In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln showed his care for his people and his country that been struggling for years in the war.
In his speech he lets people feel they are united and lets them see hope their future through his strong persuasive appeals. Lincoln opens with “all dreaded, all sought to avert it”. Using the word “all” helps Lincoln connect him and all the people together. He even does this throughout his speech saying, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that his mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” Instead of using the South and the North, Lincoln always uses “we” to connect with his audience. By using “we” and “all”, Lincoln conveys the common wishes of both sides. Lincoln even showed fairness by not offering the North the victory speech it sought, nor did he blame the South alone for the evil of slavery. Rather, he offered a moral framework for reconciliation and peace. Lincoln carried the scales of justice to his speech by stating “one-eighth of whole population were colored slaves”and “Woe unto the world because of offences”. When he states this he defines American slavery as one of those offenses, he widened the historical and emotional range of his address by stating. Lincoln did not say southern slavery but asserted that North and South must together own the offense.
Lincoln also makes several religious references to God to show how all the people are all alike. In Lincoln speech he says “both read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. Lincoln knew by doing this makes North and South feel that they are united. Both sides were suffering the same war and had an urge to end it. While they all shared the same religion God play an important role to connect the people. When Lincoln said “shall we discern therin any departure from those divine attributes which
