Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln is well-known for being one of the most successful presidents of all time. Because of the time period that he was president in, he was forced to deal with a very challenging issue: handling slavery and the civil war. Throughout Lincoln’s presidency, he delivered numerous speeches on the topic of slavery and tried his best to keep the United States together. Two of his most famous speeches came during his two inaugural addresses when he became president. Although his tone and purpose were different for each of his inaugural addresses, both conveyed similar ideas and used similar rhetorical devices. In Lincoln’s first inaugural address, his tone is very persuasive and reassuring. This tone helps him to achieve his purpose, which …show more content…
I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” This statement is reassuring the southerners that he will not take slavery away from them and uses ethos to give him credibility by keeping his ideas consistent with his prior ideas. His use of ethos in his speech is a very important rhetorical device because it gives his plans for his presidency credibility, which is necessary if he wants to persuade southerners to believe him. Another example of Lincoln’s persuasive tone is when he says, “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” He is attempting to persuade the southerners to stick with the north and to be friends instead of enemies. He is using pathos, or emotional appeal, in an attempt to achieve his purpose by giving them a sense of togetherness with the north. His use of pathos is another rhetorical device that he uses. Another rhetorical device that Lincoln uses his logos, or logical appeal. He quotes the Constitution multiple times in his speech, such as when …show more content…
His tone in the speech is very different from his first, as it is depressed and passive. He seems very tired, which is shown by this speech being much shorter than his first inaugural address. His purpose is to reflect upon the Civil War as it comes to an end and to encourage the reconciliation of the north and south. Both his tone and purpose are shown through the last sentence of his speech when he says, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” This shows his passive tone because he is choosing to ignore everything that the south has done and move on to healing the country and it shows his depressing tone by his use of phrases such as “bind up the nation’s wounds” and “care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” It seems as if Lincoln is mentally exhausted from the Civil War and just wants to move on and become one nation again. This quote also shows his purpose, which is to encourage the reconciliation of the north and south. In order to achieve his purpose, Lincoln uses some of the same rhetorical devices that he used in