TOW #11 - Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln

Separation occurred throughout America as the Civil War started. Even though the first inaugural address was created to prevent the civil war, there were many unfortunate occurrences that made it tremendously difficult for this address to make an impact on the civil war in America from not arising. In the Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln uses repetition and anaphora in order to employ to his audience that he is going to reunify the nation after the tragedy that occurred from the American civil war.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th president of the United States, addressed the American public to inform them that he would reunify America. Lincoln uses repetition to unify his audience who have all experienced the tragic civil war. In his address to the American public, he states “all dreaded it, all sought to avert it” (Lincoln). By repeating the word all, Lincoln expresses to his audience, who were the American citizens, that every person experienced the effects the civil war had on America. Lincoln wanted his audience to realize that the civil war left an impact on every American citizen.

By using anaphora in this inaugural address, Lincoln is able to convey he was dedicated to reunifying America after the civil war occurred. In Lincoln’s speech, he says “to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations” (Lincoln). He wants his audience to be confident that his speech will successfully end the American civil war and reunify the American citizens. Lincoln also uses this speech to convey to his audience the importance of reunifying America is to the country and to himself and ending the civil war will be very important in making America a stronger country.

In the Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln, repetition and anaphora are used to reveal to his audience his plans to reunify the United States of America after the terrible civil war occurred. Lincoln wanted to assure that the American public recognized that there was going to be positive change in America opposed to the negative change that had occurred due to the civil war.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln2.asp