Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. he achieved great things throughout his life including preserving the Union, modernizing the economy, and ending slavery in the United States. President Lincoln gave many important speeches and “was undoubtedly one of the greatest communicators among all American presidents. His words, as a public speaker, writer, debater, humorist, and conversationalist, continue to inspire us to this day” (Wadhwa, n.d.). As you analyze some of his greatest speeches you notice something fascinating. Throughout his speeches Lincoln obtained the attention of his listeners by including his views on slavery, as befitting the events occurring at that time. Now Lincoln wasn’t an outright abolitionist
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The first speech was given at a time where the country was divided and on the verge of war. Due to this the speech was focused on national unity and the mandates of the Constitution. The tone was legalist focusing on details of the law including his reassuring of the South that the Fugitive Slave Act would be enforced. In contrast the second inaugural speech was given at a time where the war was almost certainly won by the North. No longer needing to speech about preserving unity, Lincoln focused on the permanent ending of slavery in the United States and reconciliation with the …show more content…
That is how as he progressed more poetry was added to his works. In the beginning of his speaking career his speeches were more dry and became more poetic as time went on. A cause for this might have been stage fright. “Lincoln suffered from stage fright and seemed wooden and afraid for the first few moments of a speech. Once the stage fright wore off, however, he became considerable more animated” (Zarefsky, 1993). In fact, a letter written by Lincoln in 1860 shows his nervousness and goes as follows: “Yours of the 2nd was received late last evening, I cannot speak in New Jersey this time. I have over staid my time — have heard something about sickness in my family — and really am nervous and unfit to fill my engagement already made here in Connecticut. Will you please excuse me?” Because of his awareness of his nervousness Lincoln spoke shorter and to the point to assure that his point got across. It was only as his comfort level on stage grew that Lincoln added his poetry into speeches as then he knew he was comfortable to get his point across and that the poetry at this point would add to his ideas. Throughout his political career Lincoln’s views on slavery changed as seen from his speeches. His comfort level also grew as he started to understand the power of his speeches and how poetry could add to the dry facts he needed to get across. He spoke with a clear understanding
The first speech was given at a time where the country was divided and on the verge of war. Due to this the speech was focused on national unity and the mandates of the Constitution. The tone was legalist focusing on details of the law including his reassuring of the South that the Fugitive Slave Act would be enforced. In contrast the second inaugural speech was given at a time where the war was almost certainly won by the North. No longer needing to speech about preserving unity, Lincoln focused on the permanent ending of slavery in the United States and reconciliation with the …show more content…
That is how as he progressed more poetry was added to his works. In the beginning of his speaking career his speeches were more dry and became more poetic as time went on. A cause for this might have been stage fright. “Lincoln suffered from stage fright and seemed wooden and afraid for the first few moments of a speech. Once the stage fright wore off, however, he became considerable more animated” (Zarefsky, 1993). In fact, a letter written by Lincoln in 1860 shows his nervousness and goes as follows: “Yours of the 2nd was received late last evening, I cannot speak in New Jersey this time. I have over staid my time — have heard something about sickness in my family — and really am nervous and unfit to fill my engagement already made here in Connecticut. Will you please excuse me?” Because of his awareness of his nervousness Lincoln spoke shorter and to the point to assure that his point got across. It was only as his comfort level on stage grew that Lincoln added his poetry into speeches as then he knew he was comfortable to get his point across and that the poetry at this point would add to his ideas. Throughout his political career Lincoln’s views on slavery changed as seen from his speeches. His comfort level also grew as he started to understand the power of his speeches and how poetry could add to the dry facts he needed to get across. He spoke with a clear understanding