Rhetorical Analysis Of The Gettysburg Address

On November 19th, 1863, four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy in the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln addressed the American public regarding the Civil War. Lincoln was in the third year of his presidency, the third year of a long and grueling war against the Southern secession; Lincoln was duly responsible for running a campaign for reelection, and for holding out against the Confederacy in the Civil War. As a major figure at such a key point in history, Lincoln had multiple target audiences to which he had a different core message. Lincoln was giving Union Soldiers something new to fight for, redefining the war for those from northern and border states with ambiguous feelings toward the war, and projecting a

He discusses the importance of and the tragedy involved with the Civil War. Using tricolon, Lincoln really accentuates the number of lives lost, accentuating the importance of these lives stating that: “we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground.” As Lincoln moves through this statement from dedicate, to consecrate, to hallow, his words increase in drama and power. Furthermore the repetition of the absolute statement, “we cannot,” emphasizes the totality and finality of warfare. Although it could be argued that by accentuating the horror of war Lincoln weakens his argument that the Union should remain in battle, this division has the contrary effect. Lincoln’s point here is that even though war is brutal that the fight for the Union is well worth it. This statement ends with “the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” This sentence is pointing out that honorable people saw this war as something worth dying for, that the land from which he is giving his speech symbolizes something much greater, the willpower of men to persevere to do what is right and the strength of the

In order to create the theme of unity, Lincoln used first person plural pronouns throughout his speech to create a vision for America that isn’t just him or her, north or south, but us, our, and we. Furthermore, his use of these pronouns plays a key role in keeping his audience engaged and making his argument a personal one for all listening in. Lincoln’s ability to engage and persuade an audience was truly remarkable. Although America is no longer in the midst of a Civil War, this passage is still relevant, due to its historical importance, and that understanding the rhetorical devices used by Lincoln to persuade so many people to think differently may help the reader to grow to formulate their own argument. Moreover, Lincoln’s statements about American values and the importance of unity ring true to this