Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Analysis

A new president or presidential term often centers attention to the issues. Lincoln took advantage of this extra attention to send a message to the earnest American people, especially the individuals involved in war. During Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, he makes his purpose clear to the nation by using deliberate parallelism to appeal to each side, obvious reasoning to the audience's desires to demonstrate his position, and by building his character and trust. Lincoln's notable eagerness can be attributed to how he chooses phrases that provide a way of including everyone with a positive sense of respect. While referring to his last address, he claims "All dreaded it, all sought to avert it," while "it" refers to the war and corruption