Civil War President Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” More than a century later Lincoln’s speeches, addresses, and letters—still remembered and studied—are useful examples of how to write. But why (20)? Perhaps one of the most renowned writers, Lincoln uses multiple stylistic techniques to deliver his messages. Through his use of contrasting parallel structures, repetition, and balanced sentences in his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln conveys his hope of healing the country before, after, and during the Civil War. One of Lincoln’s most common writing strategies—his practice of contrasting parallel structures—often appears throughout this Second Inaugural Address (11a). “Devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the …show more content…
“All dreaded it—all sought to avert it.” He recalls no one desired the war, but nothing could be done to avoid its occurrence. With the country in shambles, Lincoln compels Congress and the people to align their beliefs in order to repair the destruction. He says, “Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” He implores the hearts of the people. With his closing statement, “let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle” Lincoln clenches his Second Inaugural Address and invokes what he so desired—hope. Lincoln’s writings, addresses, speeches, and letters carry significant qualities to emulate. His usage of contrasting parallel structures sets up his ideas while his repetition reinforces them. Finally, the strategically placed balanced sentences build upon the repetition, leaving the audience with hope in their hearts. In just one speech, Lincoln left the country with a valuable ideal and the future with examples of eloquent
After reading the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, it seems that Lincoln’s original goal of saving the Union has changed. Now, in addition to saving the Union, Lincoln wants to free the slaves thereby making the Union a model for other countries. After reading the documents, there is a perceptible shift in his rhetoric from his First Inaugural Address to his Second Inaugural Address. He now mentions nations in his speech. Lincoln’s speeches clearly show his change in stance towards his original goal by including language that intermixes his multiple goals together.
Abraham Lincoln’s speech at the Young Men’s Lyceum in
In his second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln sets forth a convincing argument detailing his thoughts and opinions on the future of the Union. Lincoln accomplishes this by making use of Kairos, which having his argument being at the opportune moment. He also characterizes both sides of war by addressing the Confederates’ goals as well as the Union’s. Finally, he brings the two side together with a unifying religious appeal.
In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. He supported his claim with parallel structure to highlight the differences between the North and South, then mentioning biblical references to express the importance of religion, and finally the diction he used helped join the citizens together. President Lincoln’s purpose was to express the similarities between the North and South in order to unify the country once again. He uses a critical, yet hopeful tone towards the Americans of both the North and South. Just one month before the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address in the hopes of reuniting the country once
Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, believes the rightly famous Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at the battle site in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. Abraham Lincoln develops a persuasive tone to his audience, the Americans, throughout the speech in order to unite the nation and fight for a new birth of freedom by using syntax. Lincoln’s usage of syntax begins with long cumulative sentences, shift to parallel structure and finally finishes with punctuation. First, Lincoln utilizes long cumulative sentences to display America is a country of Liberty. He declares,”...on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated...all men are created equal” to imply that “fathers”
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis The purpose of this speech is detailed in the time period. This speech was written/spoken at the end of the American Civil war. It is President Lincoln’s way of putting a tentative end to the war and a start to the recovery period. He is still oppressing the south in his diction when he states “Both parties deprecated war: but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish.
President Abraham Lincoln uses a variety of rhetorical strategies in his Second Inaugural Address to pose an argument to the American people regarding the division in the country between the northern states and the southern states. Lincoln gives this address during the American Civil War, when politics were highly debated and there was a lot of disagreement. Lincoln calls for the people of America to overcome their differences to reunite as one whole nation once more. Lincoln begins his Second Inaugural Address by discussing the American Civil War and its ramifications.
To begin, President Lincoln strengthens his points by using parallel structure in paragraph by exclaiming “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it”. By stating this, Lincoln brings together the two very distinct viewpoints by showing that both wanted to advert and stray from the war, knowing neither could due to previous circumstances. Parallel structure entails unification of the two sides of the battle, uniting them through a relatable idea and overall accomplishing the goal of his inaugural address, bonding the confederacy and the union back together. Another example of his use of parallel structure includes his expansion upon the idea that neither side wanted to start the war: “Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict may cease…the conflict itself should cease.” Lincoln indicates that he understands both
On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that, unbeknownst to him, would become one of the most recognized speeches in the history of the United States. The empowering speech was given in the midst of the gruesome civil war that began between the north and the south over the long-conflicted morality of slavery. Through one of the most highly remembered speeches of our history, The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln commemorates the dead and wounded soldiers at the site of the battle in Gettysburg through references to history, unificating diction and metaphors of life and death to unite the nation in a time of separation and provide a direction for the future of the country. Lincoln begins his essay utilizing historical references in order to illustrate to the public the basis of what the nation was founded upon. Through this, he reminds Americans the morals and ideals that the people are willing to spill blood for.
During the history of the United States there have been very respectable speakers Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy but perhaps no greater leader in American history came to addressing the country like Abraham Lincoln. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln gave a short speech concerning the effect of the Civil War and his own personal vision for the future of the nation. In this speech Lincoln uses many different rhetorical strategies to convey his views of the Civil War to his audience.
During a time in history when the United States was as divided as it had ever been, Abraham Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address. The Civil War had been raging for four years, and victory was in sight for the Union. Many northern politicians wanted Lincoln to harshly punish and humiliate the South for all of the violence that its succession had caused. However, part of the wisdom that turned Lincoln into an iconic president was his intent to end the war “with malice towards none, with charity for all” and “ to bind up the nation's wounds, [and] to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan” (Second Inaugural Address).
He also expresses that for peace, there must be reconstruction and healing for the country; it was no longer a matter of fighting, but to put aside any hatred. At one point in his speech, he compares the Union and Confederates, saying “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other” (Lincoln 302). Accountability is a unique American value that Lincoln addresses because he blames both the Confederates and the Union for the war; comparing each side of the war shows the people that they are much similar than they think. He reads his speech in the United States Capitol, symbolizing the American people; it shows that they are one united nation, even with their differences. Finishing the The Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln expresses his desire for an end to the war and urges the people, “... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations” (Lincoln 302).
In “The Gettysburg Address”,Abraham LIncoln implements alliteration, parallelism, and repetition throughout his writing to remember the men that died at Gettysburg, and to motivate the people of the United States to continue the work of the dead, and to give the dead meaning. In his speech, Abraham Lincoln utilizes alliteration, in his first sentence, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth”, he uses the same sound in “Four score”, “fathers”, and “forth”, he does this to reinforce the meaning, it unifies his ideas, and helps him introduce the topic he is going to talk about. He talks about what the country was founded on, which is equality.
Rhetorically analyzing the speech, Lincoln uses many literary tactics to engage the audience in taking action in restoring America's unity. He utilizes shifts, comparisons, and repetition to create a speech that connects with the
Using the previously defined rhetorical devices, Loudenslager analyzes three monumental speeches given by Lincoln for the effectiveness of Lincoln’s persuasive abilities. These three speeches are his Peoria, Illinois speech, his “House Divided Speech”, and his address at Cooper Union. The first speech he analyzes is Lincoln’s Peoria speech. Here, Loudenslager identifies some key characteristics in his speech such as his uncanny ability to turn Stephen Douglas’s own argument against him. Then, Lincoln uses repetition and theme to drive home the importance of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and how the Kansas-Nebraska Act violated those ideals.