Allusions In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

It would be more than difficult not to read Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address without some sense of pride or honor for one’s own country. He brings about a call to civility among all citizens striving for unity and harmony with one another. Lincoln understood the dilemma that slavery became for not only the Northerners attempting to abolish the practice entirely, but also for the Southerners perpetuating it in the first place. The fact that there was a faction rising in favor of slavery on a scale that would divide the country indefinitely and that Lincoln foresaw this danger demonstrates the level of prudence he was able to acquire up until his presidency. In this address, Lincoln stressed the importance of the nation staying unified and true to the principles set by

In Lincoln’s First inaugural Address he attacks this immense problem of slavery. He begins with a promise that states that although he is a republican

The audience of his speech was the relevant American government workers. Lincoln predominantly uses pathos and ethos to show that both the North and South deserved blame for the immoral sin of slavery, and to prepare for the progression away from slavery for America. In Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address’ he introduces how his first four-year presidential term has come to end, and about the nation going through a soon-to-end civil war over slavery. Lincoln’s first two words in the speech are “Fellow countrymen” (Lincoln), which may seem insignificant to some, but it is pathos.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln employed various allusions to the Bible in order to show that the Civil War was a form of divine punishment for slavery that could only be amended through “the providence of God” (5). His purpose in his address was to restore hope in the citizens of the Union, and he accomplished this by utilizing Bible verses to create an ethical appeal to the idea that through God, America would be able to prosper in the face of opposition. This shows that Lincoln was well aware of the pride that Americans felt in the idea that the United States is God’s nation, and for many people, this firm belief still exists today. A second example that utilizes the idea that the United States is controlled by the hands of God in order to invoke pride and nationalism is Emmanuel Leutze’s famous painting George Washington Crossing the Delaware. In the painting, an aura of light surrounds George Washington and the American

As most men and women in America are Christian, Lincoln’s references to bible and God evoke a powerful message. “With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right…” Despite America being divided at that time, Lincoln claims that all of America is under God. And although many southerners have reasons to despise Lincoln, but they can’t blatantly ignore his appeals to the Christian faith. Lincoln also brings up the alternative to his optimism using religion.

By appealing to reason, he wants to describe how “all dreaded it, all sought to avert it,” so why not use their united power to get a compromise and work out the big triggering social problem, slavery. In addition, this quotation also is important due to Lincoln’s approach of “no accusations.” By including “all,” he wants to emphasize that they are “all” in it together. Later, Lincoln uses chiasmus (inversion of words in a recognizable repetitive way) with, “let us judge not, that we be not judged.” This inverted diction is to emphasize God’s change in mind, the switch from letting

In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. He supported his claim with parallel structure to highlight the differences between the North and South, then mentioning biblical references to express the importance of religion, and finally the diction he used helped join the citizens together. President Lincoln’s purpose was to express the similarities between the North and South in order to unify the country once again. He uses a critical, yet hopeful tone towards the Americans of both the North and South. Just one month before the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address in the hopes of reuniting the country once

In this metaphor, both sides are held accountable for slavery, an action not commonly done. In the line “wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces” Lincoln has two purposes, first and foremost to question the morality of slavery. How can these people calling themselves Christians do this to their “brothers and sisters” in Christ? And secondly, in the scripture line “let us judge not, that we be not judged” Lincoln engages the religious while also indirectly suggesting that the Southerners aren't the only ones responsible for slavery, everyone in this country played a role whether it was Using these various devices gives Lincoln the ability to connect and relate to his wary audience during his second Inaugural Address.

Lincoln does quite a couple compare and contrast scenarios for the two parts of the divided nation, but always ends up putting the north on top. Another appeal is hidden in the big section where Lincoln addresses God’s will and what he desires. He states that the Union upheld God’s law while the south rebelled against it, thus, once again praising the

President Abraham Lincoln uses a variety of rhetorical strategies in his Second Inaugural Address to pose an argument to the American people regarding the division in the country between the northern states and the southern states. Lincoln gives this address during the American Civil War, when politics were highly debated and there was a lot of disagreement. Lincoln calls for the people of America to overcome their differences to reunite as one whole nation once more. Lincoln begins his Second Inaugural Address by discussing the American Civil War and its ramifications.

The widely admired 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is known for preserving the Union during the U.S. Civil War and the emancipation of slaves. Lincoln is idolized by many as one of America’s greatest heroes for his outstanding impact on the nation and as the savior of the Union. As the war was ending, Lincoln’s Union forces had slowly but effectively pushed the Confederate South into compliance and his aim in battling the South had been to hold the Union together, but a cultural abyss remained between the Southern states as they were forced to reunify and Northern states as they increasingly stumbled in their resolve to vanquish the Confederacy. In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he lectures about a divided nation and attempts to create a spirit of national unity and forgiveness and uses a variety of rhetorical strategies when doing so.

At the beginning of Abraham Lincoln’s second term as the president of the United States, he was confronted with a severely split nation fighting in the bloodiest battle in American history. Lincoln had hoped that, by fighting the South and having them rejoin, he could keep the Union together. Although the Union troops eventually managed to force the Confederates to surrender, a cultural divide remained as the Confederate states were forced to reunite with the North and the North became more hesitant in their determination to subdue the South. Since governing a country in this state would be nearly impossible, Lincoln decided to address both the North and South in his speech by asking them to set aside their disagreements so that the split nation could be repaired. His speech, despite being very brief, connected with both sides through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos which helped him achieve his goal of keeping the

In this election, Lincoln and Douglas had some series of debates over slavery. Although Lincoln never exactly stated that he wanted to abolish slavery, much of the South believed he was an Abolitionist. At his speech in 1858 in Springfield Illinois, Lincoln wanted the nation to be one thing or another, meaning all free or all slave, because it couldn’t keep going on how it was, else it would fall apart. In his speech, Lincoln said, “...but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other” (Doc G).

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

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.