The Gettysburg Address

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“The Gettysburg Address”
On November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln took to the stage to give an address, which was became termed as the Gettysburg Address. This speech was delivered during the National Cemetery of Gettysburg official dedication ceremony in the state of Pennsylvania. It was during the period of the Civil war`s decisive and most bloody battles. Lincoln gave the address before friends and families of the deceased soldiers and other members of the public. He was not one of the orators on that particular occasion, and his 273 words talk is one of the most crucial in American history. Most importantly he appealed to the people by outlining the important human equality principles that are outlined in the Independence Declaration and merged the sacrifices of war and wish for “new birth of freedom,” combined with the very vital agenda of the Union`s preservation formed in 1776 and its model of an independent government (The Gettysburg Address – American Civil War n.p).
The battle took place for a period of three days, from July 1st to 3rd in 1863. The main purpose for the Gettysburg address was to honor the fallen soldiers of the Union and to remind the nation what they were fighting for at the time. This was for their freedom. He also delivered the speech to unite the entire nation and inspire more people to be noble and fight for their beliefs (The Gettysburg Address – American Civil War n.p). The language used and the overall themes in the Gettysburg address are not new.

In July 1861, Lincoln in a message delivered to Congress spoke of the States as “a government of the people for the people and by the people” (McNamara n.p).
Lincoln`s address took a significant direction when Lincoln himself pointed out that the Declaration of Independence formed the real proclamation of the founding fathers’ true intention for forming the new nation. Many slave owners at that time had depicted themselves as true Americans. This is because the constitution that is the supreme law of the land did not explicitly prohibit slavery. From Abraham Lincoln`s perspective, the nation that was established in 1776 was committed to the life fact, which is all men are equally created. As the president, at the time of the address, he spoke of the Civil war at the time as a struggle, which was not only significant to the Union but for the equality of human beings. Lincoln was a respectable, honorable and noble leader. He was not afraid to highlight what he thought of the war and the issue of slavery. By speaking of equality in his speech, he comes out as a thoughtful leader, who truly honors and stands for rights accruing to all individual Americans. In his speech, he is a democratic leader who stands for what he speaks about. He also stands out as being a patriotic individual who recognizes the importance of people standing behind the country by encouraging people to stand firm with the nation and come out to fight for their own well-being because there is no government without the input of people. He gives the soldiers a new and different view of the war and a reason to continue fighting in the Civil war.
In his speech, Lincoln uses elements of juxtaposition in analyzing of life and death. He compares the ideals of the South and North to the life and death ideas. He used a uniting tone in order to create a sense of belonging to everyone who would listen. Lincoln`s view on the Civil War is made manifest when he shows his bereavement for the loss of the many Americans who were felled without distinguishing between the Confederate and Union fighters. He also uses the juxtaposition in the concluding words of “a new birth” and later on, in the obstruction of a “perished” nation. The speech on the element of patriotism calls his audience to get to the crucial point of action. The use of juxtaposition aids Lincoln in transferring the zeal in his speech to real action by appealing to the union of the people of America as a whole. Repetition is another device employed in the Abraham Lincoln speech. There are two examples of repetition that have been outlined in the speech. From the first statement of the Gettysburg Address, it sets out the repetitive nature of the address. Terms such as we, our, and us are used in connecting the whole address in different instances. The term ‘dedicated’ is used in the whole talk to have an emotional appeal apart from binding the whole diction together. Syllables such as I and You are not present in the entire lecture. Lincoln uses different terms like us, our and we to encompass different groups from people allied to the Union to Confederates. This was to create a sense of inclusion of every individual.
Abraham Lincoln`s ethos in regards to the union was established before the audience got the chance to listen to his speech. In his election into office, his personality had to be probed into by different people. Ethos initially assisted in the weight placed on his words. His words on the equality of all men gave the American side a unifying factor and assisted in the fight to end slavery. This also ensured that the men fighting along that side were equal and united in their fight to preserve the United States. Deam (n.p) in his article notes that the situation gave the support that he wanted to succeed in the nomination of 1864 and this led to the union being much more popular than Confederacy, which also stopped powers of a foreign nation from mixing themselves with America`s war. The major issue arose with the Confederate states and people. He was the president of the Union, so the speech was not well taken by the Confederate people because they were having issues and they expected a different sentiment from the president, like surrender. Reactions to the Gettysburg Address were also two-fold, divided along party lines. The Democrats and Republican parties different views was a threat to the status of the North, which was the main thing Lincoln was trying to prevent when he wrote his address. The difference in views was ignorant of Lincoln`s ethos, that moved in a different direction from his proclaimed message of unity that led to a decrease in the easing of tensions between the two groups.
