In his letter to Thomas Jefferson in 1791, Benjamin Banneker uses emotional, logical, and ethical appeal with multiple literary devices to argue against on the issues of slavery.…
Today, the promotion of democracy as a form of freedom blares through the mainstream media. However, the American system of government is not a democracy it is a constitutional republic. In ancient Athens, the majority put Socrates to death for the simple reason; they did not like what he was saying. Now, the biblical principles of government, leadership, and Statesmanship relevant to founding of the nation acquires interruption, from human expertise of statecraft or humans ruling other humans, thereby, supplanting living under divine guidance. Nevertheless, even as right and wrong does not fluctuate, still, it has always been subject to human interpretation in time and space paradigms. Therefore, the basic principles governing the government from…
This is best described in a critique written by Matthew D. Norman called “Anti-Lincoln.” This document is based on one of Master’s writings called “Lincoln-The Man”. In the critique, the author mostly tries to argue that Edgar Lee Masters was a major iconoclast. An iconoclasts is known as a person who attacks someone’s cherished beliefs or intuitions. They believe that this trait of his had a bad influence. I disagree with the author’s argument towards Masters. There are three quotes that support this. The first is when “Masters asserts that his biography is a “rational analysis” of Lincoln’s mind and nature that offers argument and interpretation.” This quote says directly that Masters himself in the back of this book wrote what he truly thought the writing was covering. He was just writing his opinion, not trying to be aggressive. The second is,” One died in a shameful child-birth, One of a thwarted love.” There are many examples that shows Masters is always a little dark. The final quote is,”But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chisel, and made myself party at the false chronicles of stones.” In this line in the poem, Edgar states how his character is. He talks of being a chiseler and not caring about anyone who he chiseled headstones for. Even though most of the headstones he made were for his…
He discusses some of the aftermath of the civil war, which took the life of many. Lincoln was on the “great battlefield” to consecrate it but he then asserted that we as a nation could not do so for those courageous men who fought on that battlefield had already done so themselves. Hence, the only thing that could be done was to deal with the conflicts that were still occurring, so that the blood that was shed was not to be shed in vain. He then continues to say that it is out dutifully obligation to commit ourselves to this course for the is a nation that believes in god, a nation of freedom and a nation whose government is run by the people for the benefit of the rest and thus the nation can not die. Lincoln gave such an eloquent…
Banneker uses his religious appeals to attack Jefferson's attitude towards pro-slavery. The author describes the American victory as a blessing from God to quietly point out how the likes of Jefferson are in good graces in the community of the heavenly to appeal to authority. But, Benjamin Banneker truly strikes at Jefferson's hypocrisy when he claims that Jefferson went against God's mercies in detaining slaves in much the same fashion as the British did to the Americans to make Jefferson feel guilty of what he pretends to proclaim the values that he himself does not abide by. Mentioning the Heavenly Father that both Banneker and Jefferson are devoted to ties the two men together in a holy union and changes the dynamic of where Banneker is coming from: that he is a fellow Christian arguing for the reason for the hypocrisy of the view of equal men rather than a slave questioning it. And by Banneker pointing out Jefferson's disobedience, it serves as not just an admonition from the son of slaves, but from a fellow devoted Christian.…
In this essay I will state the similarities and differences of The Gettysburg Address and the letter to Sarah Ballou. The Gettysburg Address talks more about the Civil War than the letter to Sarah Ballou. The Gettysburg Address improved my understanding on the Civil War because the author clarified about the war; moreover, he states the equality of all men. While Sullivan writes to his beloved wife Sarah, he shows his affection for his wife and the love for his country. It affected more people in The Gettysburg because it was a bigger audience and was more explicit. However, in the letter it did not affect others because the audience was only Sarah. The sources that surprised me the most was the letter toward Sarah because it was more of an personal conversation. On the contrary, The Gettysburg Address was just mostly general information that could be found anywhere.…
Dear Mother, It’s been a long time since I had the opportunity to sit down and write you a letter. I miss you and father a lot. I am overjoyed to be writing this letter to you. The mood here is one of jubilation. Our assault on Vimy Ridge began at 5:30 am on Easter Monday, eight days ago. We lost a lot of good boys but I am so very pleased to inform you that the Canucks got the job done! What the French couldn’t do for two years and the Brits too we, Byng’s Boys did in three days. I was assigned to the front line in the trenches as part of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade attached to the 4th Canadian Division. This is actually the first time all four divisions got to work together as a unified Canadian Corps. They practiced us to death. The Captain kept going over and over and over every detail of our attack. It got to a point that we could have attacked those Germans in our sleep and you know how much I love my sleep Mother. The morning arrived. The weather was vile. A sleet storm fell on the plains of Douai making the already treacherous ground a quagmire of mud and puddles. Then we unleashed heaven’s fury on the Germans. I cannot describe adequately the sound of the artillery barrage we put upon the Huns. I can only compare it to what an ant might experience sitting on the muzzle end of a machine gun. The unbearable thunder of the shells and the rattle of the machine guns made it unable to hear my own thoughts let alone the chap next to me in the trench. If you looked up Mother, the sky was a carpet of red hot metal. Consistent firing of bullets and shells created an area above the ground where nothing could survive. As a matter of fact I believe I heard that four of our own airplanes were shot down because they flew too low into the onslaught.…
