Rhetorical Analysis Essay On The Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln’s Rhetoric & The Civil War

Abraham Lincoln was a great orator and an incredibly intelligent man, and his ability to use these skills won him the presidency and then allowed him to eventually keep the Union together, even through the inevitable Civil War. Through the Civil War, Lincoln provided extremely strong leadership and gave multiple powerful speeches including both of his inaugural addresses and his Gettysburg Address. All of these speeches shared the same objective of keeping America united, but they took different approaches to this goal, following the ups and downs of the Civil War. Although Lincoln’s speeches varied through the years, they were all extremely powerful and effective at achieving the particular goal

intended. Abraham Lincoln’s leadership qualities, rhetorical skills, and speaking prowess combined to make him an extremely effective leader who gave the Union the edge they needed to defeat the Confederacy and win the Civil War. Lincoln as a speaker was able to provide any and all rhetoric necessary in the moment, from his logical and understanding yet condemning First Inaugural, to his morale boosting Gettysburg Address, and finally to his compassionate and forgiving yet still accusatory Second Inaugural in a circle of rhetoric that was so powerful that it provided the North the means to win the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, given in 1861, attempted to bridge the growing gap between the North and the South before the Civil War actually commenced by using logical arguments directly based on the Constitution. Lincoln first attempted to entice the South to remain in the Union, almost pandering to them as he claimed he would never abolish slavery; however, he eventually became more discreetly inflammatory as he accused the South of disregarding the Constitution by seceding. After Lincoln’s introduction, he immediately moved to consoling the South, as he said: “I have no purpose...to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” Lincoln was quick to assuage the South’s biggest fear, as he clearly stated that he would never “interfere with the institution of slavery,” and he had “no inclination to do so.” He indirectly cited the Constitution as he said that he had “no lawful right” to abolish slavery. The main purpose of Lincoln’s First Inaugural was to convince the South that they should not secede, and these two lines were probably the most powerful in this regard, as the South’s main reason for secession was a fear that the Republican Lincoln would attempt to abolish slavery nationally. However, by beginning his speech with this line, Lincoln cut straight to the heart of the issue and attempted to solve it quickly and simply. Lincoln continued on this trend of pandering to the South as he quoted the Fugitive Slave Clause in his speech, then urged people to follow it as he said: “I do suggest that it will be much safer for all...to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional.” On its own, this statement simply reminded American to “conform to and abide by” all “unrepealed” laws. However, Lincoln masterfully placed this line after quoting the Fugitive Slave Clause, leaving the extremely strong implication that he was truly telling people to “conform to and abide by” the Fugitive Slave Clause, rather than assuming that it would eventually be “held to be unconstitutional.” Overall, Lincoln used the beginning of his First Inaugural to pander to the South and assuage their fears that he would abolish slavery, in an effort to convince the South that secession was not necessary. Unfortunately, Lincoln’s First Inaugural was not successful in this regard as the South did secede, but it was still extremely powerful as he established that the South would be breaking the law if they seceded, through logical rhetoric based on the text of the Constitution. All of the South’s secession arguments had been based on the fact that they believed Lincoln would violate the Constitution by abolishing slavery. Knowing this fact, Lincoln used arguments based in the Constitution to support the South’s positions on slavery, then cunningly twisted the same technique of logical, constitutional argument to show the South that in actuality they would be the ones defying the Constitution by seceding. Lincoln said: “It follows...that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void” Lincoln ended his speech strongly, as he clearly stated that “no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union” meaning that the South’s secession would be illegal. He further declared that “resolves and ordinances to that effect [secession] are legally void,” making the thesis of his speech, his accusation of the illegality of the South’s pending secession, even more clear. Lincoln’s first speech as president occurred at a time when there was still hope that the Union could be repaired, and it reflected these views as Lincoln attempted to mend the tears at the fabric of the Union. However, he was also prepared for the worst, as he addressed the issue of secession, making it unequivocal that the South would be violating the Constitution if they seceded.
The Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1863, was a morale-boosting speech that painted a powerful image for Union soldiers, as Lincoln went beyond simply respecting the fallen soldiers, instead glorifying them in an effort to persuade other soldiers that they had a moral obligation to continue the war as a way to both avenge their fallen comrades and finish the war that they started.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was extremely brief, but also extremely powerful as it fully achieved these goals, providing a morale boost that offered the tired Union soldiers support during the middle of the war, and further propelled the soldiers through the rest of the war. As Lincoln began to wrap up his extremely brief speech, he said: “It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” Lincoln spoke of “the unfinished work” meaning the still continuing Civil War, and he argued that the Northern soldiers had to continue to fight for the cause of saving the Union because they had not achieved their goal yet. This whole speech was rhetorically pathetic, as Lincoln succeeded at reaching the hearts of his audience, convincing them that they needed to continue fighting the Civil War until they emerged victorious. He glorified the fallen soldiers in this line, and he said that they “nobly advanced” the cause of saving the Union, simultaneously implying that other soldiers could gain the same glory by continuing to

