Abraham Lincoln And The Civil War

not have much real effect at the time, it pointed a way to a brighter

Lincoln chooses to make certain religious allusions in his speech, in an attempt to unify the divided country around a common central concept: religion. Lincoln makes such references to religion to confirm others beliefs, and assure them that God stands with them, even in such a difficult time. To show sympathy towards African Americans, and to unify them with the others in the country, Lincoln states, “Both read the same bible, and both pray to the same God.”

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made his speech, “Second Inaugural Address” which was for morality. In order to boost the morality and hope into the Union’s mind, Lincoln spoke about truth about why the war is happening. He begins with saying, “With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured” (Lincoln 302).

The end of the battles of the Civil War introduced a period which was set to restore and reconstruct the United States of America. President Abraham Lincoln had plans to reconcile the nation in a peaceful manner. Lincoln’s goal was to reestablish the nation in a way that would not reproach either the north or south. In his second inaugural speech following the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s statement “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other” (Abraham Lincoln, Blackboard, p. 269) points out the shared

With the eruption of the Civil War came one of the biggest tribulations and trials that this country has ever faced, but as we understand the motives of one of the greatest Presidents in American History we can see that the Civil War was inevitable. From his original intentions of merely preserving the Union and holding the country together, to permanently abolishing slavery we can observe why prevailing in the struggle of the Civil War is one of Lincoln’s defining legacies. Thus, as the civil war draws to a close, an old tumultuous era has ended, and a new more prosperous era has

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. At the same time, when more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

A pathway of reconciliation and healing is what President Lincoln wishes for the country. Lincoln also personifies the nation as having “wounds” which the American people must now bind up in order to heal and save the nation from death. The phrase, “bind up” invokes the emotion of healing not only the personal wounds suffered by the American people because of the war, but also the wounds of the nation as a whole. After the nations wounds have been bound, then “lasting peace” will follow, as with the unity of the nation. President Lincoln also reminds the people of their similarities and focuses on their same religious belief and God by stating, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. In doing this Lincoln emphasizes the similarities of both the north and south in order to reunite them after the Civil War crisis.

A biography book is usually easy to write and publish. However, according to the preface in “Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America”, author William E. Gienapp describes Lincoln as being a man who “carefully guarded his feelings and kept his personal affair’s out of the public gaze” (x). Because of his rough childhood, being a private person and not sharing his thoughts is considered to be normal. On top of moving several times as a child and the death of his mother, Nancy Hanks would explain why he didn’t talk much about his upbringing. More so, instead of getting a good education, Lincoln was taught how to do basic farm work. It wasn’t till his father married Sarah Bush Johnston, who actually encouraged Lincoln’s interest in learning. Sarah

God’s divine Providence was at the core of their entire fight, playing a role throughout the entire Civil War. Even Abraham Lincoln himself recognized this crucial motivating aspect of the war when he wrote that it was ultimately between those who “read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other” (Lantzer 33). They also had the background of a divine mission to urge them to continue their battles. A Presbyterian minister described the Civil War “as the child of Providence” (qtd. in Wesley 133). This stemmed from the belief that the Civil War was a holy war, one that was more of a fight against the evil Northerners who were fighting for the loss of religion within the country. For the South, the Civil War was waged for God “as a divine judgement on their enemies” (Rable 54). One New Orleans Presbyterian Reverend Benjamin Palmer described the Civil War as “to save us from total demoralization, God has let loose upon us this political storm, in order to bring up from the depth of the nation’s heart its dormant virtue” (qtd. in Wesley 130). As a result of God’s heavy influence in the Civil War, it was seen as a part of their Christian religion to support it. They supported their military through prayer and trusted that God would take care of them, praying to God for help “especially for the welfare of our soldiers, both

In Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address”, he promotes his credibility as a way to cajole the audience. Beginning his address, he states “Fellow-Countrymen” (ln 1) invoking the feeling that he is also of their status; however, he contradicts himself by availing, “I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all” (ln 13), he exerts himself as a higher being by saying, “I trust” because if he, the President of the United States of America, believes that the country is making progress because of this war, then the audience will then too assume that the country is making progress with this war. In the second paragraph, he once again includes himself in the audience by addressing his conjectures on the war. “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it” (ln 18-19). By utilizing “all”, Lincoln enhances his point of view in which he makes the audience believe he has the same power as the general population and can do nothing more than what is currently being done. In the third paragraph, he applies biblical relations to improve his credibility in the eyes of the audience, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invoked His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any man should dare ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged.” (ln 42-48), he adds on by saying, “‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’” (ln 68-69). This appeals to both sides of the audience. The South relies heavily on their beliefs, faith, and religion and the North

Lincoln employed biblical allusions and imagery throughout his speeches and writings to articulate political religion and give the political principles a new appearance for the people to understand, admire, and reassert. President Lincoln’s use of biblical imagery helped revoke the platform the supporters of the institution of slavery argued upon, while appealing to the nation through romantic religious language. The biblical imagery encased in Lincoln’s rhetoric allowed for a better understanding of the republican principles found within the nation’s sacred documents that constituted for a national political religion.

Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would

The Civil War was a period of racial injustice and a time of great loss for the people of America. During Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he creates a moral framework for peace and reconciliation with the use of many rhetorical strategies. With a sincere but reflective tone, Abraham Lincoln highlights the reality of the troubled nation and the solution to all of the problems, which is unity. Lincoln repeats strong phrases to enhance the theme, references to a holy figure, and creates simple, yet structured ideas to achieve his purpose of reuniting the broken nation.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

The Civil War was the worst crisis in American history, pitting two sides of a split nation against one another in bloody battles that persisted for four exhausting years. It was a war that neither side claimed to want, and that neither side claimed to start. Although popular belief places the blame with the South because they fired the first shot, there is considerable evidence that Lincoln, realizing war was inevitable, coerced the South into firing that first fateful shot.