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Lincoln Second Inaugural Address Rhet Ana

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Lincoln Second Inaugural Address Rhet Ana
Cassie Balfanz
Period 5 In the speech given to the divided population of the United States (both North and South) at the time of taking his second term as President, Abraham Lincoln announced his vision for the future of his great country once again becoming whole. Lincoln makes mention of many items that drive his view and position on the current happenings of the Civil War. These references calm his “Fellow-Countrymen” so to speak, and allow for the future to begin when his speech ends. Lincoln experiments with very specific details to convey his wishes. This almost unveils a hidden imagery within, as one can visualize him speaking to the divided nation. He starts off his speech stating it is his “second appearing to take the oath”, to remind everybody that he was elected as President once again. With this, he hopes people will be reminded why they put their trust in him for the last four years, and that they can do it again. He goes on to state “one-eighth of the whole population…” as if he was telling the country a sick and twisted secret. However, it is no secret that the war happens to be about the issue of the very one-eighth he refers to. Lincoln gathers his audience’s attention towards the middle of his speech (possibly to regain interest) by making reference to everyone’s Lord and Savior. Religion was still the most popular take on things. He doesn’t try to hide that there have been far more casualties than anticipated, but rather makes it sound okay by stating, “the Almighty has His own purposes,” and “yet if God wills that it [the Civil War] continue…” He also incorporates a slight repetition when he says, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray…” He praises God to imply he is not attempting to become a Godlike figure by ending the war. He does not want to sound like some robot when giving his speech; he truly yearns for the country to become whole. When he finally mentions the salves of the South, he states a rule of three, “To strengthen,

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