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Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Essay

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Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Essay
During his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln surprised his audience with a short speech that contemplated upon the future of the Nation. Though his oration did not last long, Lincoln was able to stress the reunification of the union as well as inspire hope for a more prosperous future.

Lincoln begins his speech by directly addressing his intended audience, the north, by expressing that length is not needed in his address as all words on the state of the nation and the war have already been so fluently expressed. His use of a weary tone and neutral diction emphasizes upon the stress put on the nation because of the conflict and what must be done in order to end it. He then speaks of his hopes for an end to the conflict and the reemergence of a unified nation; such a statement is made to motivate the North to end the conflict and inspire them to push for a United nation. Through the use of words possessing typically negative connotation, including “anxiously” and “dreaded”, the president caters towards the emotions evoked by all towards the war and its continuation. Though Lincoln’s primary audience is the North and he hints towards the major reasoning for war being the actions of the South, he doesn't outright blame or alienate the South; he refers to Southerners as insurgents rather than an enemy to be defeated. This ties in with Lincoln’s use of antithesis-- “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war …show more content…
He suggests that all, despite the current division, hope for an end to the conflict. The president concludes his powerful oration by furthering his use of holy language. He expresses his firm belief that though god holds contempt for both the north and south, he has the divine intention to end the bloody civil war; under god’s guidance, the nation can reunify and create a lasting peace for all of
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