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,…
Abraham Lincoln's speech addresses the issues of slavery and how the civil war could have been avoided. Lincoln appeals to the American people's sense of jingoism and references the bible to create a common ground for the people to relate with.…
Lincoln used rhetorical devices such as allusion and the rhetorical appeals pathos and ethos to convey his message in a way so his audience would respond to his message the way he wanted. He expresses the theme that both the North and South are responsible for the horrible devastation of the Civil War, and that both sides must strive for peace and unity.…
In his speech, Lincoln uses a varied syntax to get his point across, using a combination of short and complex sentences to engage the reader. For example, when he states “The Almighty has his own purposes,” this makes the reader ponder about what those purposes could be, due to the short and simple syntax the sentence displays. The statement adds to the effectiveness…
how slight a figure he appeared to be when he arrived in Washington. "Never did a…
My view of Lincoln has always been that of a strong and wise statesman. His arguments have been fair and logical and they reflect his intellectual nature. Scholar David Lightner writes about Lincoln’s intellectual attributes his work, ‘Abraham Lincoln and Equality, which is mentioned in the Journal of the Historic Society of Illinois. Lightner mentions in his journal that Lincoln was “far more enlightened that commonly supposed” [9]. This supports my claim of Lincoln’s rather logical take on issues of his time.…
The purpose of Lincoln’s speech was, not only to dedicate a plot of land to the fallen soldiers, but also to inspire his people to continue the fight.…
Asyndeton in his syntax and careful repetition drove Lincoln’s audience into action. His usage of contrast between the lives of those who fought and the life of nation and the emotional connection about personal losses, made the audience feel as if the lives lost meant something bigger than just a victory for the union, but for the entire Nation. Without these rhetorical devices, Lincoln’s speech would most likely not have been as effective in memorializing the deaths of those who had fought and in getting people to be in favor of continuing the…
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.…
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.…
Lincoln’s childhood was full of difficulty because he lost his sister and mother at a young age, and only his father lived into his adulthood. This made Lincoln accustomed to tragedy and loss, and how to handle it the best he can. He coped by reading and writing whenever he encountered loss because it was a passion of Lincoln’s, he loved it. Having a lack of guidance by his parents and self teaching himself methods to deal with tragedy made Lincoln a stronger and smarter president. This is because now he knew how to handle tragedy, so whenever the nation had a tragedy, he knew exactly how to handle it and what to say. Lincoln read many books from educational school books like Nicholas Pike’s New and Complete System of Arithmetic and Thomas…
He formed bonds with the soldiers and became friends with everyone he met. During the Civil War, many soldiers died and there were many ups and downs. Lincoln established lasting connections with the troops by visiting the battlefield and hospitals, which also helped bolster morale. Lincoln alps spent time talking with members of the public, taking public opinions. He held public receptions and made a point of shaking people's hand and speaking to each individual. Communicating and being humble is important to being a great leader because it demonstrates recognition and respect for others. Nobody likes being around arrogant people. Kearns Goodwin states that Lincoln had a “remarkable ability to communicate his goals to his countrymen.” He made concepts simple and communicated with an understanding of the concerns of the citizens. When Lincoln was reelected he did not focus on his achievements. Rather, in his second inaugural speech, Lincoln focused on bringing the country together. He demonstrated unity as a character trait which reflected on his actions such as the abolition of slavery and uniting the North and South during…
American heritage and it is because of Abraham Lincoln's leadership that today this is a reality. We were excited to discover more of this great mans life - his character, his trials and tribulations and how he managed to free over 3 million African American slaves and unite a country in turmoil at the same time! When reading about his early life, to someone who knew nothing of Abraham Lincoln before his Presidency would have perceived him to be nothing of distinction. He was born from two poor farmers who had little or no formal education. He had only a year of schooling…
Abraham Lincoln was one of America’s greatest presidents .Knowed to the world as the “Great emancipator”, Abraham Lincoln left a legacy behind. As the 16th president Lincoln managed to save the nation, he took the first step towards abolishing slavery, allowed blacks to join the military, gave his world famous Gettysburg speech, and many more. To many people Abraham Lincoln was a hero, to others he was a man with a questionable motive.…
Duality: W.E. DuBois, talks about Lincoln’s inconsistency, which is evident through the movie. He was merciful (pardoning people), cruel; peace-loving, a fighter; protecting slavery and freeing slaves. He believed in persuasion but also used his authority to great effect (“I am the President of United States clothed in immense power”). He never let his ego come in the way of getting the work done. He understood other people’s perspective (Steven’s discussion with Abe Lincoln on Steven’s speech) yet used his persuasion skills to get what he wanted. His humility which is displayed in numerous scenes through his self-depreciating humor made him a master of emotional intelligence. Even in testing times, when everyone was eager and nervous to learn about the fate of an ongoing battle, Lincoln diffused tension through…