Analyzing Alexander Stephens The Cornerstone Speech

The writer of “The Cornerstone Speech” is Alexander Stephens, who once was the Confederate vice-president of the USA. Alexander Stephens was from Georgia. In “The Cornerstone Speech” he’s reaching out to his new government. He’s also speaking to the white citizens of the northern US. The topic of Stephens’ speech is the separation of blacks and whites. Stephens delivers the speech in Savannah, Georgia in 1861. He uses a lot of long sentences, which makes him sound educated and intelligent. The intention of giving his speech could be to make the population of the northern states afraid. Stephens tried to stand up to the slave-owners and tell them that what they did wasn’t right. His use of logos, ethos and pathos makes him a much better speaker.
He’s very emotional and makes references to god to make himself more believable. The readers/listeners may believe in God and therefore Stephens tries to get through to people by mentioning God. In that period of time, many Americans placed their reliance on God.