Lincoln Second Inaugural Address Analysis

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President Lincoln addresses the countrymen of the United States in his second inaugural address to discuss the closing efforts of the civil war and how the war should not go in vain, but that it should benefit the country and preserve the nation’s democracy amongst all the nation’s people. In his address he uses biblical references and literary devices to tell how he would ike the effects of the war to be progressive and not without reason, In lincoln’s opening paragraph he sets the tone for the speech. When addressing the audience he says, “Fellow-Countrymen”, and by doing that he develops trust from his audience by owning that he is a mere countryman himself. He also establishes credibility in his opening paragraph when he says, “At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address then there was at the first.” This sentence brings awareness to the first address that Lincoln had made in favor of not going into a war, and establishes his credibility towards the audience by speaking on the first speech. He also makes a euphemism when addressing the Civil War by calling it “the great contest” by calling it the great contest he implies the rivalry between the south and north states…show more content…
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right…” with this sentence lincoln states that he will not judge anyone for the mistakes made in the past in hopes for a better future for the union as a whole. A future that preserves the ideas made by the founding fathers as the land of opportunity and democracy that are utilized by everyone. Abraham Lincoln takes advantage of literary elements and biblical reference to elaborate on the effects of the war towards the union and how he wishes them to be constructive because they are a union of liberty to all, not to
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