Rhetorical Devices In The Gettysburg Address

The battle of Gettysburg was one of the largest and costliest battles of the Civil War, over 51,000 soldiers were killed, of those killed, 23000 were union soldiers (Battle of Gettysburg). This battle was significant because of the death toll and it was a great victory for the Union. Nearly 4 months after the battle of Gettysburg had ended, President Abraham Lincoln made an address to the town of Gettysburg to show his condolences for the lives that had been lost. President Lincoln did not know that his speech would be heard throughout the nation and throughout the centuries to come. He did not know that his two-minute speech, which consists of 273 words would change the meaning of the war. His speech was not even the main event that day.

A score is equal to 20 years, so he was referencing 87 years ago, which would have been 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. This shows how he wanted to get the authors attention. This word choice is much more elegant than 87 years ago. He also uses words such as “conceived in liberty” meaning our country was born or built on the terms of freedom. He says “we cannot consecrate” and “The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.” The word consecrate is used which means to make or declare sacred with a divine purpose. This word is usually used in church setting but he uses it in his speech to show the significance of this battle. He continues to explain that no one can “add or detract” the sacred events that occurred on this battlefield. He could have just said to give or take away but he wanted his diction to talk for his character. He did not want to sound smarted than his audience, he wanted to connect with his audience that is why he used such short words. He wants to show equality with

Lincoln said, “Four score and seven years ago.” Which directly states, what year the speech was given. He also said, “nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Which indicated why the war is being fought and the reason the men died at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Next I would like to talk about the contexts of the argument and the genre.
The context of the argument is the battle of Gettysburg but the bigger picture is the civil war. He does discuss the lives lost at the battle and the sacrifice they gave to protect the union but in the end he discusses how the whole civil war must be fought on these terms. They must be fight the civil war for “a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." and for the foundation that “all men are created equal”. It is not just about Gettysburg, Lincoln address the whole war. I believe that his speech is really not a speech, it shows more of an editorial side because an editorial is an opinion-based document. The Gettysburg address has few facts in it and is much opinion on the fight. Though it could be a letter addressing the union calling for action because there American principles are being infringed