Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency at the start of the 1860, an issue that had divided the nation was slavery. Lincoln’s election to presidency as a republic was not received well by the Southern slave states, as they thought that as a republican he was out to abolish slavery. In an effort to calm southern states and keep them from seceding from the United States, he attempts to ease them with his First Inaugural Address. In his First Inaugural Address his key points are to clam southern leaders of slave states, keep the states from seceding, and make them at ease as he enters presidency.

In his Second Inaugural Address speech by Abraham Lincoln, incorporates biblical references and compares the North and South in order to bring them together and unite the country.

The Second Inaugural Address was a speech by Abraham Lincoln about what he will do for the country for his second term on March 4, 1865. At the beginning of the speech he briefly talks about how he will run and that he has high hopes for the future. He spoke to the whole country about what he will do next, but what he said was brief. He has already been president for a 1st term, so he does not say much because he has already said what he wants to do for the county during his first term. Now it is his second term and gives a speech telling the country that he wants to work as a union, to respect and help the army veterans because they go through a lot. The purpose for this speech is that he is trying to keep the county positive and avoid a

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and Commander in Chief during the Civil War. He was a member of the Free Soil Party and later became a Republican. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederate States after the Battle of Antietam, and ultimately led the North to victory in the Civil War. What most do not know, however, is that he got to that point after a long road of lying and deception. Abraham Lincoln constantly altered his views on slavery and other issues during the 1800s purely based on his audience. In addition to this very unpleasant approach, he freed the African Americans only as an advantage that could lead him into winning the war. Furthermore, Abraham Lincoln should be referred to as just another politician.

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.

He sets the atmosphere of righteousness within the North by using long, lengthy sentences and words like “dreaded” to describe how the North and the South felt about the “impending civil war”. In acknowledging the morals and humanity of the enemy, Lincoln boosts himself up showing that he is the “bigger man” essentially. Lincoln also says that the government before the Civil War tried to do nothing else “than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it [slavery]” showing everyone that the North did not try to abolish slavery but merely contain it. By that logic, the South would be the aggressor seeking to tear apart the Union by their desire for economic gains beyond what they already have. This would naturally make the audience even more eager to fight for the side of justice and

Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, the third shortest inaugural address in US history, was delivered on March 4, 1865 in front of the US Capitol. In just over a month, the Civil War would be over. Already the Thirteenth Amendment has abolished slavery, and only Generals Lee and Johnston with a small force stand against a Union army 280,000 strong. Despite an inevitably victorious North, President Lincoln’s speech is somber and speaks only of the wounds rendered in this great nation, suggesting that slavery had offended God and that the war acted as a form of divine retribution. Through rhetoric, Lincoln heeds the American people to reunite and move past their disagreements.

President Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address, addresses the topic of the civil war and its effects on the nation and argues that America could be unified once more. He supports his claim by using massive amounts of parallel structure and strong word choice. Lincoln ‘s purpose is to contemplate the effects of the civil war in order to unite the broken America once again. He adopts a very hopeful tone for his audience, the readers of the inaugural address and others interested in the topic of American history and the civil war.

Lincoln begins his Second Inaugural Address by discussing the American Civil War and its ramifications. As Lincoln gives this speech the war is winding down, which is the reasoning behind the urgency for the unity which Lincoln calls for. Lincoln says “The progress of our arms

Abraham Lincoln in the speech, The Gettysburg Address, constructs a point of achieving a "just and lasting peace" between the North and South without retribution. Lincoln supports his assertion by justifying his beliefs of unity between the states. Lincoln's purpose is to influence the people to not allow what has been done to go to waste. He wants his audience to realize that this division will only persist if no one settles the current issues in society. Lincoln speaks in a sympathizing, determined tone to address the Americans who are mourning the loss of their loved ones and to the rest of Americans who he wants to see a change from.

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.

When Abraham Lincoln took t the stand for his second inaugural speech, people were surprised by the short but effective speech that was given. Abraham Lincoln talked about some of the motives each side had and their reasons. Lincoln used some rhetorical devices to not only persuade his audience, but to show them that things could get better. He uses it very efficiently to provide solutions and to see past their problems.

Abraham Lincoln was one of America’s greatest presidents .Knowed to the world as the “Great emancipator”, Abraham Lincoln left a legacy behind. As the 16th president Lincoln managed to save the nation, he took the first step towards abolishing slavery, allowed blacks to join the military, gave his world famous Gettysburg speech, and many more. To many people Abraham Lincoln was a hero, to others he was a man with a questionable motive.

He states in The Gettysburg Address that, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” In this statement, he is saying that the Union is a model for the rest of the world showing how united and “dedicated” the Union is enabling the Union to prosper and survive the war. This goal can be seen in his Second Inaugural Address when he says, “…cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” This further establishes the point that Lincoln intended the Union to set a precedent for other countries to

In addition he delivered the Second Inaugural Address. President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was carried out on March 4, 1865 during his second appearing as President of the United States. A point that was stated in his address was slavery. He reminded everyone how slavery was the main point of the Civil War and he felt and proposed it insulted GOD. Another point was about the war. Abraham Lincoln prayed and hoped the war would end soon. He was looking ahead of time to the day he could put the country back together.He wanted everything to come together.