Rhetorical Analysis Of President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

As President Lincoln delivers the beginning of the speech, the words “I trust” and “high hope for the future”, set a sincere tone to the audience. Lincoln is ready for this Civil War to end and wants to bring

In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln shared a vision with the American people in the last month of the Civil War. He mentions the irony of this war and the effects it brings to the nation. Lincoln's use of rhetorical strategies opens the eyes of readers and reveals the reality of the war and its foolishness. He shares his desire and vision of unity with the American people in this address. The condition of the Unites States of America was a bloody state in where brethren. Lincoln uses this very same fact by revealing that "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God." Lincoln also emphasizes the strange fact that "any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in writing their bread for the sweat of other men's

In Lincoln’s second inaugural address he brings the two sides of the war together to assess the country’s situation. Lincoln had been against slavery, he planned on banning it in the US territories while running for president and the Southern states viewed this as a violation of their constitutional rights. Once he was elected as president, he took action in fighting for the cause. Years of tension and conflict between the North and South had finally broken into a war which lasted four years. The civil war came to an end once the confederate side surrendered. In Lincoln’s speech he presents himself as a worn out victor. Although he and the union had won against the confederacy, Lincoln had felt a great sorrow for the country’s loss.

In Lincoln’s speech, he contemplated the effects of the Civil War and gave the audience his view for the future of the nation. To provide reassurance to his audience, along with statements to persuade the audience of his claim, Lincoln uses the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos.

President Abraham Lincoln stepped onto the stairs of the capitol building to give his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865. America had spent the past four years at war with each other. The president, worn down and tired from the long lasting battle, was still determined to mend the divided union. In comparison to Lincoln’s first address his second address was shorter in length yet held a stronger message. Lincoln’s main purpose was to convince the citizens of the union to reunite by demonstrating ethical appeals Lincoln successfully argues his purpose.

All these events would cumulate with Lincoln in his second inaugural speech. Lincoln originally came into power to stop the secession of the South. He would later change the goal of the war to end slavery, turning it into a battle of morality. He was a man who was thought to be non-religious, now a man full of spirit in his words. This progression of religiosity is shown in his speech as he talks about God and the country. Declaring that God has given them war due to the offense of slavery and how God has given them the ability to right. When compared to his first inaugural speech it becomes apparent how much more faith Lincoln has put into religion, using it so openly and strongly to deliver his message to the people.

To begin with he addressed the people with “Dear fellow-countrymen” instead of a standard opening. Likewise when addressing the north and south he uses “we” to unify the two sides. He doesn’t say “Northerners and Southerner” as in it would only bring attention to the separation. He expresses that “neither party” wanted this war to occur nor “neither [party] anticipated” for it to go on for so long. Following, Lincoln noticed not only did they pray for the same thing but both sides were praying to the same God. They both “read the same bible,” both “pray to the same God,” and both “invoke[d] His aid against the other.” Perhaps they have more in common than that that separates

The first appeal that President Lincoln touched on in the Gettysburg Address was ethos. He did not try to use his own character to reinforce his point, even though he was the President at the time. As a substitute, he started his speech by saying “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ‘all men are created equal’” (Transcript of Gettysburg Address (1863).) By saying “our fathers” he brought himself down to the same levels as the public he was speaking to and that these battles were not for him, they we for the founding fathers that signed the Declaration of Independence eighty-seven years prior. They were the men the fallen soldiers had fought for. They were the men that said, “all men are created equal”. Lincoln did not want to be the reason why the soldiers gave their lives. He wanted to remind the public that the war was being fought in the name of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence and the men that fought for the nations

He viewed slavery as immoral and an institution that God must have wanted to be removed in his second inaugural address. Even as the war was ending, the nation was divided on the issue of slavery and there were protests and an entire war going on with one side for and one side against slavery. This can be related to the latest presidential election in 2016 in which Donald Trump was voted president of the United States over his opposition, Hillary Clinton. Although the violence was significantly less and nowhere near that of a full scale war, at Donald Trump rallies and at other times supporters of Donald Trump instigated fights with Latinos telling them “to go on the other side of the wall [which Trump plans to build between the U.S. and Mexico]”. At other times, brawls broke out between Trump and Hillary supporters, and they were again started by the Trump supporters. The two candidates for president had vastly different views for where to take America, as did the Union and the Confederacy which were fighting over slavery during Lincoln’s second address. In addition, both the election and the war to end slavery are similar in the fact that there was a controversial issue that would affect the demographics of the citizens of America. In the election that was preventing immigration to the U.S. over

After several readings, viewings and recitals of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, I found several instances of attempts by him to engage the members of his audience. His opening statement of “Four score and seven years ago” (Lincoln) is just one way he was able to capture the attention of the audience as he does not simply say 87 years ago. The location or physical dimension of this public speaking helped reinforce the delivery of his message. Carefully choosing his words he was able to attract and capture the attention of the audience and once he had their attention truly deliver a groundbreaking speech.

In 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, many lives were lost. Then President-Abraham Lincoln was given an opportunity to dedicate the ground where the battle was held, to the men who died for their country. The overall message of the speech was to dedicate the grounds to the men who served the country, and to use the effect of the battle to motivate the North to finish what the men started. Lincoln took this opportunity to tell the American people about the Civil War, and how it was affecting the nation. In Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” speech to the people persuaded them by appealing to the emotions of the family members who had lost loved ones during the battles, the American people’s love for their country, and by motivation them to finish the fight.

Abraham Lincoln 's ability to speak with eloquence and force is what won the Civil War; there can be no doubt about it. His role as a motivator and often an inspiring teacher to all had more of an effect on the troops and the American people than a loss or a victory of any battle ever did. Lincoln 's speeches are some of the most celebrated in history for many good reasons. He was always aware of his audience and never failed to impress with his use of logic and knowledge. However, what are most remembered about Lincoln 's speeches are his metaphors and imagery used to provoke emotions or ideas from the reader. Lincoln spoke with such depth and power that any who heard him could not help but be awestruck. Many wonder if the outcome of the

Respected leaders are a principal technique used in uniting a nation such as the United States. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are respected leaders featured in the works that described their aims to unite the nation. Abraham Lincoln illustrated how he was extremely “devoted … to saving the union” and that is the dominant rationale for him becoming president for the second time (Lincoln 13). Pathos were inscribed within his speech to prove that he had a goal and he was determined to achieve it. Embedded in Lincoln’s inaugural address, was the idea that the citizens of the United States and himself did not want a lasting war and tried to persuade them to cease fighting and unite. Accordingly, one of the most integral leaders in American history was Abraham Lincoln who is remembered for being the 16th president and very respected. During the civil war, Lincoln was in office and he delivered his second inaugural address about ending the war and rebuilding the union because America is stronger united than divided. Through Lincoln’s presidency, he brought about the start of the end of the civil war and was making progress before his assassination. Leutze’s painting demonstrates Washington & his

Lincoln's second inaugural address was a powerful message to a country fatigued from war. Lincoln's speech was compelling due to its placement of the Civil War in the context of divine punishment for the sin of slavery, its assignment of national, rather than merely southern, responsibility for the sin, and its call for “malice toward none, … charity for all”.1 In it, the President discussed what the war was about and when he felt it would conclude.