Gettysburg Address Take 9

Sara Phillips

October 17, 2016

Within Lincolns persuasive piece entitled the Gettysburg Address, regarding the Civil

War, Lincoln addresses civilians and military personnel alike while shifting from past to present

to future in order to motivate the Union to continue fighting a war that is testing whether that

nation can long endure in order to preserve and bring back justice, liberty, freedom, and

equality (Lincoln, 4-5).

Abraham Lincoln affirms civilians and military personnel should continue fighting the

war by unifying to bring back justice, liberty, freedom, and equality. Lincoln uses a strong

epiphora in his speech for the people in order to reveal the longevity of the new government,

increasing the audiences appeal to fight. He encourages civilians and military personnel to

continue fighting the war by unifying themselves. By using an emotional appeal in his speech to

appeal to the parental protectiveness of the audience by using a new birth of freedom. This

persuades the people to treat the nation as their own child. Lincoln personifies the nation to give

the audience the idea that the nation is giving birth to something which creates a

motherly/fatherly appeal. This parental appeal establishes the nation as something they would

want to protect. In this elongated sentence, (Lincoln, 14-19), Lincoln grabs the audiences

attention, making them more intrigued, in order to emphasize what a normal sentence would not.

Lincoln uses this sentence to validate his need for the Union to continuing fighting the war in

order to preserve the nation. To gather the audience's attention, Lincoln introduced dashes into

his elongated sentence. An emotional appeal was brought forth by the use of epiphora. In
Lincoln's speech, the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish

from earth, lets the audience know that theyre in control of what is happening and what is

going to happen to him. It also reveals the longevity, or everlasting life, of the new government

allowing the audience to believe that fighting this war is something that could possibly help their

children. The epiphora brings forth the belief that by building a strong government now, the

future government will only get stronger and gives the audience faith in what theyre fighting

for.

Lincoln's speech, the Gettysburg Address, is relevant in todays society due to the

astounding amount of segregation many people face. In todays society, we face discrimination

against gays,bis, and lesbians. In today's society, black people still struggle to maintain their

birth given rights. In today's society, we, as a nation, struggle to find someone to rule of the

people, by the people, and for the people. Whether we like it or not, our nation needs to be

united to succeed. In order to be united, the government and the nation it rules needs to stop

discrimination and embrace todays society. Uniting, the nation will become stronger. As a

nation we believe we can do anything, but our corrupt government, who struggles to support us,

does not allow us, as a nation, to strive. In our time and in Lincolns, our society struggles to

keep a strong form of government that is of the people, by the people, for the people.