Ethos, Logos In The Gettysburg Address

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In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the greatest speeches known as the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln started off by stating, “Fourscore and seven years ago.” What exactly does President Lincoln mean when he says these few words? Those who do not know, a score is equal to 20 years. President Lincoln was in fact refereeing to 87 years ago, which would be 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Referring to such a defining moment in history were just one of the reasons why President Lincoln’s speech was so successful. The Gettysburg Address, one of the shortest, most quoted, and successful speeches in U.S. history was all due to the way President Lincoln was able to use ethos, logos, and pathos while presenting his speech to the audience at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Firstly, of the three modes of persuasion President Lincoln used his first was ethos. Ethos, are used to convince the audience with the author’s reliability or ethics. President Lincoln being well known as “Honest Abe” to countless individuals and being the President of the United States surely give him the credibility of having ethos in his speech. "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."(Lincoln). This quote from President Lincoln shows another ethos approach to his speech by saying when the country was initially