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. Throughout Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, he orates equalizing, neutral words that bring forth a sense of unity. …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 states. Another way Lincoln persuades the people of America that it is no one’s fault and the nation should be unified, is his usage of allusions. Most of his allusions used in his Address consist of Biblical quotes that appeal to his audience. “Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” He uses these allusions because he knows his audience and how most of them have probably read or known about the Bible and have faith in it. This specific allusion starts to involve how even in terrible doings, both parts of the United States are involved. It shows that God is upset about slavery on both sides of the states and has punished them with war. So in this case, the creation of war was by God because he was upset by both sides of the U.S. because nothing was done against slavery in enough time and nothing was done to stop it in the South. Lincoln uses Biblical allusions to persuade and appeal to his audience by telling them that the war came by the doing of God due to both of the sides of the United States. In the Address, Lincoln adopts an optimistic tone to finish off his persuasion for unity in America towards his audience. The tone is visible in the last paragraph of the Address where he states “With malice