Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Inaugural Address

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The address touches on the idea of equality throughout. Lincoln appeals to the idea that the founding fathers built the nation with the people's freedom in mind when he states “A new nation, conceived in Liberty.”(Lincoln, paragraph 1). This appeals to the notion that people want to have freedom, including the slaves who had no freedom, in Lincoln's time, and was one of the primary reasons the Civil War was occurring. Lincoln uses the idea of freedom to change people's mind about the issue. Lincoln includes an appeal to ethos through the equality of all when he talks about the legacy the founding fathers wished to leave behind when they founded this nation. The views of the founding fathers, stating “the proposition that all men are created …show more content…

Lincoln references leaving a legacy in the statement “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”(Lincoln, paragraph 2). Lincoln’s diction in this sentence conveys a sense of importance to the tasks at hand. Words and phrases such as “great task,” “devotion,” and “dedicated” all create a grandiose image about the task. When Lincoln offers the concept of a sense of importance, it allows the audience to feel like they are part of something bigger. Lincoln also emphasizes the significance of their actions in the war. He talks about how the world will forget what they said, but rather remember what they did. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”(Lincoln, paragraph 3) This statement emphasizes the importance of the task by stating that the most important thing the audience will remember is not the speech but the actions they take. He also does this to remind the nation, that the world will remember the things people have done in the war. This creates a sense of importance and appeals to their need to create a legacy. Lincoln does this to call on people's need to leave behind a legacy by emphasizing the importance of the event which will allow the populace to focus on the future they are building rather than the events of the