According to Kelvin Deam, Lincoln uses emotional appeal in the diction to motivate the listeners to persevere through. Lincoln`s speech gave the citizens a unifying factor that also encouraged them to work together as one in achieving the goal of the unification of the United States. This was the bigger goal they had to achieve, and it was in their interest to be involved in. He was a wise president who knew how to appeal to the inner thoughts of the people. Lincoln, in his speech, notes, “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract…It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced” (Novak, Adams and Shaw 125). The use of pathos in this instance is meant to encourage the Union citizens to focus on the reunification of American ideals that are not taken seriously like liberty, life as a whole and the pursuit of happiness. Additionally, also the virtues of for all, democracy, freedom justice and liberty. By speaking on such issues, he gave the Union the encouragement and system of support it required to get within the darkest time in the United States` historical account. A leader should be able to speak to his people and read their general feel. Abraham Lincoln knew how to speak to the people.
The Gettysburg Address employed logos in a variety of ways to get the points through to its audience. They include the deduction, speech format, and the interpretation networks. Lincoln planned his address in a well-flowing format by opening with his important quote. He said, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Slavicek & Cronkite 70). The quote particularly connected founding of United States and drafting the Declaration of Independence. The Gettysburg Address also makes reference to the Gettysburg Cemetery and the battlefield at that particular time. Lincoln stated, “We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live” (Simon, Holzer, and Ruark 164). He then concludes with the future view of an American state which, “…shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (Judson 115). Changing from past to current to the future gave the Gettysburg address a clear, orderly motion that ensured it easy for Lincoln to arrange his ideas and crucial sections to address on behalf of the States.
Lincoln uses deduction in building his point on the equality for all individuals which had to be present in order for the States to thrive and also stick to words from its founding fathers. From the Independence Declaration and the founding canon, he is keen on outlining the fact all men are equally created. He admitted the fact that from Emancipation Proclamation and the civil strife, some did not appear as equals and were the real sense enslaved by the other men. He, however, reiterated the values and principles that the United States had to uphold. In his address, he said, “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (Conant 290). He made the United States think on its interpretation regarding the statements of its important and honored founders, and to accept that regardless of their skin color, all men are equal. President Lincoln was not able to enjoy peace after the Civil war because of his demise, but subsequently, the logos got pushed into legislation and adopted by the additions of the three amendments to the constitution. They effectively abolished slavery and set the citizenship status standards and voting rights, without racial discrimination.
In conclusion, the use of rhetorical devices by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg address gave it a very powerful and distinct message that is important to this date in the American nations. Using elements of repetition, juxtaposition style, and deduction enabled him to directly deal with excesses of the War that had divided the nation. He is able to give a sense of hope to the nation`s subjects. The ethos employed enabled the Address capture the attention it required on the intended audience. The pathos, on the other hand, left the people with a different feeling of unity and the need to commune together against their problems. Leaders should be people who unite their people by simple words. They should always find a way to turn negativity into positivity. His use of logos made the people have an inkling of how the future of the States is supposed to look like upon ending of the War. The inference achieved the main view of equality of all men regardless of race. The speech has had a long-term outcome through the years and is still very instrumental to this date.
Works Cited
Conant, Sean. The Gettysburg Address: Perspectives on Lincoln’s Greatest Speech. , 2015. Print.
Deam, Kevin. “Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft | Rhetoric and Civic Life.” Sites.psu.edu. N. p., 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2018. <sites.psu.edu/rclkdeam/2012/10/17/rhetorical-analysis-final-draft/>
Judson, Karen. Abraham Lincoln: “this Nation Shall Have a New Birth of Freedom.” Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2008. Print.
McNamara, Robert. “What Lincoln Wanted To Accomplish With His Gettysburg Address.” ThoughtCo. N. p., 2018. Web. 4 Feb. 2018. <https://www.thoughtco.com/abraham-lincoln-and-the-gettysburg-address-1773573>
Novak, Michael, Paul Adams, and Elizabeth Shaw. Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is., 2015. Internet resource
Slavicek, Louise C, and Walter Cronkite. Abraham Lincoln. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Internet resource.
Simon, John Y, Harold Holzer, and Dawn Ruark. The Lincoln Forum: Rediscovering Abraham Lincoln. New York: Fordham University Press, 2002. Print
The Gettysburg Address – American Civil War. HISTORY.com, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/gettysburg-address. Accessed 3 Feb. 2018.