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Rhetorical Devices Used In Lincoln's Last Speech

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On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of his most famous speeches, the “Gettysburg Address.” This speech is given during the dedication of a battleground cemetery to not only commemorate the fallen Union soldiers, but also remind the people what they are actually fighting for—freedom. Being that America is a land divided due to the Civil War, President Lincoln knows that it is up to him to reunite the broken nation. With a little time, Lincoln is able to deliver one of history’s most influential speeches using these three rhetorical features: ethos (the use of character and credibility), pathos (the use of emotional appeal), and logos (the use of reasoning). The first rhetorical feature that can be found in Lincoln’s …show more content…

He states that “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… (1)” Through this statement, Lincoln inspires the people to finish what their loved ones started and honor their sacrifices. Abraham lets the listeners know, “that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, [. . .] for the people shall not perish from the earth (1).” He gives the audience a confidence and hope of a new future. He exposes the audience to a feeling of obligation and appreciation towards the people who gave up their lives for freedom. Finally, Lincoln uses a logos appeal in his “Gettysburg Address.” His opening statement, “Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal (1),” illustrates the logic behind why these men were fighting. They were struggling to gain liberty and equality in a broken nation. Logically, it only makes sense that if the people before them died for these causes, then continuing to fight is completely justified and noble. All in all, the response to Lincoln’s speech is overwhelmingly successful. By using ethos, pathos, and logos, President Lincoln is able to effectively persuade his audience to continue fighting for the freedom

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In his second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln sets forth a convincing argument detailing his thoughts and opinions on the future of the Union. Lincoln accomplishes this by making use of Kairos, which having his argument being at the opportune moment. He also characterizes both sides of war by addressing the Confederates’ goals as well as the Union’s. Finally, he brings the two side together with a unifying religious appeal.

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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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It was given after the Civil War almost as a way to retsore the nation. In the speech Abraham starts off by saying “ Four score and seven years ago” which is significant because that was when the Declaration of Independence was signed and when the colonies gained their freedom fromGreat Britain. He then goes on to say that the founding fathers bulit the nation on liberty and equality for all men, but years later they are fighting to see if its true. He uses atlleration to honor the fallen soliders by saying, “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” To conclude, Abraham Lincoln was a hero to many people but to others he was a man with a questionable motive.

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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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The Great Speech Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 delivered one of the most iconic speeches in American History. His delivery infuses us with such raw power and emotions that poured out from the bottom of his heart will change the hearts and minds of Americans for ages to come. Abraham Lincoln did not just write one speech he made five different copies with different sentence structure and paragraph structure, to show how important the layout of the message and how it needed to be simple and to the point. Dissecting “The Gettysburg Address” we begin to understand Abraham Lincoln’s heart lies, he reminds everyone about our past and that we should honor those who fought for our freedom; he tells us “All men are created equal” only to show us what we need to work on as people in the present, he spreads hope for the future and encourages us to grow together

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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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He ends his hopeful message by saying “to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations” (Lincoln). This final message from President Lincoln in his address clearly demonstrates his overarching purpose- to instill a sense of togetherness in the American people as a whole. It was purposeful when Lincoln ended his address with this message. It held a strong message of peace and bonding together so that Lincoln’s address would have a lasting impact on Americans. Lincoln uses optimistic diction when employing words such as "cherish" and "lasting peace" to convey a message of harmony.

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The Gettysburg Address was intended to be an argument to persuade. Abraham Lincoln was inspiring his troops because morale was low after the Battle of Gettysburg. They need motivation to keep fighting. Lincoln used logos by explaining that because people gave their lives defending what they believed in, the living should finish the job the dead started. By talking about the fellow soldiers who died at Gettysburg, Lincoln appeals to the pathos of his listeners.

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. . shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?,” and then himself answers, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” The question-answer form of rhetoric, a hypophora, allows Lincoln to put forth his point of divine retribution. By allowing the audience to silently mull over the question and then affirming their thoughts, he successfully drives home his points against slavery and for unity.

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Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” he is speaking to the very emotional nation after many people had just died during the Civil War, he needed to speak to nation to remind them that the sacrifices made by those in the Civil War will not be forgotten and that they must continue with what the war was fought for. He first starts off by referring to how the nation was started then continues to discuss the losses that have occurred from the Civil War and why they should move on while still remembering what the war was fought for. His strong use of rhetorical devices emphasises the goals they must aim for and reassures the nation that they are together in reconstruction by referring to events from the war to

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Referring to such a defining moment in history were just one of the reasons why President Lincoln’s speech was so successful. The Gettysburg Address, one of the shortest, most quoted, and successful speeches in U.S. history was all due to the way President Lincoln was able to use ethos, logos, and pathos while presenting his speech to the audience at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Firstly, of the three modes of persuasion President Lincoln used his first was ethos. Ethos, are used to convince the audience with the author’s reliability or ethics.

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Abraham Lincoln in the speech, The Gettysburg Address, constructs a point of achieving a "just and lasting peace" between the North and South without retribution. Lincoln supports his assertion by justifying his beliefs of unity between the states. Lincoln's purpose is to influence the people to not allow what has been done to go to waste. He wants his audience to realize that this division will only persist if no one settles the current issues in society. Lincoln speaks in a sympathizing, determined tone to address the Americans who are mourning the loss of their loved ones and to the rest of Americans who he wants to see a change from.

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On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that, unbeknownst to him, would become one of the most recognized speeches in the history of the United States. The empowering speech was given in the midst of the gruesome civil war that began between the north and the south over the long-conflicted morality of slavery. Through one of the most highly remembered speeches of our history, The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln commemorates the dead and wounded soldiers at the site of the battle in Gettysburg through references to history, unificating diction and metaphors of life and death to unite the nation in a time of separation and provide a direction for the future of the country. Lincoln begins his essay utilizing historical references in order to illustrate to the public the basis of what the nation was founded upon. Through this, he reminds Americans the morals and ideals that the people are willing to spill blood for.

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