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Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Devices

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On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln, America’s sixteenth president, gave the most memorable and renowned speech of the Civil War from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, after the Battle of Gettysburg, which later went on to become known as the “Gettysburg Address”. This speech impacted both the Union and the Confederacy with both sides respectively opposing and praising the speech that only lasted two minutes of ten sentences containing 272 words, yet was so impactful at this critical turning point in the war. Lincoln used several rhetorical devices, with a reverent and humble tone as well as a solemn hopeful mood, to emphasize how paramount it was that the Union should win and that America should continue into the future as a singular entity while …show more content…

This speech that he gave was critical to not only the war, but also the whole future that followed, therefore with this in mind Lincoln made thorough use of rhetoric when and where he could in his speech. The speech starts with “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1), a rather simple single sentence which sets up the whole exposition for the speech. This sentence does not make much use of rhetoric because of its simplicity, it is easy for all to understand which may have helped Lincoln win favor of the slaves in the South further advancing the Union’s agenda. Yet with the lack of use of rhetoric, Lincoln was able to get across the foundations of his tone and establish the mood. Both the Union and the Confederacy …show more content…

The first notable use of rhetoric in the second paragraph is the repetition of the word “we” within every sentence as the subject. Lincoln used the word “we” because the word helps unite the people of the Union and even somewhat closes the gap between the Union and the Confederacy. Upon that Lincoln uses pathos in saying that “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives” (Lincoln, 2) where he shows the citizens of, both the Union and Confederacy that no one deserved to die on that battlefield and that those who did will have a portion of the field they fought and died on dedicated to

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