Based on the email written “American Soldier Letter,” the unnamed soldier is a skeptical and exhausted individual who shows his feelings towards his experiences in Iraq. His attitudes toward his services are shown through his tone in the letter, the sarcastic examples of language to create a sense of humor, and syntax/appeals given to the readers by the speaker.…
A son of former slaves, Benjamin Banneker wrote a critical letter to Thomas Jefferson addressing the problems concerning slavery. Benjamin Banneker uses various rhetorical strategies to increase his effectiveness. Banneker develops his reasoning against slavery through the use of rhetorical strategies such as literary allusions, appeals to ethos and pathos, diction, and tone.…
I began my journey in August under the leadership of the great General Washington after he received news that the French would join us in September. Although I was extraordinarily skeptical at first, I must admit that our former enemies have been vital to this war for independence. However, my dislike for them still holds somewhat true, being as they were always criticizing the not-as-well equipped Americans. It seems to me that they were not here to fight for our independence, but that they were here to simply see the British lose part of their empire. I’m grateful for their help, but it irks me knowing that they were not here for the right reasons.…
Hale was a reliable source for many due to the fact she was the editor of the “Lady’s Book”, a highly circulated magazine among women in the United States during the civil war. She wanted Lincoln to recognize her as a reliable source as well by repeatedly referring to herself as the “Editress of the “Lady’s Book”” (1). Through this repetition Lincoln was often reminded of Hale’s influential status, and the validity behind her thoughts. Hale not only established her own credibility, but reminded Lincoln of his as well. Hale referred to Lincoln as President Lincoln or President of the United States throughout the letter. By doing so Lincoln was constantly reminded of not only his title, but the actions he was allowed to perform under the title (actions such as appointing Thanksgiving a national holiday). Hale gave credibility to her proposal as well by stating that both, Governor (General) Banks and Governor Morgan both had agreed to her proposal. Hale validated her sources opinion even more by stating, “[B]oth gentlemen as you will see, have nobly aided to bring about the desired Thanksgiving Union” (1).…
THESIS: It was necessary for Lincoln to change his views during the war because it was what the people needed and how the U.S./Union won the war against the Confederacy. He was able to show people that he knew what was going on at the time and had a solid plan to bring the South back with the North to continue a unified country. With every new change he was able to gather his ideas easier and share his points with the right and needed decisions. By changing his views and opinions he was able to create an honest campaign and war statement.…
On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave a reverent and humbling speech for the soldiers who had given their lives at the battle of Gettysburg for the reform and advancement of the country. He states that the brave men who here gave their last full measure of devotion” should be highly esteemed for the sacrifice they made. Lincoln establishes his ideas through the usage of rhetorical devices such as, an appeal to ethos, parallelism, and juxtaposition.…
He formed bonds with the soldiers and became friends with everyone he met. During the Civil War, many soldiers died and there were many ups and downs. Lincoln established lasting connections with the troops by visiting the battlefield and hospitals, which also helped bolster morale. Lincoln alps spent time talking with members of the public, taking public opinions. He held public receptions and made a point of shaking people's hand and speaking to each individual. Communicating and being humble is important to being a great leader because it demonstrates recognition and respect for others. Nobody likes being around arrogant people. Kearns Goodwin states that Lincoln had a “remarkable ability to communicate his goals to his countrymen.” He made concepts simple and communicated with an understanding of the concerns of the citizens. When Lincoln was reelected he did not focus on his achievements. Rather, in his second inaugural speech, Lincoln focused on bringing the country together. He demonstrated unity as a character trait which reflected on his actions such as the abolition of slavery and uniting the North and South during…
The purpose of the speech is for Lincoln to convey his idea of our nation, to circle the ideas of our founding fathers and for the fallen to not have died in vain. In the text, Lincoln says: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” The quote translated into a simpler tense encircles the following sentence. It is for us, the living, to dedicate our efforts to finish the task of those who died in their last efforts, to make sure that they did not die for no reason. What he is trying to convey is both the topic of conserving the original idea of equality and to honor those who have died in battle. The last part of the quote directly supports the claim of honoring the ones who have died in an attempt to hold the sense that they have not died in vain. This is supported through the phrases, “…from these honored dead we take increased devotion…they gave [their] last measure of devotion…these dead shall not have died in vain”. The idea of conserving the “proposition…