Rhetorical Analysis Of Oration In Memory Of Abraham Lincoln

The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address are different, as Douglass uses irony, a strong appeal to pathos, and a generalization of his experience, while Lincoln uses religious allusions to unify, non accusatory diction, as to not assign blame for the war, and a generally optimistic tone to unify the country and look towards the future. They are similar as they both appeal to ethos to establish their own credibility, and pathos appeal to certain emotions.

Weeks of wet weather had occurred before Saturday March 4th, 1865, making Pennsylvania Avenue a thick, muddy place; however, the pounding rain did not stop the spectators from listening to Lincoln give his Second Inaugural Address, given one month before the end of the Civil War. The Civil War was the result of a long standing controversy over slavery. The North and the South did not agree with each other. Slavery in the North had died out to the point where almost all blacks were free. The South on the other hand very few blacks were free. Causing a long lastly disagreement between both sides. When Lincoln gave his speech spectators were expecting a speech on slavery when Lincoln gave a dark gloomy speech that no one saw coming. The Civil War had lasted through his passed presidency and ended five days before his death. United States President Abraham Lincoln surprised his massive audience with a very short speech in which he talked about the effects of the Civil War, and expressed his feelings toward the future of the United States. Lincoln wanted to restore faith in the nation, talking about how the war would end soon, and that the nation was going to reunite. In this short speech Lincoln asserts that the audience knows and is knowledgeable about the war, which shows that the Americans know the war was just by using juxtaposition. Lincoln addresses his opinion towards the war, and makes it clear by utilizing biblical allusion, creating a basis of mutual agreement between the North and the South.

On Saturday March 4th, 1865 president Abraham Lincoln, one month before the end of the Civil War, contemplates the effects of the Civil War and his vision for the future of the nation, through a series of rhetorical analysis rooting in logic. This being President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech, the audience was expecting a lengthy speech on slavery, politics, and state rights. In return, they got a speech rooted in logic. War was “dreaded by all” and both parties “deprecated war.” The south wanted to “make war” instead of letting the “nation survive,” as the North wanted to “accept war” rather than “perish” it.

Through his crafty use of rhetoric, Douglass delivered a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of America in his self-referential speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.” The speech articulated his passionate pursuit for liberty and equal rights. Douglass’s speech passionately argued that in the eyes of the slave and even the “free” black

Sweat rolled down the backs of an attentive audience. Despite the sweltering temperature, a crowd had gathered to listen to a renowned orator celebrate the birthday of their fine new nation. The day was July 5th, 1852, and Frederick Douglass was poised to deliver what would soon become his most famous speech, “What to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?” Commissioned to be a cheerful hurrah, it instead scathes the unexpected audience, bringing to light the overabundance of hypocrisies dwelling in America’s Independence Day celebration. Asked simply to give a speech, Frederick Douglass seizes the opportunity

On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience

Frederick Douglass was a freed slave in the 1800’s who was famous for his ability to read and write, uncommon of a black man at the time. On July 4th, 1852, he gave a speech to citizens of the United States. In this speech, he called out the “hypocrisy of the nation”(Douglass), questioning the nation's treatment of slaves on a supposed day of independence. Frederick Douglass effectively uses rhetorical strategies to construct his argument and expose the hypocrisy of the nation.

Frederick Douglass’ speech was a like a parent disciplining their children. Douglass tries to open the eyes of the American people the lies that they’ve been telling themselves. He also tells the people at this party that there is still hope but will take a group effort to get to this actual independence for all.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

Douglass gave this speech in 1852, which was before the civil war. In his speech, Douglass starts by apologizing for being nervous in front of the crowd of people, but acknowledges that he has come a long way since slavery. This is proving that the tone of the speech is humble and loyal. Towards the end of the speech the tone changes and Douglass begins to become more passionate and angry. The reason that the tone changes is because Douglass soon starts to talk about slavery and connects it to when he was a slave. This brought lots of emotion and truth.

Frederick Douglass was another abolitionist who also spoke out vigorously about slavery. He himself was an emancipated slave who fought for the abolishment of slavery. He fought to demonstrate that it was crude, unnatural, ungodly, immoral, and unjust. During a July 4th Celebration he made it known that he despised the treatment of the slaves. He explained that this hypocrisy was aimed at the black population and so in his speech on the Fourth of July celebration he proclaimed to the anti-slavery individuals that “This Fourth of July is yours not mine” and “You may rejoice, I must mourn”. Frederick Douglass quoted from the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal; and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; and that, among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. He wondered if the rights that are stated in the Declaration of Independence, apply to everyone in America, because he believed they should. He asked the question what the Fourth of July was to an American slave, and responded, to the American slaves that one day, is full of hyprocrisy. He wondered how people could celebrate liberty and equality where there was slavery in America. In support of his idea of how sorrow slavery was Douglas used imagery. He stated, “I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I

In the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass talks about his experiences in slavery living in his masters house and his struggle to learn how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. Some of his other writings include “The Heroic Slave”, “My Bondage and My Freedom”, and “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”. In this excerpt, Frederick Douglass uses an empathic tone, imagery, certain verb choice, contrast, and metaphors to inform African Americans of how important it is to learn to read and write and also to inform a white American audience of the evils of slavery. I find Frederick Douglass to

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln provided one of the most memorable speeches in history that affected the way American citizens saw the war. The March 4th speech in 1865 gave more people hope for the country and allowed them to trust that God will help them through the Civil War. The people trusted Lincoln to help them through the situation because he had already served his first term as president, and the people knew he was trustworthy, so they re-elected him. Lincoln professionally used rhetorical appeals such as ethos pathos and logos to press his audience to agree, as well as tone to show his audience how importantly they should be taking the subject. Abraham’s Second Inaugural Address was an introduction to his plan for the United States for the next years he would be president, and much of it was a discussion about the Civil War and how they would bring it to an end.

On July 4, 1852, former slave and American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass is invited to speak before an abolitionist audience in Rochester, New York. Although the speech should address the greatness and freedom of the nation on independence day, Frederick Douglass uses his platform to display his displeasure with the meaning of freedom in white America. Therefore, the sole purpose of his speech is to unmask the hypocrisy of a nation who dares celebrate freedom and independence while keeping African American slaves. To Douglass, the 4th of July is a constant reminder of the unfairness of the political and social core of the nation. As a social activist and most importantly a former slave, Frederick Douglass uses multiple rhetorical strategies to indict America on the immoral practice of slavery.

On July 5th of 1852, the Ladies Antislavery Society of Rochester requested that emancipated slave, Fredrick Douglass, speak for their celebration of the United States’ national independence. Douglass accepted this request and presented a powerful speech that explained and argued his true beliefs and feelings concerning this event. He considered their decision to request him as a speaker on that day to be a mockery of his past and of the ongoing status of blacks as slaves in America at the time. Nevertheless, Douglass skillfully constructed his speech utilizing various methods that forced his audience to take him seriously and think twice about the issue of slavery in America. His passion about the subject, his ability to captivate his