In the closing months of the Civil War, and in his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln speaks upon important matters at the time. These matters being about slavery and politics. He wanted to express his thoughts on the ongoing Civil War and his hopes for creating a better future. In order to achieve his purpose, Abraham Lincoln utilizes sophisticated diction, irony, and pathos. Abraham Lincoln uses sophisticated diction in order to express his thoughts on the Civil War and his hopes for creating a better future.
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.
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.
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.
Four years prior to his second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln had given a speech about war, “an impending civil war.” Now, after four years of such conflict, the President is issuing a speech of reconciliation, trying to convince his people to come back together with their Southern brethren, and try and heal the grievously wounded nation. A gifted rhetorician, the President used three primary literary tool s to make his point: parallel structure to illustrate similarities between Northerner and Southerner, allusions to the Bible to highlight the Christian values so important to both, and personification to paint the war as an evil enemy, and the nation as a wounded friend. In the second paragraph, Lincoln concludes with the parallel statements “one… would make war rather than let the nation survive… the other would accept war rather than let it parish, and the war came.”
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.
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
Lincoln begins his address by establishing the distinct time in which his inauguration arrives. Lincoln, using ethos, acknowledges that “public declarations have been constantly called forth… The progress of our arms…is as well known to the public as to myself” (7-11). Lincoln establishes that he has already been transparent with the country about the progress of the war, employing the collective pronoun “our arms” and communal identifies such as the “public” (4-6). Lincoln continues to use more inclusive language as he revisits the growing factionalism of the nation during his first inaugural address: “four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war.
The Civil War rid the United States of peace and solidarity. Abraham Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, expands on the country’s war motives and fight to restore the values that it stands for. With his usage of syntax, diction, and religious allusion, Lincoln seeks to mend the divided nation. President Lincoln’s careful use of inclusive words and phrases strengthen the feeling of unity throughout his address. The word choice highlights his attempts to remain impartial concerning his views on the war.
Jaime Polit 3/22/2016 Rhetoric Rhetoric in Lincolns 2nd inaugural speech & Dickinson poem Rhetoric is a powerful tool in communication that has the ability to ultimately influence an audience towards an action or belief. Although it has a negative reputation as a device used to deceive or confuse by using words in an unfamiliar and odd sequence, the use of ethical rhetoric can serve useful in situations where a certain topic may be deemed too sensitive for direct formal communication or to explain concepts that may conflict with popular belief. Two artifacts that provide an example of this is are Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” concerned with the Civil War and Emily Dickinson “Success is counted sweetest”. Both employ language in an unorthodox way and use literary devices to enhance their ideas and can be considered rhetoric as they encompass the four resources.
E pluribus unum, meaning “out of many, one” is the unofficial motto of the United States of America. Yet how can a nation remain united when ethnic diversity has frequently led to the Balkanization of political states? America thrives as a result of the common sense of national pride existing among citizens that stems from the idea that the United States has received divine intervention on numerous occasions, and as a result of the fact that unlike many other nations, America was founded with the purpose of being diverse and providing freedom for all. Various events throughout the history of the United States have led to the belief that the country has experienced guidance from a divine entity in order to flourish in the way that it has. This
In 1863 the United States was in the middle of a raging civil war between the northern and southern states. After the battle at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln pays a visit to the cemetery there for the fallen union soldiers. Lincoln reminds the American people of the values they once fought Great Britain for, in order to eradicate the division between the North and South, so that they can become unified and strong with one another, in his speech the Gettysburg Address. In order to effectively reach his audience, President Lincoln uses rhythm, repetition, and historical allusions.
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.
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
