, Cincinnati, The Israelite 11, no. 45 (5 May 1865): 356-357.

Like Isaac Mayer Wise, Max Lilienthal was a well-known Cincinnati Reform rabbi who delivered a moving eulogy of Lincoln on the national day of mourning, 19 April 1865.

Lilienthal (1815-1882) was born and educated in Munich, Germany and emigrated to the United States in 1844 after working in Russia for several years. He was a rabbi and educator in New York City before moving to Cincinnati in 1855 where he became the associate editor of The Israelite and rabbi of the Congregation Bene Israel, as well as a faculty member of Hebrew-Union College. During the Civil War, Lilienthal staunchly and vocally supported the Union cause, despite his initial belief in the right of the Southern states to determine the slavery question. At the end of the war, he denounced his inability to publically condemn slavery until after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued.

In his eulogy, Lilienthal described Lincoln as the first laborer-President, praising Lincoln's rise from low origins and the personal story as an example for his congregation. He also commended Lincoln as the truest representative of the Union, explaining that Lincoln put Union over party, working with Republicans and Democrats and offering amnesty to the South. Lilienthal, a professor of history, pointed out that this, the first presidential assassination in the United States, did not result in riot and anarchy, but rather a smooth transition to a new administrator, proving the superiority of a democratic government. While Lilienthal clearly blamed John Wilkes Booth and the South for Lincoln's demise, he was careful to urge justice, and no vengeance throughout his eulogy. He believed that the best way to honor Lincoln's life and death was to continue to work for the restoration of the Union. Brethren then we will have honored the memory of the departed, then we will have celebrated this hour in a manner becoming the principles he has proclaimed.

A copy of the entire document is available in PDF format through the "Download Image" link above.