Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Seven score and nine years ago, Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth President of the United States of America, set off for Gettysburg in order to consecrate Gettysburg National Cemetery. In an uncharacteristically short speech-at least for the 1860s-Lincoln was able to reaffirm the values our Founding Fathers had laid down in the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution, and painted a vision of a unified United States where freedom and democracy would be the rule for all citizens. Lincoln utilized various rhetorical devices to make the Gettysburg Address accomplish two tasks in one. The first is to bring remembrance to the principals and morals for which the United States was built upon, second is to honor the brave soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg and consecrate the land upon which they stood and finally was to sway those attending into giving their “…last full measure of devotion-” to ensure a nation that would remain built upon the concepts of liberty and democracy and continues to gain support for the cause of the war.. Seeking only to honor the dead and inspire the living, Lincoln ended up delivering one of the most powerful speeches in American-if not world-history.

Today, the Battle of Gettysburg is considered one of the most important battles of the American Civil War. However, with 23,049 casualties on the Union side and 28,063 on the Confederate side, it can also be considered one of the bloodiest (Civil War Trust). Such heavy losses naturally rattled the entire nation and Americans on both sides began to question the war and what it stood for. As Americans gathered together at the consecration ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, the much acclaimed orator and politician Edward Everett delivered what was meant to be the Gettysburg Address. Yet, today, it is not Edward Everett’s Gettysburg Address that the world remembers, but Abraham Lincoln’s, who was invited to the ceremony almost as an afterthought. Lincoln’s 272 words helped remake America by giving hope to its citizens at a time when they were at their lowest.

The tone and stage are set with the background of the great battle field of Gettysburg’s. Our nation is involved in a great civil war between its brothers with two different views and divisions. President Lincoln has the daunting task as the President of the United States to bring healing to this torn country; to remind the country that it was only 87 years earlier that this young country started on its great experiment. The thesis statement answers the question and reminds the audience that all men are created equal and that the basis on which our country was founded on was liberty and equality.

In the third paragraph, President Lincoln stresses the important point that the words of his speech cannot actually bless or make holy the Battlefield of Gettysburg. Rather, he indicates the bravery of the men, both living and dead, has already made the ground of the battlefield sacred. Again, Lincoln is honoring the actions of all the soldiers, Union and Confederate, and trying to unite the nation instead of dividing it.

In “The Gettysburg Address,” Lincoln exploits juxtaposition and allusion to convey the need for unification of citizens based on equality and freedom.

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 something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into 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 that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign

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.

In the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln reminds the audience the reason why the soldiers died. He uses rhetorical devices throughout his speech to demonstrate how important this issue was. Lincoln uses parallelism and repetition to remind the audience that the soldiers did not fight to keep the North and South apart, but unite them as one whole nation.

Lincoln, the sixteenth president was capable of using his words to turn the war into states right into a much bigger picture; slavery. By turning the war about slavery, he easily ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation. This almost guaranteed the Union’s success in the war. Lincoln used many rhetorical devices to touch the hearts of its listeners boosting morale and finding reason behind the losses of countless lives. Abraham Lincoln gave a reverent and humbling speech for the soldiers who had given their lives at the battle of Gettysburg for the reform and advancement of the country.

He wove a metaphor into the speech to help the audience connect with, and understand the nation’s maturity. Lincoln wanted the American people to view themselves as the generation that stimulated the rebirth of the nation. He described a new pattern of thinking, feeling, and idea generating in an effort to influence the newborn state, in which the country was immersed. Lincoln stated his idea with a babe-like comparison, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1863, para. 1). This quote referenced the frail state in which the nation resided and alluded to the infant-like care needed to restore its strength. The second paragraph continued the metaphor, but followed the idea that the nation’s growth was like a child. He stated, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived or dedicated, can long endure” (Lincoln, 1863, para. 2). This metaphor connected the stages of a young child’s learning process to the nations learning process. As a child tests the leniency of his or her parents, the nation tests the parameters of the government, citizens, and morality. In paragraph three, Lincoln (1863) finalized his metaphor pertaining to the nation, he stated, “It is for us, the living,

While in office, Abraham Lincoln faced an almost unsurmountable task. Not only did Lincoln try to eradicate the idea of a human owning another human, but he also had to keep unity among the country. With a civil war raging, and a divided country in anarchy, Lincoln did not have the odds in his favor. After the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln took a step back to show everybody, through the Gettysburg Address, the doom that America will face if it were to continue down the path that it is heading. Lincoln didn’t just accomplish this goal, but he also created an underlined metaphor, between the fallen heroes of Gettysburg, and the fate of America. The most predominant message in Abraham Lincoln’s speech was that if America didn’t rise above this outlandish war being fought, then the entire country would soon face the same fate as the fallen participants in the Battle of Gettysburg.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…” is the beginning phrase from a very important historical speech which all Americans should be familiar with; The Gettysburg Address. This was a speech delivered and composed by our former president Abraham Lincoln; who was the nineteenth president of the United States of America. Many people may be familiar with the address, but may not be familiar with why it was delivered, or even written. This being due to the fact that this speech was given on November 19th of 1863, which was many centuries ago. At the time this speech was delivered, American states were engaged in a great civil war.

A great example of that is, ”But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. ”When Lincoln states this it appeals to the sense of loss and the mourning that the nation has for the dead. Also, he tugs at their heart with alluding to a grave that their loved ones will now live

​Abraham Lincoln addressed the people of the United States in his writing “The Gettysburg Address.” Lincoln’s speech addresses how our nation dealt with the struggle of equality and humanity. Lincoln’s strong ideas and beliefs on humanity are shown in his speech: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion” (503).