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Abraham Lincoln Rhetorical Analysis

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President Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States, was the president during the time of Civil War. This meant that he was tasked with the responsibility of getting America through the war in one piece, or as close to it as possible. During the war, he had two main goals- one, to preserve the Union and, two, to abolish slavery. These goals did not stay the same during the war, however they did remain close. President Abraham Lincoln’s goals in the civil war were changed because of Lincoln’s use of humor, literary ability, and desire to keep conflict to a minimum.
Lincoln’s use of humor in politics allowed him to be persuasive and make points, in turn providing him with a better chance to preserve the Union during the war. …show more content…

Lincoln’s love of Shakespeare grew out of his love of fine writing [...] he worked hard to improve his own vocabulary, grammar, and lucidity of expression.5 These elements factored into Lincoln’s intellectual status over time. It has even been said that Lincoln had the most literary merit out of all past presidents of that time. This allowed him to attract many more followers because of his scholarly reputation. Lincoln’s education did not always help him, though. For instance, it was noted that his decisions to supply Fort Sumter and his later call for troops led to the secession of four more southern states.6 In turn, this later affected Lincoln’s alternate goal of preserving the Union as well, with four more states leaving and further splitting up the United States. Nevertheless, Lincoln was undeniably an extremely strong reader and writer. Thinking in the long term, Lincoln’s academic merit aided him in gaining many followers and much support, allowing him to better achieve his goals during the Civil War.
Although Lincoln mostly favored the side of the Union, slavery was not totally abolished, due to his desire to cause the least amount of conflict possible. Many have said that the Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves. However, that

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