How Does Lincoln Use Ethos In The Gettysburg Address

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.

President Lincoln uses rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and repetition. Making his language precise helps to convince the audience of his claim. Lincoln reminds and informs the listeners of the tragedies that happened at the Battle of Gettysburg. Establishing the background knowledge makes Lincoln credible. Lincoln also uses repetition in the intro and conclusion. He says, “But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground.” (Lincoln 1). The repetition of “we cannot” is Lincoln trying to make a point; the audience will remember it. Lincoln uses precise language to make the audience feel sympathetic towards all the soldiers that lost their lives. For example, in line 20 Lincoln says, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” (Lincoln 1). By this Lincoln suggests that even if the people at this speech don’t remember

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.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, which involved the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and was according to many the war’s turning point, president Lincoln delivered a meaningful speech known as the Gettysburg Address. In his speech, president Lincoln wisely uses ethos, pathos and logos.

While the Gettysburg Address is fairly short in length at around 300 words, this famous speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1963 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is both enduring and meaningful for all Americans today, almost exactly 146 years later. The first paragraph of his speech sets the tone, in which Lincoln does not directly mention the bloody Battle of Gettysburg, in which 50,000 soldiers lost their lives. Instead, he refers in the opening phrase, “Four score and seven years ago,” to the founding of America through another important written document, the Declaration of Independence in 1776. I believe Lincoln wanted the country to focus on preserving this

Lincoln’s speech in the Gettysburg Address lasted about two minutes and only few from the large audience comprehended what he had stated (Cochran 1). It was over so quickly that the audience lacked an applause (Cochran 1). Lincoln was very self conscious of his speeches and with a lack of an applause from the large audience, it made lincoln believe that he had failed them. Though they hadn’t understood what he meant at that moment in time, from this day forward Lincoln’s speech had become one of the best speeches in American History that gave a purpose to the nation.

Repetition is the final key rhetorical device in the address. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expression, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” is used to tie the entire address together, but this set of repletion is outweighed by the other. The word “dedicated” has been used in the speech to not only tie the entire speech together but to also appeal to pathos, an emotional appeal. The words “I” and “you” are absent from the speech, instead Lincoln uses words such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” to include the people of the Union and the Confederacy to unite both parties as a whole under the one

In his Second Inaugural Address, US President Abraham Lincoln informs his audience of the effects of the Civil War and offered his vision for the future of the nation. President Lincoln uses rhetorical strategies to achieve his purpose. Moreover, President Licoln uses pathos, ethos, and logos to spread his thoughts for the future and the effects of Civil War.

The importance of remembering, honoring, and dedicating is evident and presented in Abraham Lincoln's speech, "The Gettysburg Address. " Lincoln's objective is to bring forth recognition and honor that the dead deserve and to encourage the living amd breathing Americans to carry that honor and finish the hard work they fought for and sacrificed their lives for. By including the use of antithesis and parallelism, he makes his point valid as well as communicating with his audience. With Lincoln's passionate and political tone, he comes across a use of rhetorical devices such as antithesis in his speech. He firmly states, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the United States greatest presidents and is well-known for writing one of the most iconic literary pieces in American history, the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is an outstanding 272-word oration, meant to have been a “few appropriate remarks” (Wills), yet it is considered to be one of the greatest speeches ever written, and rightly so. However, Lincoln was not the only one that gave a Gettysburg Address at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nor was he “the star of the show” (Emberton). Today, many have forgotten the name of Edward Everett and the importance and value of his Gettysburg Address. Edward Everett was chosen as the main speaker at the ceremony and gave a 2-hour oration, preceding Lincoln’s 2-minute dedicatory remarks, that was highly praised among critics and the audience. Everett’s qualifications, his message within his speech, and his overall purpose have greatly contributed to the value of his Gettysburg Address. Today, it is clear to see that Lincoln’s Address has overshadowed Everett’s Address, but that wasn’t the case in 1863. The question left to answer, should Everett’s Gettysburg Address be considered just as valuable and praiseworthy as Lincoln’s speech?

The time of the speech was towards the end of the civil war, when the North and the South where still fighting after a bitter 4 year war. The battle of Gettysburg had already been fought and Lincoln had given the distinguished Gettysburg address just a few months before. He spoke of freedom, devotion, and the ideals for which he believed the Union stood. Lincoln had also already written the emancipation proclamation which had freed the slaves of the south in the previous year. The audience which

Lincoln could not have said more in his address without compromising his principles. In Lincoln's address he stated that all he wanted to do was bring together the Union and not bring up the issue of solving slavery. Moreover, Lincoln knew that if he talked too much about the issue with slavery that the South would not support him. Also, Lincoln wanted to stay away from a war with the South because he didn't want to start a riot about the South losing their slaves. Therefore Lincoln said just enough in his speech to maintain the Union and not talking a lot about the issue of slavery.

In the intro of his speech, Lincoln states that he saw no need for a long address. Since the conclusion of the war, he saw very few problems that needed attention. He saw that there were very few events or points that were worth mentioning. It is also interpreted that he gave news that the union won the war due to the mentioning of that the “progress of our

Infrequently in legislative issues, and regularly in Lincoln, happens the marvel of expert articulation. The explanatory instrument is no simple abstract gadget; expert articulation is not a recipe but rather the result of an expert who comprehends the situation and state of his group of onlookers, quick and all inclusive. Expert articulation requires genuineness and conviction, and it regards the specific example and the general application. Lincoln had the devoted activity and the contemplated conviction to back his articulate words, and he utilized his capacity and individual to unite the people behind his battle's vision for the country and his organization's central goal for the Union. Lincoln's most renowned discourse (and legitimately so) was his Gettysburg Address, when he conveyed the most intense, motivating, and expressive discourse that his comrades had ever viewed. The fanciful discourse tallied 272 words. Donald compressed it laconically:

     When writing the Gettysburg Address Lincoln had in mind the equality of all citizens. He felt that winning back the South and abolishing slavery was a tough fight that many had given their life to win. Lincoln expressed this when he said, “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who have fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”(Doc.25 lines 12-14). In the Address, Lincoln also showed his fears of losing the war. “…That these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Doc. 25 lines 17-20). This also meant that Lincoln thought that if the nation remained divided it could not survive, that the country and unique type of government it had would no longer be in existence.