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Lincoln Second Inaugural Speech Analysis

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The speech Abraham Lincoln gave on March 4th, 1865, titled the ‘Second Inaugural Speech’, was mainly political theology, in which he sought to address the major issues in which he would face in his presidency. His voice was very strong and clear, and he used diction, a passive voice, and a very well mannered tone in order to achieve the full purpose of his speech to the ‘fellow countrymen’. He achieves this effect very well, while speaking to both the North and the South about binding up the nation’s wounds that have stricken them in the core. The diction that Lincoln chooses to use displays that he is very educated, and that he wished to establish that he was speaking to both divided parts of the country, the north and the south, and that he planned on bringing the two together in his words. Lincoln uses phrases such as: Neither, Both, and Each, in order to achieve this purpose, reminding all that we are split, but we are all a common people seeking the same thing, but achieving so in rather different manners. Lincoln states that “Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease.” which proves that …show more content…

He showed that he did not believe one side was better than the other when it came to their actions, because it took both sides to achieve the effects. He states “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.” If you take special note of his final phrasing towards the end of the sentence, Lincoln says “... and the war came.” This shows that he did not say something along the lines of “This war was caused by the North’s lust to end slavery”, but instead, he chooses to stay passive in his choice of

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To begin, President Lincoln strengthens his points by using parallel structure in paragraph by exclaiming “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it”. By stating this, Lincoln brings together the two very distinct viewpoints by showing that both wanted to advert and stray from the war, knowing neither could due to previous circumstances. Parallel structure entails unification of the two sides of the battle, uniting them through a relatable idea and overall accomplishing the goal of his inaugural address, bonding the confederacy and the union back together. Another example of his use of parallel structure includes his expansion upon the idea that neither side wanted to start the war: “Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict may cease…the conflict itself should cease.” Lincoln indicates that he understands both

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Throughout the speech, Lincoln seldom utilizes dividing diction such as “you”, “I” or “them” that implies that the people, and even the speaker, are separate from one another. Instead, he utilizes unifying terms, such as in “We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live”(Lincoln, #). Numerous times throughout this section the term “we” can be seen, which Lincoln used specifically as it is a unifying term. The term brings together the speaker and the audience as one, leaving no room for

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