...Abraham Lincoln – 2nd Inaugural Address The Civil War was a time period where the nation was isolated into two regions, the emancipated North and the captive South. The war settled two constitutional questions, whether the United States was to be a segregated confederation of self-governing states or a unified nation with an autonomous national government, and whether this nation, where all men were conceive with an equal right to liberty, would prevail as the largest slaveholding country in the world. After bearing the nation’s agony on his shoulders for four lengthy years, President Abraham Lincoln in his Second Inaugural Address deliberated the outgrowths of the civil war and revealed his vision of unity and forgiveness for the future of the nation. In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln adopts rhetorical devices appealing to his audience’s credibility and emotions to settle the purpose of his speech in merging a broken nation through the abolition of slavery. Lincoln articulates the cause of the war, slavery, in the saying “These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war”. Throughout the speech, he outlines American slavery as the harrowing offense that God wills to remove for the well-being and future of slaves. Lincoln insinuated to the common base the North and the South share, particularly religiously, as he asserts “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God.” Lincoln...
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...him a rising star in national politics and propelled him to the White House. And during his years in office, classic speeches, especially the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, helped to establish him as one of the greatest American presidents. Follow the links below to read more about Lincoln's greatest speeches. Lincoln's Lyceum Address Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images Addressing a local chapter of the American Lyceum Movement in Springfield, Illinois, a 28-year-old Lincoln delivered a surprisingly ambitious speech on a cold winter night in 1838. The speech was entitled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions," and Lincoln, who had just been elected to local political office, spoke on matters of great national significance. He made allusions to a recent act of mob violence in Illinois, and also addressed the issue of slavery. Though Lincoln was talking to a smalltown audience of friends and neighbors, he seemed to have ambitions beyond Springfield and his position as a state representative. Lincoln's Address at Cooper Union In late February 1860 Abraham Lincoln took a series of trains from Springfield, Illinois to New York City. He had been invited to speak to a gathering of the Republican Party, a fairly new political party which was opposed to the spread of slavery. Lincoln had gained some fame while debating Stephen A. Douglas two years earlier in a Senate race in Illinois. But he was essentially unknown in the East. The speech...
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...Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of United States, is one of the most well known presidents because of his great leadership. The sixteenth president wrote masterful speeches and one of them is his Second Inaugural Address. The Second Inaugural Address shows President Lincoln’s viewpoint on how he plans to lead the nation in the future and the effects of the Civil War. With this speech directed to everybody, President Abraham Lincoln skillfully embodies biblical allusion, use of generalization, and shows ethos to appeal to the people. President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address is extremely powerful because he tries to find harmony between the North and the South. By using Christianity as the main common ground for the North and the South, President Lincoln...
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...President Lincoln gave his second inaugural address during a time period where America as a whole was in dire need of leadership and guidance. The Civil War that raged on between the North and the South almost tore this great nation apart. Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States had a vision to restore America to its former glory and to repair our broken nation. The Civil War was brutal and caused many lives to be lost; during the president’s speech he painted a picture of the battlefield where countless amounts of blood had been shed. Abraham Lincoln also provides a strong sense of moral values within his speech; he acknowledges God as the Almighty whose will must be done. There were many key issues that caused this war to begin...
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...West Civ: Modernity Paper 2 Throughout the readings of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, Flannery O’Connor, “Good Country People”, and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, there are several similarities and differences. The main point of this writing is to highlight the simplicity of the readings. Values of humanity, and morality are some of the key points to focus on throughout the writings and will be discussed accordingly. While there are mostly similarities, there are a few differences as well and they will also be examined. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, written in 1865 and delivered on March 4, 1865, was delivered directly during the Civil War. The Civil War of America was started and fought for many different...
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...Abraham Lincoln was a very hard working man; he grew up working with his father since he was young. Ever since he was a young man he would always like to tell stories, write, and read books. He would visit places and learn about different things. As he got older he became more into learning about political careers. Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the United States and later he issued the Emancipation proclamation which started the process of freedom. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 (Coolidge 1). He was raised on a farm in Nolin Creek, which his father bought in 1808 (Coolidge 15). In 1806, Thomas Lincoln married Nancy Hanks. Their daughter Sarah was born here in 1807, two years and two days before Abraham. His mom died...
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...Many see american presidents and immediately think about Abraham Lincoln. This is completely justified considering his outstanding achievements. To start, Abraham prevented the country from falling apart. He did this by deciding to fight the south when they misconceived his notion that he would tolerate slavery only in the states that already had it. During this war is where we see Abraham truly strive as a great leader. His faith in the fairness of his pro-Union policies kept the Union alive during the darkest days of the Civil War. He was a charismatic, persuasive, moral leader who had a strategic vision of his goal, which was to bring the nation together as one again. Abraham Lincoln's foreign policy was successful in preventing other...
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...On March 4th, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech that changed our nation. After being reelected as president, Lincoln had to deliver a second inaugural address to a broken nation after the long, brutal, bloody Civil War. Although his second inaugural address was brief, many people consider it to be one of the greatest speeches ever written. This speech portrayed the right message for people living at the time, and also today. While Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, the Union celebrated its imminent victory over the south in the Civil War. President Lincoln was forced to find words that could justify the North without shaming the South. In reference to slavery, Lincoln says, “All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.” Lincoln makes it very clear at the beginning of the speech that slavery was the reason for the war, although some people did not like to admit it. With the end of the war near, Lincoln feared that our nation would never come together as one again. Both the Union and the Confederate armies knew that the war was coming to an end. Although the slaves would now be free, that did not mean that they would be treated equal. Lincoln knew that...
