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Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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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. This is a very fundamental moment in his speech. He is uplifting the north and stating that the south should have a bigger punishment than it received. It shows his grace and appreciation for the south and gives hope to the reconstruction that is about to take place. The listeners are every citizen of the United States, whether that be northerner or southerner. He is addressing both the offender and the tolerator by means of referring to an earlier event and describing the outcome and plan for improvement and prosperity. The defining point in his speech is the quote that was stated in the first paragraph of this essay. Lincoln is upholding the rights and constitution of the …show more content…

The first is his opening statement “Fellow Countrymen”. Lincoln is initially stating that he is as much a part of the working class as any other man. That he is speaking to friends rather than “his people”. When the President says he sees the common people as equals it draws a lot of attention and gives off a good feeling to anyone listening. Another is his constant praise of the Union. Lincoln does quite a couple compare and contrast scenarios for the two parts of the divided nation, but always ends up putting the north on top. Another appeal is hidden in the big section where Lincoln addresses God’s will and what he desires. He states that the Union upheld God’s law while the south rebelled against it, thus, once again praising the

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