Gunnar Olson 7/12/17 Lincoln’s second inaugural address Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address was anchored in the president’s awareness of the Union citizens’ growing anxiety about the grave causes and effects of the then Civil war conflict. In order to compel Union citizens to stay motivated towards this restoration of the Union by excusing Confederate insurgents and seeing through the necessary war, Lincoln transitions between inclusive pronouns to binary diction to capture conflicting and shared beliefs among Americans, as well as allusions to God’s religion to portray the war as repayment for the act of slavery. In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln surprised his audience by not giving a speech regarding politics, but instead using harsh and then encouraging diction and biblical allusions to inspire Americans and show them that they need to continue to work for peace. Lincoln starts this speech with harsh diction while he talks about the past …show more content…
Lincoln intentionally compares Confederate hopes and accomplishments to those of the Union. From lines 15 through 61, Lincoln chooses to word his comparisons in the past tense. For example lines 34-41 when Lincoln says, “Neither anticipated…the conflict itself should cease.” His words all end in past tense: “anticipated”, “looked”, “read”, every verb is in past tense. President Lincoln used those words because they confirmed his work, he had ended the Civil War, and while doing so, he made America whole again. The comparison also serves to show the differences of the two governments to portray one as the “bad guy” and the other as the “good guy.” This comparison also appeals to ethos, to show what has been accomplished; pathos to appeal to the basic emotions of patriotism, anger, and hope; and lastly logos: the appeal to the “better side”. All of these are placed to reflect Lincoln’s purpose - to show that we are again