In regards to “finding common ground,” it is believed that there is no same person in this country. The human race is different, America has a vast variety of religions, skin color, and ethnic backgrounds. Walking into an amusement park and seeing different people can change a person's view on life. Kofi Annan said, “we may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” This statement emphasizes that American citizens can live in America with all their differences and work together to actually make America a good country. In this unit, two authors also argued that individuals should find common ground. In an argumentative article by Anna Quindlen, “A Quilt of a Country” argues that …show more content…
despite our differences America can work. Also, in the speech, “The Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln asserts that the Americans must end the Civil War and bring the nation together again. Both of these texts help the reader understand the message behind Annan’s quote--that individuals can live together as “one human race.” Finally, individuals can live together as one human race because America stands with each other even with our differences and our country needs each other in desperate times. In “A Quilt of a Country,” an argumentative article by Anna Quindlen, Quindlen argues that America works despite our differences and this proves that America can stand with each other even though we are all different.
In this argumentative article, Quindlen says, “... patriotism is partly taking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries, and still be able to call it by one name” (Pg 6). This quote illustrates that many different people from different ethnic backgrounds are put into America, and yet even though there are different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the country can still be called the United States of America. Therefore, this quote is important because this country utilizes those different ethnic backgrounds to build and make America a country, a better country. Later, the author states, “like many improbable ideas, when it actually works, it’s a wonder” (Quindlen Pg 6). This quote reinforces the idea of unity because in reality America shouldn’t work due to the diversity but it does because America uses the people’s differences to make it a good community and country to live in. Anna Quindlen argues in her article that despite our differences America works and if taken seriously it is true, America can stand with each other even though a lot of us are different from each …show more content…
other. In a different text, “The Gettysburg Address,” a speech by Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln emphasizes on the fact that the North and South need to get back together to make America whole again, and this proves that our country needs each other in desperate times.
Lincoln starts off his speech saying, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation… dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (27). In this quote, Lincoln reveals that America was built on the fact that all men have a fair chance of life in the country. The significance of this quote is America was built off the idea that men are created as equals because it demonstrates how the American people would work better together if men and women had the same chance as everyone, no matter the color or religion. Inevitable, in “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln, argues that the North and the South need to join together again to make America whole again, and this agrees with the fact that our country needs each other in desperate
times. On the other hand, other individuals would say that people can not live together as one human race. A point that proves this is that yes America does have discrimination in it. Many people see other people as bad people due to their skin color or what language they speak. Also there is no equality in gender. A lot of businesses pay women less than the men, or men can get promoted easier and faster than women do. Nonetheless, people in America can live as one human race. Even though there is discrimination in the country, there is many people fighting for equality in America. To help prove this point, in “A Quilt of a Country,” by Anna Quindlen, she says “faced with diversity there is little character, but there are two strains of behavior that, however tenuously, abet the concept of unity” (5). And even though there is times where there is no equality in gender, many advocates fight to make America equal because Abraham Lincoln once said, “...our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (The Gettysburg Address, lines 1-3). In conclusion, people in the United States can live together as one human race. Throughout, “A Quilt of a Country,” Anna Quindlen argues that America can join together as one despite our differences because the U.S. does use people's differences to make it a better country. In “The Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln illustrated that the South needs to join the Union again to make America as started by our forefathers because America as a whole works better as a whole and not as two parts. Both authors help the reader to reflect on the point that the American people need each other to help and guide each other to a better country. Finally, people need to see that America can and does work better when we are joined together as a unit.
Rhetorical Analysis of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address Abraham Lincoln served as the president of the United States for the entirety of the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. He began his second term on March 4, 1865, nearing the end of the Civil War that had divided the nation. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln discusses the disastrous war and how it has separated the country and encourages peace between the two opposing sides. Lincoln effectively constructs his argument that Americans themselves must collectively work towards peace and restoration of their nation by adopting an ardent diction, an optimistic tone, and references to religious texts. Lincoln’s speech creates passionate diction that reflects the hope he has for unity among all Americans.
