Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

During the beginnings of the Civil War, there were people across the nation pleading for unity. One man in particular was the president during the devastating time, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was both elected in the beginning of the Civil War and towards the end of it. He had given his mandatory Inaugural Address' during these two elections and, especially in his Second Inaugural Address, spoke about a certain controversial issue in both. This issue was the division of the United States. Lincoln was in favor of having the same united nation that America was for years until tensions within the country started to split it. In Lincoln's second inaugural, he wants to persuade his fellow Americans that the union of the nation is the best way they can handle the war. He manages to make a stupendous Address by using multiple language choices within it. These language choices consist of unifying diction, consolidating parallel structure, allusions from the Bible, and an optimistic tone. …show more content…
These words consist of "all", "both", "us", "we", "each" and many others. One line of sentences specifically includes unifying diction, “Neither party expected for war...Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict...Each looked for an easier triumph...Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. This part of the Address shows the unity that Lincoln wants to happen in the torn apart nation. His use of “neither” and “both” shows that he does not want to separate the North and South. His terminology of non-separation is used many times throughout the address and uses it for the same reason every time. Lincoln’s usage of unifying diction improves on his persuasion of making the nation a preserved union of