How Does Lincoln Use Ethos In The Gettysburg Address

The Battle at Gettysburg, remembered as one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. A battle lasting roughly three days and an approximate fifty-thousand casualties combined from both sides. Following the Union victory, per the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, Abraham Lincoln accepted invitation to speak at the ceremony in which he spoke for three minutes and used concise three-hundred-word oration (Ryan, Mark). Lincoln’s speech was a mere fraction of length to the invocation given by Edward Everett, thus proving that a well-structured, brief, and persuasive claim are as effective as long drawn-out speeches. In the Gettysburg Address, orator and former President Abraham Lincoln enforced his beliefs on basic American rights using pathos,

In the textbook Effectiveness in Writing, pathos is a persuasive tool that engages the listener at an emotional level in order to influence support for the writer or speakers cause (Driver, Helen, Gast, Natascha, Lowman-Thomas, Susan. Pg. 66). Abraham Lincoln decision to use pathos over the other persuasive techniques lies in the event itself; war is an emotional experience. Referenced in The Journal of Southern History, the day of the speech, prior to actually giving it, Lincoln visited the battlefield in which so many Americans had died consequently influencing him to revise his speech after experiencing the sight firsthand (Barr, John). After all, he would be speaking to many citizens who witnessed in person the battle up close. Lincoln stated, “We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live.” (Lincoln, Abraham) not only to commemorate the casualties of the battle but also to engage the audience and influence the emotions. His goal was to emotionally charge the audience in order to rally them in support of

The first line of the speech Lincoln reminds the addressees that our relatively new nation designed to uphold civil liberty and of the immortal declaration. Earlier that year Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation and it is evident by his tone throughout the discourse was meant to embellish a truly free America. Lincoln’s intention was seeking the greater good in a period thought to be so grim. In the body of the speech, Lincoln refers to the sacrifices made “The brave men, living and dead” (Lincoln, A) but that they should not be dwelled on and instead used as motivation to succeed in hopes of a better future. One of the most powerful and captivating lines “we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion” (Lincoln, A) which directly pulls at the conscious of American liberty. Lincoln effectually took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster by filling them with sadness then producing an outlet for them express that in a form of