Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln chooses to make certain religious allusions in his speech, in an attempt to unify the divided country around a common central concept: religion. Lincoln makes such references to religion to confirm others beliefs, and assure them that God stands with them, even in such a difficult time. To show sympathy towards African Americans, and to unify them with the others in the country, Lincoln states, “Both read the same bible, and both pray to the same God.”

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln provided one of the most memorable speeches in history that affected the way American citizens saw the war. The March 4th speech in 1865 gave more people hope for the country and allowed them to trust that God will help them through the Civil War. The people trusted Lincoln to help them through the situation because he had already served his first term as president, and the people knew he was trustworthy, so they re-elected him. Lincoln professionally used rhetorical appeals such as ethos pathos and logos to press his audience to agree, as well as tone to show his audience how importantly they should be taking the subject. Abraham’s Second Inaugural Address was an introduction to his plan for the United States for the next years he would be president, and much of it was a discussion about the Civil War and how they would bring it to an end.

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

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

Lincoln’s optimistic tone encourages all Americans to put behind them the Civil War and progress forward as a united nation once more. President Lincoln calls to action all the peoples of America with sentences such as, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in” and

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

'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.' In the delivery of Lincoln's 'Second Inaugural,' many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an

To appeal to all common man during 1865, Lincoln uses biblical allusions. He makes an argument, "Both read the same Bible and pray and pray to the same God, and each invoked His aid against the other." (Line 42) While had declared both parties not wanting war, both had gotten war. Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address President Abraham Lincoln, who at the time was just starting his second term as president, delivered his Second Inaugural Address about the pressing matter of the Civil War. His speech did not contain gloating or happiness; rather, it collected his thoughts on the reasons for such a horrible and costly war. His use of allusions to the Bible and appeal to anger helped Lincoln convince the north to unite to support his cause the mistreatment of mankind needed to end. His goal was to take the U.S. and the different opinions and unite the Americans.

President Abraham Lincoln orated a powerful persuasive speech in his Second Inaugural Address, just one month before the end of the Civil War. This speech shed light to his contemplation of the effects of the Civil War and provided his vision for the future of the nation. Lincoln’s address was written through a logical theme that focused on the unity of the country. He used religion, specific diction, and flat-out logical thinking to convey his message. The speech was given as the Civil War was ending, and President Lincoln wanted to provide a bit of light in a very dark time. He could have given the lengthy speech that the audience expected; but instead, he gave a short message of unity that fueled the United States for years to come.

Repetition is used in the address as well. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expressions, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” are used to connect the entire address concurrently, but this set of repetition 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

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 his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln spoke to the American audience with an intent of uniting the broken country in the near future due to the nearing end of the Civil War. Lincoln achieves this by employing allusions to christianity, parallel structure and powerful diction, with an emphasis on bolstering his standing in terms of leadership. Lincoln uses quotes, allusions and references to god in a way to increase the emotional strength of his argument. For instance, he uses a quote “‘Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh,’” a direct quote from the bible.

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.

​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).