Ethos In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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Abraham Lincoln, “United States President,” in his second inaugural address to the country has the hopes of unifying the country and resolving the current bloodshed throughout the country. He ended up leading the Union to a victory over the southern states in the civil war. This preserved the union. Not only did Lincoln see a path to victory, but he also envisioned a way to lead the United States to peaceful relations among its states. Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, employed the rhetorical strategies of Religion, Logic, and Pathos to show the people of this divided nation what he envisioned for this unstable nation.
Throughout Lincoln’s speech he employs the religion of Christianity to drive his message to the nation. During his speech Lincoln mentions how each side, the Union and the Confederacy, “read from the same bible” and “pray to the same God.” Lincoln even goes as far as directly quoting the bible to convey the message that God sees “offenses” too and how now he “wills to remove [them].” Lincoln’s purpose of directly quoting the Bible and using Christianity as an example of what is right and wrong, was to show the people how God looks at the matter at hand. God’s view of the matter, the …show more content…

Lincoln states how in his eyes the country should have “malice toward none,” “charity for all,” and the ability to understand right from wrong. He even mentions how the end goal of the country is to have “peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Who does not think of happiness and joy when they hear the words “lasting peace?” No one, but this peace cannon be achieved until we have “bound up the nation’s wounds.” Through this use of Pathos by Lincoln, citizens are driven to see how this great nation will take shape around Lincoln’s vision and provide peaceful relations in which everyone in the country may see how great of a country the United States may