Transcript Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis of
Lincoln’s Greatest Speech
The Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1865
President Lincoln delivering his inaugural address
on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, March 4, 1865.
Photographer: Alexander Gardner
Essential Questions
The questions that Lincoln wrestles with
are:


Who is responsible for this war?*
What makes this war a just one?
*White, Jr., Ronald C. Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
Address. New York: Simon and Schuster (2002).
Paragraph Two
On the occasion corresponding to this four years
ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an
impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to
avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was
being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war,
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to
destroy it without war—seeking to dissole [sic]
the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them
would make war rather than let the nation
survive; and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish. And the war came.
Repetition and Crescendo
On the occasion corresponding to this four years
ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an
impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to
avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was
being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war,
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to
destroy it without war—seeking to dissole [sic]
the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them
would make war rather than let the nation
survive; and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish. And the war came.
Anticlimax or Decrescendo
And the war came.
To me, it’s interesting to consider that the
war becomes an agent of its own action in
this statement. No one appears to have
waged it, no one desired it, and everyone
deprecated it. Yet, it seems to have come
of its own accord.
Alliteration
On the occasion corresponding to this four years
ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an
impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to
avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was
being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war,
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to
destroy it without war—seeking to dissole [sic]
the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them
would make war rather than let the nation
survive; and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish. And the war came.
Thesis-Antithesis
On the occasion corresponding to this four years
ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an
impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to
avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was
being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war,
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to
destroy it without war—seeking to dissole [sic]
the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them
would make war rather than let the nation
survive; and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish. And the war came.
Paragraph Three

What must Lincoln conclude about slavery as a
cause of the war from these two statements?


One eighth of the whole population were colored
slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but
localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves
constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All
knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of
the war.
Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might
cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should
cease.
Jeremiad


A literary work or speech expressing a
bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of
doom.
Jeremiah: (Old Testament) an Israelite
prophet who is remembered for his angry
lamentations (jeremiads) about the
wickedness of his people (c626-587 BCE).
Judge not that we be not judged.
It may seem strange that any men
should dare to ask a just God’s
assistance in wringing their bread
from the sweat of other men’s faces,
but let us judge not, that we be not
judged.
chiasmus: sometimes described as inverted parallelism. For example,
“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”
—John F. Kennedy
Matthew 7:1, KJV
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
These words allude to Jesus’ Sermon on the
Mount, in which he advocates an ethic rooted in
humility and compassion.*
*White, Jr., Ronald C. Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
Address. New York: Simon and Schuster (2002).
Paragraph Three continued

What must Lincoln conclude about the cause of
the war from this question?

If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of
those offences which, in the providence of God, must
needs come, but which, having continued through
His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that
He gives to both North and South, this terrible war,
as the woe due to those by whom the offence came,
shall we discern therein any departure from those
divine attributes which the believers in a Living God
always ascribe to Him?
Lincoln as Poet?
Fondly do we hope—
Fervently do we pray—
That this mighty scourge of war
May speedily pass away.
Lincoln’s language seems archaic to a contemporary ear,
so consider that one would generally order the words
this way: We fondly hope. I think restructuring the
words into contemporary syntax gives a sense of
Lincoln’s intention in his syntax.
Parallel Structure
With malice toward none; (phrase + phrase)
with charity for all; (phrase + phrase)
with firmness in the right, (phrase + phrase)
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 a lasting peace, among ourselves, and
with all nations.
Indicative and Imperative Moods


Indicative: The most common mood in English. The
indicative mood indicates what is. For example, John
eats an apple, or God gives us the power to see the right.
Imperative: Expresses direct commands, requests, and
prohibitions. For example, John, eat apples until you are
content, or let us strive on to finish the work we are in.



Pay attention to the verbs of the last paragraph: finish, bind,
strive, care, do, achieve, cherish.
It’s probably also important to note the result of all this action: a
just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
Consider that shifts from the indicative to the imperative moods
are common in most sermons.
Closure

So, what does Lincoln conclude?
1.
Who is ultimately responsible?
2.
What makes this war just?
Creepy Fact about J.W. Booth

John Wilkes Booth,
Edwin Booth, and
Junius Brutus
Booth, Jr. in
Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar in
1864. J.W. Booth
played Mark
Antony.