fight for the North. He also insinuated that the lives of the soldiers who had died fighting would be wasted if other soldiers did not continue the fight, hoping instead “that these dead [soldiers] shall not have died in vain.” Overall, Lincoln was extremely effective in this one line and the entire speech at convincing the entire North that they had to continue to support and fight the Civil War, so that they would not disregard the “unfinished work” or allow soldiers to have “died in vain”. Through the speech Lincoln focused on the theme of dedication to the war, using a form of the word “dedicate” six times through the 264 word speech. Lincoln quite obviously emphasized the fact that he wanted and needed the entire North to be “dedicated” to the war effort, as they could not win without complete support. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was arguably his most influential speech due to its extremely pathetic appeals to the Union soldiers. It was an extremely moving speech that quite simply gave Northern soldiers the willpower to persevere through the cold winter and eventually emerge victorious after two more years of battle.
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural was given a month before the end of the Civil War, and since Lincoln realized that the North would win the war, his speech was written with an extremely compassionate and forgiving tone, as he concurrently attempted to convince Northerners that the South had simply made a mistake and convince Southerners that they would be warmly welcomed back into the Union.

Nevertheless, the speech still maintained a biting, and somewhat accusatory edge, as Lincoln also used this speech to make it explicitly clear that the Civil War was the South’s fault due to their own poor decisions. Near the beginning of his speech, Lincoln quickly made it unequivocal that the South was at fault as he said: “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.” He argued that the South “would make war rather than let the nation survive” insinuating that the South instead wanted to “let [the Union] perish.” However, even as he accused the South of trying to destroy the Union, he also raised them up slightly as he said that “both parties deprecated war.” In this simple clause, Lincoln gave the South credit for not actually wanting war, hinting at the fact that he was willing to forgive the South if they would peacefully reenter the Union. Even so, through the speech, Lincoln addressed the South as “insurgents,” further highlighting the fact that he believed the

South was fully at fault for the Civil War. With a contradictory flair that only Lincoln could pull off, at the end of the speech, he began to use “we” to describe the North and South together, in an effort to rhetorically bring the North and South back together, foreshadowing the eventual reunion of the nation. Lincoln then engaged his audience in a long religious metaphor, where he emphasized the forgiveness of the Christian god that both the North and the South shared. Lincoln was well-versed enough in the Bible to effectively use a religious metaphor that both the North and the South believed in, urging forgiveness because god would want the North to forgive the South. Lincoln finally finished his speech, with one last line that unambiguously urged forgiveness. He said: “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, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Simply put, Lincoln asked, in the name of god, that the North and South would come together in a “lasting peace” “with malice toward none,” so that the nation could “strive on to finish the work [of Reconstruction]” without hindrance. Lincoln’s speech was sure to make sure blame for the war was properly assigned, but then he moved on to require forgiveness so that the country could move on from the war, as a united country.
Lincoln was a powerful orator, and he was such an inspiring speaker that he was able to successfully chastise the South for seceding before the Civil War, boost the morale of his Northern soldiers during the Civil War, and forgive the South for seceding as the Civil War drew to a close. Lincoln was a versatile speaker, playing whatever role necessary, and shaping and spreading messages in a commanding and effective way to the masses. Put simply, the North won the Civil War because Lincoln was such a exemplary speaker, and by extension the North won the Civil War because they had Lincoln as their president. However, it must be noted that by only analyzing Lincoln’s speeches, a somewhat biased opinion of the leader may be cultivated. Although it is unquestionably true that Lincoln was an amazing rhetorician, this essay has an inherent bias merely because only Lincoln’s best and most influential speeches have been sampled. So, the limitation of analyzing significant speeches is the fact that there is already an expectation of polished greatness that has little to do with the strength of the orator. Even so, Lincoln is still unquestionably one of the best speakers and leaders in America’s history, as proven by the fact that he lead the Union through the harrowing Civil War, managing to lead the North to success on the battlefield while also keeping the country together. His rhetorical and leadership skills are unmatched, and his speeches were so incredibly persuasive and moving that they won the North the Civil War.