Although many remember him as the President who ended slavery and preserved the Union, Abraham Lincoln was also a very gifted political prose writer. Lincoln wrote many powerful and memorable speeches, but arguably his most famous speech is the 272-word “Gettysburg Address,” which he delivered at a dedication ceremony for the first national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Throughout the entire speech, Lincoln masterfully utilizes several rhetorical techniques, especially the use of repetition. He repeats two separate patterns of grammar in his address. For example, to start his third paragraph Lincoln writes, “But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground,” and to finish that same paragraph,…
The reason for President Lincoln writing and delivering the speech at Gettysburg, on November 19, 1863, is to commemorate the victims life that were taken during the battle at Gettysburg. “Lincoln was preceded on the podium by the famed orator Edward Everett, who spoke to the crowd for two hours.” (Gettysburg Address, Library of Congress) I was unaware that this event was more than the president giving a speech about a battle. This event was with President Lincoln speaking second after Edward Everett.…
Coming up this month, we commemorate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address given on November 19th, 1863. This speech is known and considered as one of the most famous speeches in American history. How could a two minute speech be so highly regarded and enough to be one of the most famous? Abraham Lincoln utilized rhetorical techniques to turn just 10 sentences into one of the most famous and most quoted speeches of all time. “The Gettysburg Address,” was given by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated the Confederacy at the Battle…
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, 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.”…
To truly convince one’s audience to agree, one must make a connection with them. The people were there to hear a speech about the lives lost at the battle and Lincoln did just that while using emotional connections to impact the audience. This is shown in his phrase, “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that the nation might live It is all together fitting and proper that we should do this.” In this phrase Lincoln addressing the lives lost and how important it is the mourn them. Lincoln understood the grief the people were feeling for their losses and affects of the war, he wanted the audience to know that he felt their grief as well. Lincoln appeals to the audience’s grief by telling them that these lives were lost for a reason, for the life of the nation. He made the audience feel that those people’s deaths did not belong to the people that killed them, but their deaths meant something to the good of the nation, that their lives and deaths were worthy. Lincoln also involves the audience in the worthiness of their lives by saying, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here.... That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” Lincoln puts it on the audience to continue the war so that those who had died would not have died for nothing.…
On March 4, 1865, Lincoln presented himself to the public to deliver his speech; days before the Civil War came to the end. Lincoln’s anguish is displayed as he summarized the events that led to the Civil War. Trust was destroyed between the North and South and Lincoln was left with a nation in turmoil fighting over slavery. He reminded the people that they were one nation, not two independent nations warring against each other. He did not want to throw accusations to one side and chose to show the common qualities each side had in each time period. In doing this, he forced the people to widen their mind and consider the other side’s perspective. He did not want the sides to continue fighting and wanted to create a common ground and impacted…
In the years, 1863 and 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave two of the most powerful speeches in history. The first speech, “The Gettysburg Address”, was an empowering piece that gave comfort to the public when the Union most needed it. The other speech, “The Second Inaugural Address”, was an influential speech about Abraham Lincoln returning to office for a second term. Both speeches, utilizes rhetoric through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos to support Abraham Lincoln’s viewpoints of the Civil War.…
The world as perceived for our fellow natives is gradually evolving into what America has transformed in actuality.The Gettysburg Address proposed by Abraham Lincoln serves for the sole purpose of conceding and pledging to advance and execute the undertaking the servicemen in The Civil War unfortunately failed to obtain. In order for this to be accomplished, Lincoln conveys his speech with a blend of honor and a powerful utilization of verbage to transmit his primary ambition and both motivate and sway U.S Citizens to go forth and assemble an integrated nation.…
Of the great oral presentations this world has seen, many of them serve as an outlet for individuals to articulate their ideals and beliefs to a greater audience. The way in which great speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln do this is through speech elements such as rhetoric, language techniques, successful structure and also establishing a relationship with their audience. The speeches I have a Dream, and The Gettysburg Address [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMzY1KJVeo], although performed to entirely different audiences in different contexts, share similar values and qualities.…
Abraham Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, uses his rhetorical skillsets to help dedicate the land to the fallen soldiers, as he uses multiple literary devices. He refers to the colloquial of the founding fathers to this nation and the authors of the Declaration of Independance. He aspires the remaining soldiers, and the local people of Gettysburg to continue to fight for a reason, equality and liberty, the foundation of the United States, as he assures that the fallen will not be in vain. Lincoln uses detailed phrases and strong wording in the short ten sentence speech that is currently recognized and will throughout the future.…
President Abraham Lincoln delivers a speech at the dedication of the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863. Pennsylvania was the site where the brutal battles of the Civil War were taken place. He was dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equally and soldiers that died for that cause should obviously continue to fight. The sacrifices that were made during the Civil War were the beginning of a new freedom to the land, preservation of the Union, which was created in 1776 and self-government for the most part. However, the boasting of the Union created in 1776 was tested to see if the Union would survive or if it would “perish from the earth” (Lincoln 3). The soldiers that died during the Battle…
On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave a reverent and humbling speech for the soldiers who had given their lives at the battle of Gettysburg for the reform and advancement of the country. He states that the brave men who here gave their last full measure of devotion” should be highly esteemed for the sacrifice they made. Lincoln establishes his ideas through the usage of rhetorical devices such as, an appeal to ethos, parallelism, and juxtaposition.…
President Abraham Lincoln gave his speech, the Gettysburg Address, on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a new cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The cemetery contained the soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. About five months earlier, the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address was one of the greatest and most influential speech during the war, because it put forward the idea that "all men are created equal". (1) Lincoln honored the Union dead and gave a purpose to the soldier's sacrifice, when he states "from these honored dead we take increased devotion..."(2) He invoked the principle of human equality from the Declaration…
In the "Second Inaugural Address" (1865), Abraham Lincoln contemplates that they, as a United Nation, should reflect on the effects of the Civil War and move towards a better future for this nation. He addresses God and the issue of slavery in order to encourage the Northern and Southern states towards reconciliation. Lincoln tries to reveal his intention by utilizing figurative diction, parallel syntax, and a shifting tone.…
Abraham Lincoln was asked to speak during the dedication ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863. This was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Edward Everett was the featured speaker at the event and spoke for two hours. Abraham Lincoln was there to give closing comments. His speech was only 272 words long and he only spoke for about two minutes. Even though his speech was so short, the Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in history.…