Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Analysis

Abraham Lincoln meant to keep his second inaugural address short and to the point because the public was already well aware of what was happening, so there was not a need for him to elaborate. Lincoln’s vision for the country was to end the civil war, repair the damages, and ultimately create peace in the nation. Lincoln had no intentions of having the union lose the war. He made it clear that the union would finish the battle that they started in order to uphold the morals that they deemed righteous. Lincoln also includes his intentions of binding the nation back together for long lasting peace, suggesting that the outcome of the war would be unity, rather than separation of the North and South. Lincoln brought a lot of religion into his speech,
Firstly, he has already served a term as president, and his status giving the speech demands respect. He also recognizes that the public is well informed of what is happening in the nation, and he realizes that he already has a lot of support. This confidence can be sensed through his writing style for the speech, and it really sets the tone and mood for the inauguration. Lincoln never directly attacks the Confederacy in his speech, but instead talks of peace and positivity for the future- a strategy that offends no one, and includes the common interest of peace. Lincoln also uses repetition in his speech by mentioning God several times. He again tries to bring unity to the two sides by stating that they “both read the same Bible and pray to the same God” (Lincoln). The repetition of God in the speech is a constant reminder of the unity and peace that Lincoln seeks to achieve in the nation. He also consistently mentions throughout the speech that nobody wanted the war to start, and everyone wants it to end. Lincoln did a great job of casually persuading others to agree with him even though it was a relatively short speech.
There are several historical incidents and topics mentioned in Lincoln’s speech. The most obvious historical event mentioned would be the Civil War. Lincoln also mentioned his last inaugural address from his previous term serving as president. Lincoln touches on the topic