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Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address
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Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address
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On March 4, 1865 in Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln gave his second inauguration address to the nation. In his address to the nation he stated what he would do for the nation during his presidency and tried to prepare the nation for the end of the civil war and slavery. President Lincoln used figurative language, allusion, parallel structure, logos and pathos to express his theme that both sides are at fault and need to come together as one. Lincoln uses the rhetorical appeals pathos and logos during his second inauguration speech.
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, 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. Just one month before the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address in the hopes of reuniting the country once
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.
As most men and women in America are Christian, Lincoln’s references to bible and God evoke a powerful message. “With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right…” Despite America being divided at that time, Lincoln claims that all of America is under God. And although many southerners have reasons to despise Lincoln, but they can’t blatantly ignore his appeals to the Christian faith. Lincoln also brings up the alternative to his optimism using religion.
During the history of the United States there have been very respectable speakers Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy but perhaps no greater leader in American history came to addressing the country like Abraham Lincoln. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln gave a short speech concerning the effect of the Civil War and his own personal vision for the future of the nation. In this speech Lincoln uses many different rhetorical strategies to convey his views of the Civil War to his audience.
“There were many cheers and many tears as this noble address was concluded” (White, 2014). The indication that the speech had a powerful impact on Lincoln’s audience is important to the assertion that he was moderate and neutral in his demeanor and actions toward the South as is shows the reaction that the audience had to what was being said and how it was said. It would have been easy to take the podium and point fingers where may would have agreed blame belonged. However, Lincoln took the opportunity to deliver a graceful yet direct address that seems to had drawn many people in his audience back to a state of consideration and emotion. If nothing else was accomplished by Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address, it gave the American public a glimpse of the sort of strength that Lincoln strove for America to achieve during his
Abraham Lincoln's exceptional mental abilities and articulate manner of expression, combined with his profound regard for others, are clearly evident in his speeches and writings. These documents also provide compelling testimony to Lincoln's unwavering moral principles and unwavering commitment to maintaining the integrity of the United States. Lincoln's exceptional leadership skills were on full display during the tumultuous Civil War, when he demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to bring together a nation deeply divided by conflict. In Lincoln's addresses, his acumen is apparent in how he communicates and how his messages guide the nation towards harmony. The distinction between the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation
When Lincoln gave his second inaugural address in 1865, he was speaking to the people of the North in the context of the Civil War. This was the rhetorical situation of Lincoln's speech. Lincoln's purpose was to encourage his audience to win the war and reestablish peace between the North and the South. Many people in both the North and the South had expected the war to be fairly short, but four years later, the country was still at war. For this reason, Lincoln might have worried about his audience losing motivation.
The Civil War was a time period of social, political, and economic tensions. The North and South fought to decide whether to stop or continue slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the then president, addresses the two crowds before and after the war; however, in the second address, after the war, he uses specific literary devices to convey his message, of the need to end slavery. Abraham Lincoln uses varied sentence structure and appeals, in his succinct Second Inaugural Speech, to try to bring back harmony in the states and the abolitionment of slavery. Abraham Lincoln uses varied sentence structure to emphasize his message of harmony and abolition of slavery.
President, Abraham Lincoln expresses, in his speech, the “Second Inaugural Address” (1865), that he is taking an oath for the second appearing of the Presidential Office. He supports his claim by first telling about how four years ago people based their votes upon the Civil War that was occurring, then he talked about slaves that contributed to the war, then he talks about that the Lord can only judge and that he chooses if the slaves will remain enslaved, and finally he talks about how we as people need to work to keep our nation good. Abraham’s purpose is to remind people about the first Inaugural Address and to encourage them to work on the nation in order to keep a good nation. He establishes a hopeful tone for his fellow countrymen.
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.
It would be more than difficult not to read Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address without some sense of pride or honor for one’s own country. He brings about a call to civility among all citizens striving for unity and harmony with one another. Lincoln understood the dilemma that slavery became for not only the Northerners attempting to abolish the practice entirely, but also for the Southerners perpetuating it in the first place. The fact that there was a faction rising in favor of slavery on a scale that would divide the country indefinitely and that Lincoln foresaw this danger demonstrates the level of prudence he was able to acquire up until his presidency. In this address, Lincoln stressed the importance of the nation staying unified and true to the principles set by
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.
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.
