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Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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President Abraham Lincoln was one of the most honest and most popular of all of the presidents. For a large part of that presidency, however, he was only president of half of the country due to the nature of the American Civil War. Throughout his time in office, he was able to deliver many great speeches, of which include the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. In both of these orations, he uses primarily uses ethical appeals to assist in the deliverance of and strengthen the main themes. The first of the two addresses was the Emancipation Proclamation, given on January 1, 1863. When Lincoln starts the speech he refers to the year as, “the year of our Lord,” which is a prime example of ethos because at this time, most …show more content…

This speech, The Gettysburg Address, was given to try to convince people that the war should end. He starts the speech with an ethical appeal, referring to when, “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). When he mentions their fathers, he is talking about the founding fathers of America, such as George Washington and John Adams. By mentioning them, the people are reminded of the morals and values that the nation was founded on, none of which include having an war with themselves. Also, by stating how the country was, “conceived in Liberty,” he is using an ethical appeal in the fact that that was that reason that the country was founded, to be free from persecution based on beliefs, status, or anything else that varies between any of us, as individuals. Finally, in the concluding line of the address, Lincoln adds, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 1863). Once again he is using an ethical appeal by referring to God and the government, which is in favor of the people, creating a sense of unity and calling to the ethical and moral standards that make up their God and

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