Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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The Civil War was one of the most brutal and bloody battles in American history. Abraham Lincoln was elected as president the year previous to the battles in 1860. His first inaugural address was mainly about how to avoid the upcoming war which obviously failed as the war started and dragged on for four years. Lincoln’s first presidential term had run its course with –unbeknownst to him- one month left to go in the war, but he was reelected for another four years of leadership. At the time of his second election, the country was divided. Everyone from both sides, the north and south, stuck strongly to their opinions and didn’t want to change their views. For Lincoln’s second inaugural address, people expected a long speech discussing “politics, slavery, and states’ rights,” but instead they got a short speech in which Lincoln talked over the effects of the Civil War and his plans for the future of his country. In his speech, Abraham Lincoln used the rhetorical strategies of tone, logos, and allusion to effectively get his point across. …show more content…

This introduction presents his unifying tone that carries throughout the speech. Lincoln wants “both parties” to come together as a country. “Both parties” meaning the north and the south that have been fighting throughout the Civil War. Lincoln’s job as president was to unite his nation and bring peace between the two conflicting sides. Lincoln wanted the war to “speedily pass away.” He wanted the nation, as a whole, to “strive…to finish the work [they were] in.” He wanted the separation to cease and for the nation to “bind up” their “wounds.” Lincoln wished to have a nation united and not a nation

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