It's March 4th, 1861, outside the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Senator Stephen Douglas takes his seat on a stage.

As an invited guest to today's presidential inauguration,

Senator Douglas has the luxury of a chair from which to watch the festivities.

In contrast, the ordinary American citizens in a crowd must stand, but that hasn't stopped

thousands flocking to the Capitol to watch a historic moment,

the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican President of the United States.

The country that President-elect Lincoln will swear to serve has recently been plunged into an existential crisis.

Since Lincoln won the election four months ago, seven states have succeeded from the Union.

Today, Senator Douglas hopes that Lincoln can find the right words to hold the rest of the fragile nation together.

Lincoln rises from his seat and approaches the lectern, ready to deliver his inaugural address. The

The crowd's cheers dissipate into a hush as spectators push forward, eager to

hear the new president speak, but Lincoln isn't ready yet. He places his notes on the

lectern. He rifles through his pockets to find his reading glasses. And then

Lincoln takes off his tall hat and awkwardly holds it in his hands, confused on where to put it.

Senator Douglas realizes there's no room for the hat on the small lectern, and Lincoln's opponents

in the crowd take advantage of the pause to disrupt the proceedings with booze and jeers.

Douglas decides to act before the protest gets out of hand.

He jumps to his feet and approaches Lincoln, kindly taking the hat from the

president-elect's hands. Lincoln responds with a warm smile as Douglas returns to

his seat balancing the hat on his lap. Douglas knows it makes him look less like a famous senator and more like Lincoln's

servant, but he doesn't care. All Douglas does care about, all he's ever cared about, is

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