Lincoln’s address started in a gloomy tone. It seems as if he wanted to lower expectations that were being upheld by the people. Lincoln used a passive voice at the beginning of his speech which let him redirect the focus to not be on himself, but to be on the address itself. Though he did use personal pronouns in the first paragraph, it would also be the last he would use them in the speech. The paragraph showed a reserved ethos making it hard for the reader to connect to the president. The first paragraph in Lincoln’s speech was strictly all about what the speech would not be, and after he addressed that he would go on to say that he would not be making further “predictions” because he believed that they lead to false expectancy. In the first sentence, Lincoln stated that …show more content…
He wrote for both national and international audiences. The speech was written shortly before the Civil War ended when the Nation was divided. One of the main topics brought up in the writing was God himself. Lincoln said, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God…” which represents the Nation as a whole, even though they are split. Lincoln uses the image of both a Bible and God, both being religious and holy figures, to influence the audience to believe that the nation is capable of being united once more. He uses words to describe God: almighty, firm, living and caring. These are general and abstract words. Though Lincoln does talk greatly about our religious figures, he does not have much good to say towards the war. When talking about the war Lincoln uses words such as offense, terrible, unrequited toil and mainly specific or concrete. These words are polysyllabic, meaning they contain more than one syllable. He uses such words to describe diction, to make to make important words stand out and emphasize the meaning of them. By choosing specific words for his speech, Lincoln can make his content more meaningful for his
Part I: Reasoning in the Inaugural Address. President Roosevelt in his inaugural speech first realized the importance of his presidency, the speech and the US. He mentioned that the thing the US nation needs to fear is the fear itself. He further mentioned it as unreasoning, nameless and unjustified terror which constraints and paralyzes the efforts needed to make a retreat (Davis, 2014).
This speech has been much debated and scrutinized by historians, they have come to the conclusion that they see broad implications for later public policies. Lincoln wanted to build a strong political system. He was a great supporter of equal rights, he wanted women's rights when nobody else did. He wanted to abolish slavery before other people took up the cause. People claim that the Lyceum Address gives a full insight into his
Lincoln’s Famous Address written by Roselynn Marquez talks about how Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was only 270 words, and it followed a two hour introduction by Edward Everett. Being short was not the only memorable point that the speech had. “Another was the simplicity of its language. As historian Allen Guelzo notes, ‘the address relies on crisp, plain vocabulary.’ He points out that most of the words are only one-syllable. Doris Kearns Goodwin concludes, ‘Lincoln had translated the story of his country...into words and ideas accessible to every American.’ By making his ideas easy to grasp, Lincoln gave them directness and power” (Marquez). The Gettysburg Address to this day is known as a unforgettable expression inscribing the war that took on in the country. In summarization, Abraham Lincoln is known widely for the Address he made in Gettysburg after the battle that took place
There have been many historical events in history that have impacted America in many ways. For example, famous Speeches given by important people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the united states which his main goal was to help America recover from the severe economic issues during the 1930’s. Roosevelt used rhetorical devices to persuade desperate Americans, wounded from the Great Depression, by introducing a plan which it will be the best way to recover from the severe crisis that affected Americans. In Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, he used personification, diction, and antimetabole to convey his conflicting feelings about the New Deal, in order to face the economic issues
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.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.
Reading Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address, one wouldn’t think he would be the president to end slavery.Speaking on outlawing slavery, he says,“I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” At the time, Lincoln wasn’t worried about slavery,
Also he uses the words hallow, consecrate, and dedicate, “ But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot hallow , we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground (Lincoln , line 9,10) . Also “... who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced” (lincoln, line 14). Lincoln is trying to make himself more respectable using his diction. Also he is trying to make the family’s who lost loved ones , think even more highly of the soldiers. The way he used diction works because it makes his point of that they can advance through what they lost and remember what they were fighting for in the first place. It overall comforted those who have lost loved ones, the speech made it more like they nobly died instead of just another soldier dying in a
Abraham Lincoln wrote one of the greatest speeches in American history, known as the Gettysburg Address. It was not only used as a dedication to the fallen troops of the North and South, but as a speech to give the Union a reason to fight and attempt to unite the divided nation. The sixteenth president’s handling of his speech at Gettysburg demonstrated how the effectiveness of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, could bring unity to a nation deeply divided on beliefs. His speech touched the hearts of many and indirectly put an end to the Civil War. Lincoln may have been considered a tyrant at the time, but he was a great leader of a nation, a war, and a democracy.
The techniques Abraham Lincoln used while giving the Gettysburg Address included the usage of strong, powerful words. It also included alliteration, and even metaphors. He used words like "consecrate," "nobly," and "vain." The usage of alliteration also helped to convey his message, especially when he said, "that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
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
He states that he has “...no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists” (First Inaugural Address). Although Lincoln does not directly say that he is against slavery, he makes it clear that he is. By stating that he will not interfere with the institution of slavery where it exists, he also makes it clear, subtly, that he will not let slavery expand into new territories. Lincoln knew that if slavery was not able to spread, it would soon die. In this speech, Lincoln’s position on slavery has changed. He did not want it to infect the entire nation. Now that he was president, he could be more honest about his
In a country divided, President Abraham Lincoln would face one of the most challenging times in US history. He would task himself with preserving the union of his country and ensuring the blessings of liberty to all those whom he served. The success of these tasks would define President Lincoln to this day. In a valiant effort to persevere the nation, as the it was ripping itself apart, President Lincoln spoke to the people of the United States concerning a recent battle of the Civil War of the United States. This speech became known as the Gettysburg Address; it is one of President Lincoln’s most famous piece. It is famous because it highlights the motif of his Presidency, the importance of equality, liberty, and the preservation of the union. Although this speech was well written, it was powerful and moving, partly due to President
He’s promoting that the colonial secession was inspired by a devotion to liberty and equality. Southern Independence is being opposed for that same very reason and he does an incredible job of utilizing the words of Thomas Jefferson to make it clear. I discovered how majestic Lincoln’s use of literary/rhetorical devices was and his use of the English language through imagery. He uses repetition or anaphora to emphasize the points he made not in lack of vocabulary. The use of allusion is substantially dependent on the Declaration of Independence as I talked about before, but he also refers back to the Bible as well. As Lincoln transpires toward the end of his speech he calls the people of America to action. He’s asking them to fulfill the Declaration of Independence’s mission through the Gettysburg address. He uses the term "new birth of freedom," as a metaphor referring to the nation’s founding fathers basically “giving birth to the
The Gettysburg Address is a famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln that expressed his ideas on the Civil War and the preservation of the union. It begins by stating that eighty-seven years ago, the Founding Fathers of the United States established the nation based on the propositions of liberty and equality rather