Abraham Lincoln's Controversial Speech

In Lincoln’s speech, he contemplated the effects of the Civil War and gave the audience his view for the future of the nation. To provide reassurance to his audience, along with statements to persuade the audience of his claim, Lincoln uses the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. At the same time, when more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

“The pattern of the prodigal is: rebellion, ruin, repentance, reconciliation, restoration” (Edwin Louis Cole). Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” is a speech that highlights every point in Cole’s quote. He, Lincoln, talks about how the south manages to rebel, how their economy will be left in ruin, how they will repent and be forgiven by both God and the North, how the North and the South will reconcile, and finally he talks of how the nation will move on to restoration. Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” emphasizes the reconciliation of a torn apart nation by appealing to pathos, logos, and ethos and by using diction to appeal to the listener’s emotion.

On March 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address as president of the United States. The inaugural address came at the very end of the American Civil War, and just a month before the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Prior to this address, the United States had been split into two different independent states, the Union and the Confederacy. Throughout Abraham Lincoln’s first term and the very beginning of his second, Lincoln had to deal with the secession of the eleven states that made up the Confederacy. Also during the war, Lincoln competed in the 1864 presidential election in which his leadership was challenged by George B. McClellan. This inaugural address was important at the time, and remains a relic of Abraham Lincoln’s powerful speaking ability.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

In the effort to secure their own appointments to the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas squared off in a series of seven debates in 1858. In the 1850s, America was facing a political crisis, and slavery was threatening to tear the nation apart. There were seven debates that took place between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. The two candidates for Senate challenged the other's ideas about many topics but the most import was, slavery and its future in the United States. Before the first debate took place, Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd in Chicago, which is known famously as the House Divided Speech. In his speech, Lincoln attacked the doctrine of popular sovereignty. He said that it had clearly failed in its goal of ending

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, King asserts that the war in Vietnam is a “symptom” (7) of a much larger disease that affects the “American spirit” (7). The disease King mentions is causing destruction where ever it is found, and in the case of the Vietnam war, it has led to their oppression and the death of people. In the section, Strange Liberators, King states, “They move sadly and apathetically as we heard them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move or be destroyed by our bombs” (8). King believed that the disease was leading the United States to take drastic actions against the Vietnamese people. The U.S.

In Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum speech given in 1838, he instructs the audience how perpetuate our political institutions. How do we keep our country united? “The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty…swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.” But what about bad or unjust laws? “[I]f they exist, [they]should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed.”

Racism has always been a major problem in America. However, it was known to be the most problematic in the late 1950s. On August 28 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his infamous speech “I Have a Dream” to America. His dream highlighted the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that took place in this nation every single day. Dr. King inspired thousands despite the color of their skin, to take a stance against racism, with his powerful way with words. In his speech MLK efficaciously uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by using allusions, developing credibility, in his speech to persuade all Americans to be aware of the problems with racism.

Abraham Lincoln’s statement in his 1858 speech that “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” is an extremely true statement that is as relevant today as it was when he originally stated it in 1858. Lincoln made this statement when he was accepting his nomination by the Republican Party to become the United States senator for the state of Illinois. Lincoln was attempting to distinguish himself from his opponent for the seat in the Senate, Stephen Douglas, who was a major supporter of the doctrine of popular sovereignty. Lincoln disagreed with Douglas because he believed that the United States could not

Leadership entails guiding others to realize particular goals using a variety of skills (Sullivan & Garland, 2011); Weihrich & Koontz, 2008). Likewise, Spector (2006), defined leadership as the art of influencing

On June 16, 1858 made the statement “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” in a speech about slavery, deeply contrasting with Douglas’s views and speaking about the conspiracy of the democratic plot to get slavery legalized in every state. This conspiracy, of course, was being partly conspired by Stephen Douglas. Three weeks later, Stephen Douglas refuted these claims while also calling Abraham Lincoln a dangerous abolitionist (Looking for Lincoln). Being an abolitionist at the time held a very negative connotation because abolitionists were often irrational extremists (Morel 4). The following evening, in the exact same place as Douglas had spoken, Lincoln spoke once more.

To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Peter Northouse, states, “a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant” (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.

Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech that was called the 2nd inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his 2nd inauguration as President of the United States. Lincoln called the problem an issue that challenged the country about 4 years prior, acknowledged slavery was the real cause of the war and the suffering caused by the war. He acknowledges hope for the end of the conflict and urges Americans to strive for peace.In November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver the Gettysburg Address, at the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. On the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Though he was not the featured speaker that day, Lincoln’s speech would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. In it, he calls on the principles of human equality contained in the Declaration of Independence and connected the sacrifices of the Civil War with the desire for a new birth of freedom and all-important preservation of the Union created in 1776 and its ideal of self-government. Habeas Corpus, or the Great Writ, is the legal procedure that keeps the government from holding you without showing cause. When you challenge your detention by filing a habeas corpus petition, the executive branch must explain to an equal judge its justification for holding you. Habeas corpus prevents the King from simply hide subjects in and throwing away the key. The Founders of our nation believed Habeas Corpus was so essential to

November 19, 1863 was the day when at the time President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most famous speeches in the American History. Lincolns brief but was powerful, Gettysburg Address described the United States as being a pivotal crossroads. While Lincoln credited with creating the “Government of the People, by the people,” it was really for the older countries.