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Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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The Civil War rid the United States of peace and solidarity. Abraham Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, expands on the country’s war motives and fight to restore the values that it stands for. With his usage of syntax, diction, and religious allusion, Lincoln seeks to mend the divided nation. President Lincoln’s careful use of inclusive words and phrases strengthen the feeling of unity throughout his address. The word choice highlights his attempts to remain impartial concerning his views on the war. Instead of using labels such as “the North” and “the South”, Lincoln connects his audience with words like “all”, “both”, and “our.” He steers away from creating more division and instead presents the work needed to repair the nation as a duty for everyone, no matter their differences in opinion or belief. Lincoln uses …show more content…

In the beginning of his address, Lincoln leans toward factual rhetoric instead of the more emotional appeal which he presents later on by reminding the audience, “slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest, [all] knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.” He opens by reiterating the opposing standpoints of the nation early on, but advances by expressing need for unity. Throughout the speech, the causes of the war are rarely mentioned to highlight Lincoln desire for his people to focus on a solution rather than the cause of their problems. After asserting the cause, Lincoln utilizes diction, like previously mentioned, to instill solidarity among the nation, but closes his speech with special requests for his citizens. He asks the audience to “bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his wife and his orphans.” With syntax, the president manages to overshadow war motives with reasons for peace and ends his speech with a call for

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