Two very influential speeches, The Gettysburg Address and The Second Inaugural Address were both spoken by Abraham Lincoln. The time period of the speeches is quite interesting, the first taking place before The Civil War and the second one, after The Civil War. His word choice is elaborate and precis, which makes it quite easy to analysis what he is trying to put forward in his speeches. Although some may argue that Lincoln had other ideas in mind, it is quite evident that his vision of America was heavily based around equality of all people. His underlined intentions, the information he puts forward, and his words about religion are all strong examples of his views on the situation of equality in America. This can be further explained by analyzing the two speeches in question. Before anything else, it is very important to analyze the intentions behind his speeches. This will give insight into what exactly Lincoln’s vision of America was and how he strives to obtain that. The Gettysburg Address speaks mostly of equality of all men and what that means during The Civil War. On the other hand, The Second Inaugural Address addresses his thoughts after America has been through over four years of fighting in The Civil War. These thoughts include the conflicting views about war on either side and the mention of slavery as well. With all this being said, both speeches seem to hold the same intention. Lincoln mentions slavery and equality in both excerpts and his thought seem not
The civil war was a war that redefined america and redefined freedom. The results of the war is what changed what being an american means.many passages from this period explored the meaning of freedom such as The Gettysburg address (Abraham Lincoln) and The narrative of Fredrick douglass. Both pieces discuss american views on freedom before and during the civil war.
When Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 the Union was divided. He accepted his presidential duties knowing that he was working with a nation that no longer remained united. Seven of the southern states had already seceded from the Union and were beginning to refer to themselves as the Confederates. What he had now were free states and slave states. When Lincoln gave his Inaugural Address he attempted to do so in a way that would not dissuade his chances of gaining support in the southern states, especially when it involved the institution of slavery. However, he also made it clear in his address that he believed a secure and united nation was of utmost importance and he rejected the ideas
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into the Declaration of Independence by the founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign
The time of the speech was towards the end of the civil war, when the North and the South where still fighting after a bitter 4 year war. The battle of Gettysburg had already been fought and Lincoln had given the distinguished Gettysburg address just a few months before. He spoke of freedom, devotion, and the ideals for which he believed the Union stood. Lincoln had also already written the emancipation proclamation which had freed the slaves of the south in the previous year. The audience which
There has been many important strides in equality in this country all the way back to the founding of this country. There has been many things that have represented our beliefs as a country and two believed to be of the utmost important. The Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches ever given and The Declaration of Independence, we as a nation wanting to be free of the tyranny of Britain. The Gettysburg Address because It was such a short speech that it was never believed it would have the impact it has today but as we all know that thought was wrong. In the speech Abraham Lincoln was able to express so much with so little commemorating the soldiers who had fought the battle and used the ideals in which our country was founded. The Declaration of Independence was where these ideals of Freedom and Equality came from at least for our country that is. That the men who died and fought in the civil war were fighting for a country to have freedom, unity, and the ideal that all men are created equal.
“When we allow freedom to ring -when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children...will be able to join hands and sing…” This is the, slightly shortened, end quote of the famous I Have a Dream speech by. The Gettysburg address was a major turning point in American history for the topic of slavery. Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech assisted in this Civil Rights movement. But, the question is, what all did they cause in our history? The reader is going to compare and contrast information from the two texts so the reader can compare and contrast these two honored speeches. So, by the end, the reader should
The Gettysburg address was not so much focused on an issue or debate. When Lincoln started writing this speech, its intention was to be in memory, devotion and honor to those who died, and also to declare the ground as a cemetery. He says “We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might
President Abraham Lincoln orated a powerful persuasive speech in his Second Inaugural Address, just one month before the end of the Civil War. This speech shed light to his contemplation of the effects of the Civil War and provided his vision for the future of the nation. Lincoln’s address was written through a logical theme that focused on the unity of the country. He used religion, specific diction, and flat-out logical thinking to convey his message. The speech was given as the Civil War was ending, and President Lincoln wanted to provide a bit of light in a very dark time. He could have given the lengthy speech that the audience expected; but instead, he gave a short message of unity that fueled the United States for years to come.
While the Gettysburg Address is fairly short in length at around 300 words, this famous speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1963 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is both enduring and meaningful for all Americans today, almost exactly 146 years later. The first paragraph of his speech sets the tone, in which Lincoln does not directly mention the bloody Battle of Gettysburg, in which 50,000 soldiers lost their lives. Instead, he refers in the opening phrase, “Four score and seven years ago,” to the founding of America through another important written document, the Declaration of Independence in 1776. I believe Lincoln wanted the country to focus on preserving this
Abraham Lincoln addressed the people of the United States in his writing “The Gettysburg Address.” Lincoln’s speech addresses how our nation dealt with the struggle of equality and humanity. Lincoln’s strong ideas and beliefs on humanity are shown in his speech: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion” (503).
Abraham Lincoln is known as the sixteenth president of the United States. A self-taught lawyer by trade who was born in a one room cabin in Kentucky, he came from meek beginnings. Mr. Lincoln was only known to have a few years of formal schooling he had to work to help support his family. He moved to the capital of Illinois and practiced as a lawyer. This is where he earned his nick name of Honest Abe. He was known to help the common man. He met and married a woman named Mary Todd. They had four sons. One of which passed away with Typhoid fever. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s theater on April 14, 1865 and died the very from a gunshot to the head. He never lived to see the Union win the war with the plans he helped devise. He next day is known in history for his moving speeches. Two of the main speeches are the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. Both of these are remembered today as turning points in history. Honest Abe was not only our president but a leader in that he felt like he needed to protect our constitution and the rights it afforded us but also protect the Union. He was a level headed man in a time of war and conflict. He was elected to office when the Union was in a state of unrest due to the issue of slavery. Several states succeeded when he was elected to office. This set up a series of events that lead to the beginning of the civil war. The steps that he took forever changed the history of the United States.
By the time Lincoln delivered his 2nd Inaugural Address in 1865 he had come to the realization that perhaps God did have a stronger role in the Civil War. After the death of his son he had started to re-evaluate God’s role in the war and wanted to know what everybody was also asking which was What was God’s will in the crisis. Each side, the North and South, believed in the same God and read the same Bible, but yet were not on the same page when it came to slavery. Each believed that God was on their side and that slavery was right or that slavery was a sin. The emancipation was a religious moment because it was as if a “new heaven and a new Earth” was created, many saw it as a new beginning although it only freed slaves in the South and racism
Each written document has its unique style and form. The Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address have styles that differ from each other. The Declaration is a letter. A letter directed to the royalty of Great Britain that the height of its imperial rule. Although Thomas Jefferson personally wrote the Declaration, American colonists, through their representatives, agreed on the terms of declaring their colonies as a unified and independent country. On the contrary, the Gettysburg Address is not a letter, though it was written on the back of an envelope, it has a very different style. The Gettysburg Address is a dedicatory speech that was given by President Abraham Lincoln at the Soldiers National Cemetery "The Gettysburg Address."
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would
The tone and stage are set with the background of the great battle field of Gettysburg’s. Our nation is involved in a great civil war between its brothers with two different views and divisions. President Lincoln has the daunting task as the President of the United States to bring healing to this torn country; to remind the country that it was only 87 years earlier that this young country started on its great experiment. The thesis statement answers the question and reminds the audience that all men are created equal and that the basis on which our country was founded on was liberty and equality.