Compare And Contrast Lincoln And Jfk Inaugural Address

Two former Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and Abraham Lincoln, both delivered influential inaugural addresses at the Capitol in Washington DC. Even though almost a hundred years separated these elections and addresses, the country was divided and faced unrest during these periods. During Lincoln’s presidencies, the citizens had oppossing views over slavery during the Civil War. During the time of JFK’s inaugural speech, the country was divided because the Election of 1960 was one of the closest elections in history. In addition, tensions were high during the Cold War. Even though the Civil War was an internal issue for Americans and the Cold War was an external conflict, both wars caused the presidents to address the

In addition, they also use religion in a different way. One of Kennedy’s hopes which he addresses in his speech is for global peace. He does this by appealing to the fear and what would happen if peace was destroyed or not made, “The instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace” (2). In Lincoln’s speech, he took a different approach by appealing to reason, “One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of war” (3). Lincoln appeals to reason through the religious values that he displays in order to explain the reasons for war and God’s punishments and make his audience feel united, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other...The prayers of both could not be answered” (3). John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, used the bible in his speech to appeal to the religious value of helping the oppressed, “Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to ‘undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free’" (2). Unlike how Lincoln uses religion to unify the division between the North and South, Kennedy uses figurative language and syntax in order to voice his desire for and unified the Communists and Americans, ‘Now the trumpet summons us again --not as a call to bear arms…but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, ‘rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation’ a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.“ (3) In conclusion, Lincoln focuses more on the causes of the war and