Zihad Amin AP Language and Composition/P2 Mrs. Spencer January 9, 2014 FRQ: Revolutionaries President Abraham Lincoln had a very brief, second inaugural address; in which he simply spoke about the effects of the Civil War and shared his vision for the nation’s freedom. His one goal of this short speech was to show the nation that his idea for the Civil War and future was the best idea. Lincoln uses pathos, slavery, and the power of God to achieve his purpose. Lincoln uses pathos appeal to keep his speech short and to the point so that there would be no waverers. “Lincoln surprised his audience—which expected a lengthy speech on politics, slavery, and state’s rights—with a short speech in which he contemplated the effects of the Civil War and offered his vision for the future of the nation..” No one wants to hear a long speech with many different topics, because that causes the listener to not be able to focus on a specific thing. Lincoln also talks about the progress of their arms; it is what everything depends on. Those will be the cause of victory or defeat. Looking at it, Lincoln saw high hopes to the future; and if Lincoln, the leader, believed in a victory, the people would follow suit. Lincoln also talks about how there are no choices left for either side, “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than left it perish, and the war came.” Lincoln’s goal was to show the North that they had to accept it, or the United States would fall. In his address, Lincoln justifies and notes the cause of the Civil War, slavery. Slaves constituted of 1/8 of the population, most living and working in the South. North wished to end slavery, their reasoning to go into war, and the South wanted to prevent the North from taking
away their most prized possession. “These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest.” Lincoln was a huge advocate for the freedom of slaves, and the North was the same under their leader. Lincoln was the only one to believe that slavery would stop, either with or before the war did. His words must have had an effect on the people, because the North won the war, and was able to liberate the slaves. Obviously, the people’s goals were to end the war, and Lincoln showed that to end the war, slavery must be ended first. Finally, Lincoln addresses God to being harsh, by dealing out the Civil War because he thinks slavery is a crime. “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….” It’s punishment. Lincoln also talks about how the war would go away under God’s hand, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass.” God is an Almighty being, and he has the power to control everything, so he tells the people to worship him more, pray to him that the cause of the war and the war itself may end. His inaugural address took place a month before the Civil War ended, proving that his words got through and he achieved his purpose with the people.