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Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's The Second Inaugural Address

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Fighting for equality was a relevant theme in early America; however, fighting was only half the struggle, once you won what happened next was up to the leaders of the new system. In Abraham Lincoln’s speech “ The Second Inaugural Address”, America is nearing the end of the civil war and Lincoln explains what should happen next as their victory approaches. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as diction, allusion, and syntax the audience connects to Lincoln and his statements while understanding the great capability of America. Throughout Lincolns Speech he often times alludes to references the general population knows about so they can connect to him and his statements while receiving a greater knowledge of his purpose. The Bible …show more content…

His speech comes in a variety of statements ranging short to long and contains 3 paragraphs. However, the second paragraph takes up the majority of the speech and contains many the different sentences. In the begging Lincoln states straight short fact but as he continues his conversation the tone switches to a religious one. As the subject of God and the Bible is brought into perspective the sentences start to receive a longer length, questions are being asked, and Lincoln starts showing his frustration toward the subject. This structure is important because Lincoln starts off with the facts and then discusses the topic if he were to do it any other way the audience would be left confused and wouldn’t understand his overall purpose toward the fight. Another example of syntax would be the last paragraph, which is one long sentence. This last statement is put in one sentence to show the passion in Lincoln, but also the hope he has for America in its healing process. This statement can’t be split, it must stand together or it will lose its value. The togetherness of the structure then gives the audience a lasting and energized effect. Lincoln says what he says in a purposeful manner to demonstrate he cares and wants America to the best it can

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During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency at the start of the 1860, an issue that had divided the nation was slavery. Lincoln’s election to presidency as a republic was not received well by the Southern slave states, as they thought that as a republican he was out to abolish slavery. In an effort to calm southern states and keep them from seceding from the United States, he attempts to ease them with his First Inaugural Address. In his First Inaugural Address his key points are to clam southern leaders of slave states, keep the states from seceding, and make them at ease as he enters presidency.

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In the closing months of the Civil War, and in his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln speaks upon important matters at the time. These matters being about slavery and politics. He wanted to express his thoughts on the ongoing Civil War and his hopes for creating a better future. In order to achieve his purpose, Abraham Lincoln utilizes sophisticated diction, irony, and pathos. Abraham Lincoln uses sophisticated diction in order to express his thoughts on the Civil War and his hopes for creating a better future.

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In his Second Inaugural Address speech by Abraham Lincoln, incorporates biblical references and compares the North and South in order to bring them together and unite the country. Lincoln indirectly questions the ethics behind owning slaves by referring to the bible and reveals the South using God as an excuse for racism. Quoting the bible, Lincoln concludes that “He now wills to remove” implying that God wishes to abolish slavery. The former president convoys God to have “his own purposes” suggesting to leave the war in God's hands.

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President Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address, addresses the topic of the civil war and its effects on the nation and argues that America could be unified once more. He supports his claim by using massive amounts of parallel structure and strong word choice. Lincoln ‘s purpose is to contemplate the effects of the civil war in order to unite the broken America once again. He adopts a very hopeful tone for his audience, the readers of the inaugural address and others interested in the topic of American history and the civil war.

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Lincoln's uses rhetorical strategy throughout his Second Inaugural Address was the use of an appeal to his audience's emotions. This is evident during his entire speech Lincoln continuously revert to religious evidence of some sort to support his claim. He says that although it may seem absurd for slavery's proponents to be allowed to pray to God, that his audience and he should “judge not that [they] be not judged,” alluding to the Lord's Prayer and appealing to his audience's Christian beliefs. He continues religion when talking about the Christians, he states, “Fondly do [they] hope, fervently do

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Abe Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, uses language with which the audience can connect and relate. Through inclusive pronouns, parallel sentence structure, pathos, and metaphors, Lincoln does not simply list off what the war has entailed or recommend a certain path the people must take. Lincoln instead consoles the nation as if it was a dear old friend whom is in dire need of advice. The first rhetorical strategy Lincoln used was inclusive pronouns such as “we”, “us”, and “all”. Additionally, the president began the address with the inviting words “Fellow Countrymen”.

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In "The Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln brings his point across of dedicating the cemetery at Gettysburg by using repetition, antithesis, and parallelism. Abraham Lincoln uses repetition in his speech to bring a point across and to grab the audience attention. For example, President Lincoln states, "We can not dedicate--we can not consecrate-- we can not hallow-- this ground." Abraham Lincoln is saying the Gettysburg cannot be a holy land since the ones that fought there will still be remembered, and Lincoln is assuming that the dead and brave that fought would still want Gettysburg to improve on more.

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President Abraham Lincoln uses a variety of rhetorical strategies in his Second Inaugural Address to pose an argument to the American people regarding the division in the country between the northern states and the southern states. Lincoln gives this address during the American Civil War, when politics were highly debated and there was a lot of disagreement. Lincoln calls for the people of America to overcome their differences to reunite as one whole nation once more. Lincoln begins his Second Inaugural Address by discussing the American Civil War and its ramifications.

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Rhetorically analyzing the speech, Lincoln uses many literary tactics to engage the audience in taking action in restoring America's unity. He utilizes shifts, comparisons, and repetition to create a speech that connects with the

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