Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

The end of the battles of the Civil War introduced a period which was set to restore and reconstruct the United States of America. President Abraham Lincoln had plans to reconcile the nation in a peaceful manner. Lincoln’s goal was to reestablish the nation in a way that would not reproach either the north or south. In his second inaugural speech following the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s statement “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other” (Abraham Lincoln, Blackboard, p. 269) points out the shared

A pathway of reconciliation and healing is what President Lincoln wishes for the country. Lincoln also personifies the nation as having “wounds” which the American people must now bind up in order to heal and save the nation from death. The phrase, “bind up” invokes the emotion of healing not only the personal wounds suffered by the American people because of the war, but also the wounds of the nation as a whole. After the nations wounds have been bound, then “lasting peace” will follow, as with the unity of the nation. President Lincoln also reminds the people of their similarities and focuses on their same religious belief and God by stating, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. In doing this Lincoln emphasizes the similarities of both the north and south in order to reunite them after the Civil War crisis.

With the eruption of the Civil War came one of the biggest tribulations and trials that this country has ever faced, but as we understand the motives of one of the greatest Presidents in American History we can see that the Civil War was inevitable. From his original intentions of merely preserving the Union and holding the country together, to permanently abolishing slavery we can observe why prevailing in the struggle of the Civil War is one of Lincoln’s defining legacies. Thus, as the civil war draws to a close, an old tumultuous era has ended, and a new more prosperous era has

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

The bloodiest war in American history, led by Abraham Lincoln for the north, and Jefferson Davis for the south, both presidents, but two different sides. Both garner for peace, yet one is willing to start a war, while the other is willing to accept it. This essay will compare and contrast the political, economical, and social outlooks on Lincoln’s and Davis’ Inaugural addresses throughout the civil war between the North and South. Slavery, laws, and state rights drove the South to start a war, and Lincoln received the war with open arms. Both sides wanted peace, but their means of achieving it and their leaders’ choices and beliefs differed greatly while still holding similarities.

Lincoln suggests that the two thoroughly different ideas of the North and South to become one once again, as he also juxtaposes life and death in the same speech, almost as to compare the ideals of the North and South to the ideas of life and death. Lincoln matched his uniting tone with his juxtaposed exemplars. Lincoln compassion for the Civil War is shown as he mourns the loss of many fellow Americans, not differentiating between Union and Confederate soldiers. He creates juxtaposition in his final statement of a “new birth” and the obstruction of a “perished” nation. His patriotic address charms his audience into action. The usage of juxtaposition allows Lincoln to transfer the zeal in his speech into action by uniting the people of America.

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.

Lincoln suggests that the two exceedingly contrary ideas of the North and South to become one once again, as he also juxtaposes life and death in the same speech, as to compare the ideals of the North and South to the ideas of life and death. Lincoln matched his uniting tone with his juxtaposed exemplars. Lincoln’s compassion for the Civil War is shown as he mourns the loss of many fellow Americans, not differentiating between Union and Confederate soldiers. He creates juxtaposition in his final statement of a “new birth” and the obstruction of a “perished” nation. His patriotic address appeals his audience into action. The usage of juxtaposition allows Lincoln to transfer the zeal in his speech into action by uniting the people of America.

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.

He states how both, the North and South, “read the same Bible and pray to the same God,” and neither the North nor South expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it attained. Lincoln also maintains an optimistic tone throughout the speech and invokes unity with his parallel structured sentences.

On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln took his first oath of office as President of the United States. On the East Portico of the new Capitol Building, Lincoln directed his voice not to the people in the crowd, but to the people of the seven states which had seceded from the Union just days before. He stood in the shadow of the Capitol’s half-finished dome, a symbol of the severe division within the nation. Mr. Lincoln would be met with great hardship and ambiguity throughout his two terms as president. He knew “a house divided among itself cannot stand.” What, then, was the solution? A war between the Northern Union and Southern rebels. His second inauguration, delivered just days before the surrender of the South, was spoken with a sense of

Along with his Gettysburg address Abraham Lincoln 's message in his House Divided speech is significant and consequential: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Soon after the Civil War ended the Union recognized the current issue of instability. If a solution is not effectively mandated, it is inevitable that America will never prosper. Only through bringing back the title “United States” will this country face a promising future. Now that the Civil War has concluded, the need to solve the post war destructive consequences is imperative. The Union cannot ignore the fact that the South is in a state of political turmoil, financial catastrophe, and communal disorder. As a result of fighting a total war, the mobilization of available production, the South faces an obvious uncertain future. The Union’s approach of the total war demolished numerous plantations, southern crops, and entire populations. Thousands are starving to death and those of whom remain survive in homeless situations with no home, land, or slaves. Though the objective of the Civil War was to deteriorate the Southerners, the Union must remember there is no profit or prosperity from South’s demise. Only through overcoming the task of Southern reconstruction will this country be able to thrive again. Primarily, the initiative to restore the Union must be taken. In order to assemble the country’s incomplete states, the Union must