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America "Fourscore and seven years ago ." These are the first 5 of only two hundred seventy-two words that remade America. In Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America, the author, Gary Wills, informed us that Abraham Lincoln wanted equality among us and to unite as one. In Abraham Lincoln's own speech, he would not mention single individuals or even top officers. Everyone was considered as equal importance and was never any different. "Though we call Lincoln's text the Gettysburg Address, that title clearly belongs to Everett." 1 This is very true, which I think is interesting. Everett who was chosen by David Wills to commemorate the National Cemetery of Gettysburg, was supposed to be the speaker while Lincoln was only the dedicatory remarks speaker. Not only did Lincoln have the favorable speech, it was only three minutes while Everett's was two hours long. Lincoln also supposedly was not supposed to be there to speak; he actually just told a correspondent that he would be present. It's amazing to believe that a two hundred seventy-two word speech would say so much to thousands of people.
The Gettysburg Address was not successful when it was first presented to those who attended the dedication for the fallen of the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln surprised all at the event with his speech by its shortness. The address is considered to be the definition on the ideas that the United States was founded upon. Before the Civil War began the United States were seen as only a collection of states. The Gettysburg address was an attempt to unite the nation. Lincoln passed on his belief that the nation must be united and that a “new birth of freedom” would be created, or the nation would “perish from the world” if the Union failed.
Founded by groups as diverse as indigenous Native Americans, Dutch merchants, English separatists, Spanish missionaries, French frontiersman and Africans – both free and enslaved – the country’s diversity stretches back four centuries” (9). America is an extraordinary country. In my opinion, America is the most diverse population and culture. However, exceptional does not necessarily mean better. I have never understood that some Americans have the mindset that they are ‘better’ than other countries. I generally like America, but that is enough for me. I don 't need it to be "better" than other places to be satisfied. I came here to have a better life, better education and to have a better home. However, if American history were full of lies they should make a wise action and should tell the truth and tell what really happened in the past. In my mind today is “Where do we find truth these days?” It is certainly not in the history a state teaches its children, or in the press that props up its leaders. Africans both free and enslaved and immigrants has freedom I just hope that, people of color and Americans have real unity and still respect each other in the future
In “People Like Us”, the writer talks about tolerance and diversity in the United States. America has for a long time been cited as one of the most diverse countries. Upon investigation of that statement, one will find that it is a fact, for the country is filled with millions of individuals from different ethnic extractions, political affiliations, religion, socioeconomic status, personalities, interests, etc. However, according to “People Like Us”, instead of the population of the country uniting in its diversity and using that as a strength, individuals are trying really hard to distance themselves from others who are not like themselves, and to band themselves together with those who are like them. David
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners.
Lincoln’s optimistic tone encourages all Americans to put behind them the Civil War and progress forward as a united nation once more. President Lincoln calls to action all the peoples of America with sentences such as, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in” and “ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace”. The tone that President Lincoln capitalizes on is purposefully optimistic because he hopes to end the war and move past the issue of slavery, among others, which has divided the nation, and he wishes to safeguard the nations reunification. Lincoln’s tone also has hortative sentences such as asking the American people to “strive”. President Lincoln also wishes to rid both sides of any grudges or rancor they may feel towards one another for the war by reflecting that “all sought to avert it” and by articulating, “Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it…attained”. And towards the end of his speech, Lincoln calls the nation to be unified “with malice towards none, with charity for all” so that their minds and souls may be cleared of any ill will in order for the nation’s reunification to be permanent and not just superficial. President Lincoln evokes the nation as a whole to a higher degree in hop...
