Ethos In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln provided one of the most memorable speeches in history that affected the way American citizens saw the war. The March 4th speech in 1865 gave more people hope for the country and allowed them to trust that God will help them through the Civil War. The people trusted Lincoln to help them through the situation because he had already served his first term as president, and the people knew he was trustworthy, so they re-elected him. Lincoln professionally used rhetorical appeals such as ethos pathos and logos to press his audience to agree, as well as tone to show his audience how importantly they should be taking the subject. Abraham’s Second Inaugural Address was an introduction to his plan for the United States for the next years he would be president, and much of it was a discussion about the Civil War and how they would bring it to an end.

When Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 the Union was divided. He accepted his presidential duties knowing that he was working with a nation that no longer remained united. Seven of the southern states had already seceded from the Union and were beginning to refer to themselves as the Confederates. What he had now were free states and slave states. When Lincoln gave his Inaugural Address he attempted to do so in a way that would not dissuade his chances of gaining support in the southern states, especially when it involved the institution of slavery. However, he also made it clear in his address that he believed a secure and united nation was of utmost importance and he rejected the ideas

By the time Lincoln delivered his 2nd Inaugural Address in 1865 he had come to the realization that perhaps God did have a stronger role in the Civil War. After the death of his son he had started to re-evaluate God’s role in the war and wanted to know what everybody was also asking which was What was God’s will in the crisis. Each side, the North and South, believed in the same God and read the same Bible, but yet were not on the same page when it came to slavery. Each believed that God was on their side and that slavery was right or that slavery was a sin. The emancipation was a religious moment because it was as if a “new heaven and a new Earth” was created, many saw it as a new beginning although it only freed slaves in the South and racism

In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln addresses a divided nation. Both the Union and the Confederacy are bitter to each other towards the end of the war. However, Lincoln calls both the north and the south to set aside their issues that divided them in order to heal their broken nation. Lincoln uses a slew of rhetorical methods in his speech such as tone, diction, and syntax to further assist him in achieving his purpose of uniting the nation.

Lincoln lead the nations out of the most terrible crisis. The Civil War was more bitter and protracted than anyone had predicted. The war costed more than 600,000 lives, and doubled the amount of widows, and orphans. In Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which was delivered just over a month before his death, he spoke about the war, as he had just come to understand it. Lincoln spoke about the reconstruction of the war, he then made a promise that is still promised

On March 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address as president of the United States. The inaugural address came at the very end of the American Civil War, and just a month before the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Prior to this address, the United States had been split into two different independent states, the Union and the Confederacy. Throughout Abraham Lincoln’s first term and the very beginning of his second, Lincoln had to deal with the secession of the eleven states that made up the Confederacy. Also during the war, Lincoln competed in the 1864 presidential election in which his leadership was challenged by George B. McClellan. This inaugural address was important at the time, and remains a relic of Abraham Lincoln’s powerful speaking ability.

In 1864, the country was divided due to the Civil War. Both sides had experienced great losses, and many were starting to lose hope. To this day, the Civil War remains the bloodiest war in U.S. history. 1864 was also the same year Abraham Lincoln was reelected for President of the United States. When Lincoln got up to make his second inaugural address, he claimed that because he had done this before, he wasn’t going to use all of the formalities that are often used in inauguration speeches. Instead, he focused mostly on trying to give the people-specifically, the north-hope during this terrible time. In Lincoln’s address, he attempts to give people hope and reunite the country via his use of tone, ethos, logos, and pathos.

In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, He talks about the Civil War America was facing at the time. In his speech, his exaggerative diction, allusions to the Bible, and appeals to emotion helped strengthen and portray his point of view.

Weeks of wet weather had occurred before Saturday March 4th, 1865, making Pennsylvania Avenue a thick, muddy place; however, the pounding rain did not stop the spectators from listening to Lincoln give his Second Inaugural Address, given one month before the end of the Civil War. The Civil War was the result of a long standing controversy over slavery. The North and the South did not agree with each other. Slavery in the North had died out to the point where almost all blacks were free. The South on the other hand very few blacks were free. Causing a long lastly disagreement between both sides. When Lincoln gave his speech spectators were expecting a speech on slavery when Lincoln gave a dark gloomy speech that no one saw coming. The Civil War had lasted through his passed presidency and ended five days before his death. United States President Abraham Lincoln surprised his massive audience with a very short speech in which he talked about the effects of the Civil War, and expressed his feelings toward the future of the United States. Lincoln wanted to restore faith in the nation, talking about how the war would end soon, and that the nation was going to reunite. In this short speech Lincoln asserts that the audience knows and is knowledgeable about the war, which shows that the Americans know the war was just by using juxtaposition. Lincoln addresses his opinion towards the war, and makes it clear by utilizing biblical allusion, creating a basis of mutual agreement between the North and the South.

On Saturday March 4th, 1865 president Abraham Lincoln, one month before the end of the Civil War, contemplates the effects of the Civil War and his vision for the future of the nation, through a series of rhetorical analysis rooting in logic. This being President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech, the audience was expecting a lengthy speech on slavery, politics, and state rights. In return, they got a speech rooted in logic. War was “dreaded by all” and both parties “deprecated war.” The south wanted to “make war” instead of letting the “nation survive,” as the North wanted to “accept war” rather than “perish” it.

A war in which bloodshed took place between brothers, friends, and neighbors had luckily come to an end in 1865. Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address occurred on May 4, 1865. In his speech, he talks about how the effects of the war will eventually fade away along with the issue of slavery. Lincoln’s speech uses rhetorical devices such as tone, diction, and imagery to create and emphasize his purpose to unite the divided country. The use of these rhetorical devices allows Lincoln to achieve the purpose of his speech, which is to reunite the nation - one nation under God.

“The pattern of the prodigal is: rebellion, ruin, repentance, reconciliation, restoration” (Edwin Louis Cole). Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” is a speech that highlights every point in Cole’s quote. He, Lincoln, talks about how the south manages to rebel, how their economy will be left in ruin, how they will repent and be forgiven by both God and the North, how the North and the South will reconcile, and finally he talks of how the nation will move on to restoration. Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” emphasizes the reconciliation of a torn apart nation by appealing to pathos, logos, and ethos and by using diction to appeal to the listener’s emotion.

President Abraham Lincoln orated a powerful persuasive speech in his Second Inaugural Address, just one month before the end of the Civil War. This speech shed light to his contemplation of the effects of the Civil War and provided his vision for the future of the nation. Lincoln’s address was written through a logical theme that focused on the unity of the country. He used religion, specific diction, and flat-out logical thinking to convey his message. The speech was given as the Civil War was ending, and President Lincoln wanted to provide a bit of light in a very dark time. He could have given the lengthy speech that the audience expected; but instead, he gave a short message of unity that fueled the United States for years to come.

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.

As I read the lines carefully of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, I wonder how a man who is elected for his second term as president with over 54% of the popular vote, and in turn, compose such an eloquent address can be assassinated little more than a month later. In reading other commentaries concerning this address it seems to me that everyone concurs that this address is one of the finest speeches ever written by a president. Lincoln wrote other memorable speeches such as his first inaugural address, and the Gettysburg Address, which are of equally high caliber, however, his second inaugural address is considered a favorite by most critics. Even the surrounding circumstances at the time