Ethos In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech

In President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech, he makes use of ethos, logos, and details. President Lincoln’s second appearance in front of the American people demonstrates ethos.The fact that this is his second time giving this time of speech makes the American people believe what he is going say. Lincoln’s credibility lies in this quote: “At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential Office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first.” This quote erases the idea that the following speech will be filled with empty promises and nonsense. Because Lincoln has done it before, he knows that he should spend this short amount of time discussing real issues with the American people and so they will actually
listen.
By implementing logos, Lincoln makes the audience think and ask questions. When discussing the civil war President Lincoln says, “If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses 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 offense came, shall we….” The function of this quote was to spark a session of thought and reflection in the audience.By doing this, President Lincoln perhaps has persuaded the reader to change or at the very least has pushed his point across.