“I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races…” are words spoken by Abraham Lincoln, who went on to become the 16th president of the United States. One could argue that, since this was uttered prior to his election and prior to the Civil War, Lincoln’s attitude eventually changed over the course of time. In fact, many refer to Lincoln as “the great emancipator” and use the title to honour him as a warrior for justice and equal rights. However, Abraham Lincoln did not end slavery in the name of equality and this is a fact that is constantly reinforced by his words and actions throughout the course of his presidency.
He wisely used the issue of slavery to appeal to both the abolitionists and to Negrophobes, Northerners who were afraid of living side-by- side with Negroes and competing with them for jobs. For example, on July 10th of 1959, Lincoln gave a speech in Chicago, a primarily abolitionist town. Lincoln stated that inequality was unnecessary in this country. If all men were created equal then were should look past race, saying, “Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal” (Hofstadter, pg. 148).
He truly did not believe in creating an equal society. In another speech Lincoln again discloses his views on no the issue of creating an equal society. Lincoln states that he is absolutely in no way in favor any political or civil rights for African Americans, which could possibly threaten the position of the white male in society. Lincoln states, “I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negros, nor of qualifying them to hold public office, nor to intermarry with white people…while do remain together there must be the position of the superior and inferior, and I as much as another man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race” . Although Lincoln clearly – as I previously stated, believes that African Americans are capable of contributing and have contributed to American society he does not seem too be interested in changing the way the system works and is interested as a white male – to be the one in a superior
America has welcomed many different cultures, ethnicities, and religions for many years. Even since Thomas Paine wrote Rights of Man in 1791. Paine believed that nothing could separate the unison between the people because of the just government. People referred to America as the “great melting pot” because of its widespread diversity. America represents a nation filled with self-liberty, free speech, and independence, while cultures settle into this great melting pot. All kinds of different beliefs combine to form the unique identity of America, but despite all of this, in today’s world these differences between opinions and lifestyle have separated the people. The “cordial unison” Paine speaks of may hold true today, but because of the differences in culture, opinions, and lifestyles, it may not hold true in the future.
Diversity is what built America. This is supported by John F. Kennedy’s “ The Immigrant Contribution from A Nation of Immigrants” and Anna Quindlen’s “A quilt of a Country” essay dictons. Both of Quindlen’s diction characteristics are abstract and sophisticated, while John F. Kenney’s diction characteristics are concrete and abstract.
The United States as a country has always been an entity unique amongst the world’s myriad of nations: a conglomeration of cultures, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds from around the planet, all fused together to yield something entirely new. Since its very inception, those who dwell within its borders have attempted to ascertain the makeup of the American identity, in order to pin down how exactly one can come to be considered as an American themselves. This is inherently quite a subjective issue, but the conversation primarily boils down to three core factors that make the American people who they are: a dedication to preserving the natural rights of every human being, a belief in the importance of the individual in deciding their own
Abraham Lincoln, a man of courage, held a positive vision for the future. In his speech, he uses an optimistic tone to encourage his audience that we as a union must come together to help nurture the nation, and bring peace again. In lines 70-76, Abraham Lincoln states, “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds…” According to this quote, the cause of the horrendous civil war is because of evil, and selfishness. Lincoln strongly suggests that we as a nation must have sympathy and affection for each other in order to create a strong, peaceful nation.
In the article “Abraham Lincoln’s Invitation to Speak at the Gettysburg and the Meaning of the Gettysburg Address” Roger Norton mentions how President Lincoln’s main goal was to dedicate the battlefield to all the men who died and to explain to the nation why the Civil War was worth fighting for. The beginning of the Gettysburg Address starts with “Four scores 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” many historians believe the President went back to the Declaration of Independence with this opening phrase. Historians have been trying to analyze President Abraham Lincoln’s address; some say he was trying to remind the people on what basis the country was established, which was liberty and equality. Eric Foner mentions in the book “Give Me Liberty! An American History” that Lincoln with his speech “identified the nation’s mission with the principle that “all men are created equal,” spoke of the war as bringing about a “new birth of freedom,” and defined the essence of democratic government” (529).