History Case

The structure of the address is central to its clarity. It moves clearly and logically from the past, to the present, and onto the future. In doing this, he identified himself with his audience, then payed respect to those who had died, and moved on to inspiring the audience. His choice of diction to emphasize this structure is also significant. When speaking of the present he uses phrases like "we are" and "we have", identifying himself with his people. This technique also allows him to articulate the future, democratic direction of the country, an idea that needed to be included to reassure the people of the validity of the civil war.Lincoln uses repetition effectively to express the main themes and ideas. When speaking of the present and the civil war he uses the word great three times emphasizing the "great civil war", "great battlefield" and later the "great task". The idea of war as being "great" contributes to the reception of the speech as pure propaganda, but it must be labelled this to inspire the troops, thus executing the purpose of the speech. The word "people" is also repeated three times in the last sentence, emphasizing the democratic ideals they are fighting for. By repeating these words he inspires his people, underlining what it is they are fighting in, and what exactly they are fighting for.Goldman appeals to patriotism in a different manner to Lincoln. She recognises this to be a prevailing value in the time of war, and also recognizes that she may be considered unpatriotic (charges of conspiracy are rarely becoming for a patriot), but attempts to make the jury understand her interpretation of patriotism. She uses historical references to prove her point, by stating that "those who fought and bled for your liberties were in their time considered as being against the law". She then alludes to the American War of Independence "they carried out their ideas by throwing tea into the Boston Harbour." The theme of patriotism is prominent in the speech, as Goldman sees that as a fault the jury will perceive in her, and acts to address it, articulating the idea differently to Lincoln, but equally effectively.

Similarly, Goldman questions the democratic values of her audience. She uses rhetorical questions to make the audience truly respond, if only mentally, to her words, to question the validity of the charges against her. She pleads, "Is there only one kind of resistance?" "Shall free speech and free assemblage, shall criticism and opinion "