William Walberforce Speech

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.

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.

The similarity of these two instances, over one hundred years apart, shows that despite how much our government has changed, some things remain the same. The way the branches of our government interact is constantly shifting. As said by Lee Hamilton, Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University, on the relationship between the president and Congress, “It is a dynamic relationship, changing with every issue, every event. Sometimes it is cordial and cooperative. Sometimes it is hostile and polarized. And sometimes it is both things on the same day, shifting with the issue under consideration.” The president may have become a more active member of our government since it was founded, but these examples show that Congress still is a powerful

On January 27, 1838, more then twenty-five years before his first inaugural address, a 28 year-old Lincoln gave a speech before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield Illinois on the topic of ‘The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions’. This young lawyer who had been elected as a state representative gave a very ambitious speech which not only highlighted the issues facing the political institutions of the time, but drew on issues of national importance, including slavery, mob violence, and the future of the nation itself. Drawing from certain events of the time, Lincoln stresses the need for political reform in order to quell rising dissolutions towards governmental policies, which, if not suppressed will inevitably lead to the collapse

3. Abraham Lincoln is emphasizing that humility through silence is better than speaking on yourself and being labeled a fool when put to the test. This still proves to be true today, and can be applied in everyday life. Imagine a student, with no knowledge of chess, sitting amongst students in the chess club. They are having a conversation about a winning technique he is unfamiliar with. It is safe to assume that he feels futile compared to them. Is he better off trying to prove himself on no ground, or remain stay silent and listen? Check mate.

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.

O'Reilly, Bill, and Dwight Jon Zimmerman. Lincoln's Last Days. New York: Square Fish, 2014. 213-15. Print.

“This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”

We will be concerned with whether Abraham Lincoln succeeded in remaining indifferent and nonpartisan towards the South in his 2nd Inaugural Address. In what is considered one of the most distinguished Presidential commencement speeches on record, as well as the shortest in length at approximately 700 words, the "Great Emancipator" understood the Herculean task ahead of him in unifying the bisected country. By illustrating how slavery was the predominant cause of hostility that halved a nation, Lincoln expresses his eagerness for tranquility while heavily referencing the role of God in the Union's endeavor to create a more perfect republic. In seeking to ensure that the Confederate States would be welcomed back to the Union amiably, I will

The 16th president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, in his speech, “The Second Inaugural Address”, expresses his gratitude for the soldiers that died at Gettysburg and the importance of supporting the cause to preserve the Union. Lincoln’s purpose is to honor the lost souls of the brave me that sacrificed themselves out on that battlefield by dedicating this national cemetery and to encourage the people not to give up on the war. He adopts a strong and determined tone in order to boost citizens morale and give them hope that this war would be brought to a halt soon.

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 Thomas J. Dilorenzo’s book, The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, is about Dilorenzo challenging the image of Lincoln by raising questions about Lincoln’s morals and beliefs as president. Dilorenzo attempts to raise arguments that Lincoln’s stance on race was unfair and unjust to the people. Dilorenzo also offers quotes from Lincoln himself, and then argues how Lincoln did not carry out his quote, but in fact, did the opposite. While Dilorenzo makes valid arguments with credible sources; he also has a way of opening a new view of Lincoln to the readers. Dilorenzo’s purpose for writing this book is to discuss the countless myths about Lincoln himself and uncovers the side of Lincoln that was

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?

Lincoln as he had never before been aroused. It was at this time that he fully comprehended the fact that there was to be no peace on the slavery question until either freedom or slavery should triumph.” Lincoln was strongly opposed to popular sovereignty on the issue and believed that it would only help slavery endure for even longer. "when the Judge reminds me that I have often said to him that the institution of slavery has existed for eighty years in some States, and yet it does not exist in some others, I agree to the fact, and I account for it by looking at the position in which our fathers originally placed it-restricting it from the new Territories where it had not gone, and legislating to cut off its source by the abrogation of the slave-trade thus putting the seal of legislation against its spread. The public mind did rest in the belief that it was in the course of ultimate extinction. But lately, I think-and in this I charge nothing on the Judge's motives-lately, I think, that he, and those acting with him, have placed that institution on a new basis, which looks to the perpetuity and nationalization of slavery. And while it is placed upon this new basis, I say, and I have said, that I believe we shall not have peace upon the question until the opponents of slavery arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or, on the other hand,

Robert Whitehill was born July 21, 1738 in Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of James and Rachel (Cresswell) Whitehill. He attended the common schools. He was a very successful adult and accomplished a lot in his adult life. He held a lot of political positions such as speaker of the senate, member of the State house of representatives, along with many other things. When ratifying the Constitution Robert Whitehill’s Speech on November, 28 1787 was “If indeed the Constitution itself so well defined the powers of the government that no mistake could arise, and we were well assured that our governors would always act right, then we might be satisfied without an explicit reservation of those rights with which the people ought not, and mean not to part. . . . In entering into the social compact, men ought not to leave their rulers at large, but erect a permanent landmark by which they may learn the extent of their authority, and the people be able to discover the first encroachments on their liberties”. What Whitehill meant by this is that the Constitution needed something to back up the liberties of the citizens and protect them from an overpowering government. Thus, leading to the creation of the Bill of Rights. The first 10 amendments of the Constitution are the Bill of Rights. They were written by James Madison for a greater constitutional protection of liberties, the Bill of Rights lists specific limits on government power. Something that influenced James