The Rhetorical Devices of the Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the most famous presidents throughout American history. Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States; his presidency was focused on healing a divided nation from a brutal civil war, and to bring equal rights to all American citizens regardless of their racial ethnicity. On November 19, 1863 Lincoln delivered one of his most iconic speeches. This speech became known as the “Gettysburg Address”, it used rhetorical devices to connect to the audience and make the speech more appealing. One of the most iconic parts of the Gettysburg Address, is the beginning. In this portion of the speech Lincoln discusses the foundations that the country was built on, and implies that those foundations should still be upheld even to their time period (Dream). Lincoln’s purpose of this introductory statement is to appeal to the listener’s sense of logic. Doing so, Lincoln successfully develops the main idea of his speech. Hoping to make all listeners aware of the redundancy of the Civil War, as equality for all men was a building block that the founding fathers had in mind when establishing our country. …show more content…
Lincoln mentions how the battlefield before them, is now a memorial for those who gave their lives for a cause, both sides believed in. He then states “we have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place” (Lincoln ). A tone of nostalgia and grief is conveyed, as Lincoln expresses how he felt these men did not die in vain. The tone Lincoln delivered can make one amongst the audience come to a realization that the Civil War may seem so trivial when it is put into perspective of how much life has been