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...On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address speech, where he shared his visions for the future years of his presidency. Also, in his speech, he used rhetorical devices to achieve his purpose. One rhetorical strategy Abraham Lincoln used in his second inaugural speech is appealing to the audience’s pathos. In his speech, he says “one-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it.” This statement appeals to the audience’s pathos, in a way where the audience should feel sorrow for the slaves, as they are clearly being unfairly treated. In addition, slaves were “localized in the southern part of it”, meaning they were living...
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...and Linc Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The battle between Freedom and Slavery Kayla DeSherlia ENG/220 January 30, 2016 Alfred Badger Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The battle between Freedom and Slavery It was during the Civil War era that both Frederick Douglass and Lincoln fought to destroy a country that was filled with turmoil of slavery. It was then that some of the best speeches came to be. Both of these orators fought for the same thing but they were so different. Frederick Douglass was a African American that was fighting for African American civil rights through speeches such as “Why Is the Negro Lynched?” and “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” while Abraham Lincoln was fighting for unity for all within the Union and Confederate states. Both of these speakers were able to captivate their audiences through their unique tones, methods, and diction to win over the audience and gain their support. Unique Tones, Methods, and Diction for Douglass Douglass was very clear and had one purpose when it came to making speeches and that was to gain rights for the African American community. He believed in equality for all, regardless of what color they were. He was a former slave that had in fact experienced the terror of being a slave, and he had gained sympathy (1852) and credibility from his audience during “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” It was due to Douglass’ personal experiences that he was able to use pessimism and patronizing...
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...Abraham Lincoln confidently addresses the people of America in an attempt to unify and reconstruct The United States after the Civil War through his second Inaugural Address. Lincoln creatively and tactfully assaults the topics of reunification and reconstruction by selectively introducing new ideas and claims then providing large amounts of reason to support them. He uses his specific, detailed, unique strategy in order to create an effective and powerful speech for the public. Lincoln uses a vast variety of sentence structure to maximize the effectiveness of his claims throughout his argument. His syntax differs between simple, compound, and a fairly large amount of complex sentences. He creatively inserts numerous simple sentences in unexpected places throughout his speech to provide extra emphasis on the point of reunification....
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...Lincoln and Douglass: Struggle between Freedom and Slavery by Feross Aboukhadijeh, 11th grade During the Civil War era there existed many factions seeking to dramatically change America. Remarkable speakers spread their ideas through oratory, thrilling their audiences through powerful speeches that appealed to both emotion and logic. Frederick Douglass, a black American, fought for black civil rights through compelling speeches like “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” depicting the terrors of slavery in graphic detail. Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, spoke peacefully and optimistically during his Second Inaugural Address to demonstrate his desire for peace and reconciliation with the Confederate states. Both speakers captivated their audiences through compelling diction, tone, and argumentative methods to win them over and gain their support. Lincoln’s sole desire before, during, and after the Civil War was to maintain national unity. This was his job as president and the entire reason for fighting the Civil War. During his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln reaffirmed the purpose of the war through choice diction. He stated that the South would “…make war rather than let the nation survive…” and though the he “…deprecated war…” he would accept it “…rather than let the nation perish…” Furthermore, during the course of the war, Lincoln freed all the slaves with his Emancipation Proclamation in order to weaken the South. However, he did not want the American people...
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...Abraham Lincoln Biography Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. He moved to Indiana in 1816 and lived there the rest stated that he had about one year of formal education. However, he was taught by many different individuals. He loved to read and of his youth. His mother died when he was nine but he was very close to his stepmother who urged him to read. Lincoln himself learn from any books he could get his hands on. Family Ties: Father: Thomas Lincoln - farmer and carpenter Mother: Nancy Hanks - died when Lincoln was nine. His stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, was very close to him. Siblings: Sarah Grigsby was the only sibling to live to maturity. Wife: Mary Todd - grew up in relative wealth. Four of her siblings fought for the South. She was considered mentally unbalanced. Children: Edward - died at age 3 in 1850; Robert Todd - lawyer and diplomat; William Wallace - the only president's child to die in the White House, and Thomas "Tad" - died at 18. Abraham Lincoln's Military Career: In 1832, Lincoln enlisted to fight in the Black Hawk War. He was quickly elected to be the captain of a company of volunteers. His company joined regulars under Colonel Zachary Taylor. He only served 30 days in this capacity and then signed on as a private in the mounted Rangers. He then joined the Independent Spy Corps. He saw no real action during his short stint in the military. Career Before the Presidency: Lincoln worked as a clerk before...
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...In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address he asserts many points on rhetorical strategies while stating his hopes and admirations for what will come after the Civil War. The purpose of Lincoln’s speech was to unify the nation and bring peace to the states. The tone of this speech emphasizes unity for all. Lincoln begins with using parallelism to help get his point across. “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” (lines 61-63) Lincoln uses the phrase “do we” to show unity. By saying ‘we do’ Lincoln isn’t separating himself from the crowd instead he’s stating himself with the crowd. “While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving...
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...President Abraham Lincoln, in his speech, the Second Inaugural Address talks about the effects of the Civil War and his views for the future of the nation. President Lincoln supports his claims for a better future by promising the nation unity and peace among its people. Lincoln’s purpose is to heal the wounds of the Civil War and reunite the North and South within the United States. He adopts a righteous and erudite tone for his audience, and others interested in Abraham Lincoln and his speech about the Civil War. Throughout his speech, Abraham Lincoln uses three main literary tools to capture his audience: Biblical allusions, personification of the war, and addresses both the Northerners and Southerners in hopes of reunifying the nation. Through Abraham Lincoln’s use of Biblical allusions, he was able to bring the north and south together by telling them about how God has a plan and the war was a part of his plan. Both sides, the north and south, had Christian values that they followed and each had been praying to God that they win. In paragraph three,...
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