Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

The Civil War ended in May 1865 after four years, and it was referred to as a social reform and the breakdown of a democratic political system. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was given a few months before in March. Just 701 words long, Lincoln’s address took only six or seven minutes to deliver, yet is considered one of the most memorable speeches in American political history. It offered Lincoln’s reflections on the causes and meaning of the war. The “scourge of war,” he explained, was best understood as divine punishment for the sin of slavery, a sin in which all Americans experienced. It describes a moral debt that had been created by the “bondsman’s 250 years of unrequited toil,” and ends with a call for compassion and reconciliation. With its biblical allusions, alliteration, repetition, and parallel structure, the address greatly resembles a church sermon. It incorporates many of the themes of the religious revivals: sin, sacrifice, and redemption.

The part of Lincoln’s Address that appeals to pathos when he talks about offenses and if God wills the war to go on. “ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come” He also appeals to human emotion at the very end of the document when he encourages America to strive for peace and healing. He strikes an emotional chord by referring to America as God’s widow and His orphan that needs to be cared for, so that they may not only achieve, but also cherish peace among all nations. Lincoln appeals to logos when he says that God can’t take both sides. “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered.” If two people are asking for two different things, both people cannot be made happy because they desire different outcomes. In