In an almost identical setting four years prior to the occasion of Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln delivered a speech regarding a war that was yet to come. Over the next four years, that impending conflict became a very real national catastrophe that divided Lincoln's nation. Now, at the start of his second term as president, Lincoln issues a speech focused on reconciliation and the renewal of a wounded nation by joining again with the South. As a skilled public speaker and an extremely respected political figure, Lincoln utilizes three rhetorical strategies to highlight the similarities between the North and South as well as to declare the war as the real enemy in an effort to urge the U.S. to reunite. In the second paragraph …show more content…
He begins to set up this form of comparison at the end of the second paragraph by including the phrases "the nation survive," and "the war came." Suggesting the nation has the opportunity to survive implies life within its entity that is being threatened. Saying that "the war came" gives the war the ability to come and go which creates a being for this idea. Lincoln strengthens these personifications throughout the rest of his speech. Lincoln endowed the war with the ability to live and die as he had previously done with the nation when he conveys his desires that the war "may speedily pass away." This displays the war as Lincoln's as well as the nation's true enemy as it has been given human qualities that define it as the opponent that must be defeated. He then urges the people to "bind up the nation's wounds" ; this grants the nation the ability to be wounded. By personifying the nation in this way, it suggests that the nation has been weakened and appeals to society's good nature and desire to help a wounded friend. Lincoln displays the U.S. as needing the help of the people and therefore calls them to aid in reuniting the nation as well as condemns the war -- not the opposing side -- as the true enemy in that same
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 "The Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln masterfully employs several rhetorical devices to argue for a continued war to preserve the Union and ensure that the sacrifices made at Gettysburg were not in vain. One of the devices he uses is parallelism. Lincoln emphasizes the importance of continuing the fight for the Union and completing the work that has been started by those who have sacrificed their lives by stating "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced." This repetition of the phrase "for us the living" highlights the significance of the Union and the sacrifices made to preserve it.
To stir up the audience’s emotion, Lincoln utilizes emotionally charged words such as: wounds, widow, and orphan. Lincoln states, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan..”(72-74). The use of these words invokes sympathy and empathy among both the Northern and Southern audience and demonstrates the emotions shared among the 2 parties.
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” The change of the final line from a threat of the sword if they choose to rebel, to a poetic plea for peace that puts the impetus of war on the secessionists, shows more than any other section of the speech that southern acceptance of unity is his ultimate goal.
If both sides burn each other down to the ground, then it reasonable to say that it is the judgement of the Lord. Of course, no American would want to see ruin brought to their own nation, so it drives people further towards accepting Lincoln’s hopes. Abraham Lincoln knew what it would mean if he did not directly address what effects the Civil War had. And with high hopes, he delivered a hopeful vision for the nation while remaining respectful to all sides of the conflict. Using Kairos as well as a universal and religious appeal, Lincoln was able to make his argument respectful, engaging, and relatable.
He doesn’t want to dwell on the future, but work on the present. He wants to conduct change and orchestrate harmony among the states. Also, especially, from paragraph 2, Abraham Lincoln starts using the pronoun “all” and, different forms of it, more often to highlight the inclusiveness of the aggregation, North & South, and to make everyone, including himself, on equal ground. This is to bring a sense of unity and appeal to reason. By bringing a sense of unity, he tries to achieve peace and ease in the tension.
By including such language, the very divided country is unified into one body. This rhetorical strategy also helps the audience to feel as if they know just as much about the future of the country as Lincoln does. As seen in this line, “the progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as
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.
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
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.
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.
With the beginning of his second term and the Civil War coming to a close, President Lincoln was burdened by a country torn apart by war. Speaking to a nation of divided loyalties, Lincoln hoped his humble approach of divine strength would convince both the North and the South to put aside their prejudices against each other and restore the shattered Union. Lincoln’s allusion, parallel structure, and syntax helped restore the nation with dignity and grace. The newly elected president began his speech by suggesting that he would not repeat what others have said in the past; little progress had been made, and the public was very aware of the negative progress the troops were making.
Lincoln urges the people to “strive on to finish the work we are in,” “to bind up the nation's wounds,” he is trying to get the United Sate Citizens to become one again to unite and be one strong country, showing that even after a huge war that the country can remain strong and unified and that this war will allow for a strong brotherhood in the US. Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is significant because Lincoln offered and objective point of view. Lincoln did not speak of the unloyalty of the South nor did he praise the North. Rather, Lincoln used multiple points to show that the Unification should be the main focus of his speech not that the states should be divided because of
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.
“.. but it [world] can never forget what they did here.” (465) Here, Lincoln is discussing that the world can not forget about the many soldiers who died