A Rhetorical Analysis of Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln林肯第二次就职演讲的修辞分析

A Rhetorical Analysis of Abraham Lincoln’s Second InauguralAddressAbstract: Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his second inauguration as president of the United States. This address is planned; it is adapted to his audience; it is shaped by Lincoln’s motives; it seeks persuasion. Lincoln made full use of argument, appeals, arrangement, and aesthetics which are four resources of symbols assisting the goal of persuasion. Thus it is categorized as rhetoric. This thesis makes a rhetorical analysis of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.Key words:Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, rhetoric, analysis1. IntroductionThe custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day started with the very first Inauguration—George Washington's—on April 30, 1789. After taking his oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber where he read a speech before members of Congress and other dignitaries. Every President since Washington has delivered an Inaugural address. While many of the early Presidents read their addresses before taking the oath, current custom dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administer the oath first, followed by the President's speech. Today, Presidents deliver their Inaugural address on the west front of the Capitol, but this has not always been the case. Until Andrew Jackson's first Inauguration in 1829, most Presidents spoke in either the House or Senate chambers. Jackson became the first President to take his oath of office and deliver his address on the east front portico of the U.S. Capitol in 1829. With few exceptions, the next 37 Inaugurations took place there, until 1981, when Ronald Reagan's swearing-in ceremony and Inaugural address occurred on the west front terrace of the Capitol. The west front has been used ever since.Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his second inauguration as president of the United States. At a time when victory over the secessionists in the American Civil War was within days and slavery was near an end, Lincoln did not speak of happiness, but of sadness. Some see this speech as a defense of his pragmatic approach to Reconstruction, in which he sought to avoid harsh treatment of the defeated South by reminding his listeners of how wrong both sides had been in imagining what lay before them when the war began four years earlier. Lincoln balanced that rejection of triumphalism, however, withrecognition of the unmistakable evil of slavery, which he described in the most concrete terms possible. This address is planned, adapted to his audience, shaped by Lincoln’s m otives, responsive to a situation and persuasion-seeking. Especially he made full use of argument, appeals, arrangement, and aesthetics including metaphor, allusion, and consonance.2. The characteristics of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address2.1It is planned―Regardless of the goal at which it aims, r hetorical discourse involves forethought or planning‖ (Herrick, 2005, P.8). This address was planned before Lincoln addressed to his countrymen rather than improvisational. From the pictures on Wikipedia, we can see that Lincoln stood in the center, with papers in his hand during addressing.2.2 It is adapted to an audience―Rhetoric is planned with audience in mind. Audience should not be understood strictly in the traditional sense of a large group of people seated in rows of chairs in a large hall‖ (Herrick, 2005, P.8). At the beginning of the address, Lincoln pointed out hi s audience ―Fellow-countrymen‖ that were not only the audience around him, but also other Americans who were not present at the scene. ―Rhetorical discourse, then, forges links between the rhetor’s views and those of an audience. This means attending to an audience’s values, experiences, beliefs, social statues and aspiration‖(Herrick, 2005, P.8). His address was mainly about The Civil War, which the Americans was suffering and worrying about. Another apparent example is he mentioned many times of God and Bible.Most Americans believed in God, so his audience could understand the address easily. ―The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging t o all.‖Through this sentence, we can see that all Americans including Lincoln held the same belief that the North would won, and he ensured success because their arms were strong. The same experience, belief, and confidence about their success were forged between Lincoln and his audience.2.3 It reveals Lincoln’s motives―In rhetoric we find people acting symbolically in response to their motives, a general term taking in commitments, goals, desires, or purposes that lead to action. Rhetors address audiences with goals in mind, and the planning and adaptationprocesses that mark rhetoric are governed by the desire to achieve these goals‖(Herrick, 2005, P.8). At the end of the address, Lincoln expressed his motives as a president of United States that experienced the Civil War. ―With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.‖The North and the game in their hands. He called on all Americans ―let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.‖2.5 It seeks persuasion―Rhetorical discourse is usually inten ded to influence an audience to accept an idea, and then to act in a manner consistent with that idea.‖(Herrick, 2005, P.12).Arguments, appeals, arrangements, and aesthetics are four resources of symbols assisting the goal of persuasion.2.5.1Argument―An argument is made when a conclusion is supported by reasons. An argument is simply reasoning made public with the goal of influencing an audience‖ (Herrick, 2005, P.13). Most Americans believes in God; God is almighty. In his address, Lincoln quoted many times of God and Bible to make his argument more persuasive, such as ―Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other.‖ ―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.‖ ―That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purpos es‖ and so on. In the second paragraph Lincoln began the shift in substance and tenor that would give this address its remarkable meaning. He employed several rhetorical strategies that guided and aided the listener. First, Lincoln's approach was to emphasize common actions and emotions. In this paragraph he used "all" and "both" to include North and South. Second, Lincoln used the word "war" nine times. The centrality of war is because the word appears in every sentence. Previously war had been used as the direct object, both historically and grammatically, of the principal actors. In his speech, however, war became the subject rather than the object. The second paragraph concludes, "And the war came." In this brief, understated sentence, Lincoln acknowledged that the war came in spite of the best intentions of the political leaders of the land. When Lincoln introduced the Bible, early in the third paragraph, he entered new territory in presidential inauguraladdresses. Before Lincoln there were eighteen inaugural addresses delivered by fourteen presidents. Each referred to God or the deity. The Bible, however, had been quoted only once.2.5.2 Appeals―Appeals are those symbolic strategies to elicit an emotion or to engage the audience’s loyalties or commitments‖(Herrick, 2005, P.1). Slavery was the direct reason of the Civil War, and African-Americans were the firm supporters of the war, so Lincoln said ―One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war‖ to arouse African-Am ericans’ commitments to the United States. He was opposed to Slavery and God was on his side―If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, 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, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?‖ His determination won all African-Americans’ support.2.5.3 Arrangement―Arrangement refers to the planned ordering of a message to achieve the greatest effect, whether of persuasion, clarity or beauty‖(Herrick, 2005, P.14).At the beginning of the address, Lincoln stated that it was the second time for him to take the oath of the Presidential office; then he introduced the war; he used God and Bible to support his determination –getting rid of Slavery; at last he called all Americans to reconstruct their country. He put the most important part, his appeal, at the end, to make his audience more impressive and emotional. Of course, he made it."Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort." So spoke Frederick Douglass ①soon after he heard Lincoln’s second inaugural address.2.5.4 Aesthetics―The aesthetics of rhetoric are elements adding form, beauty, and force to symbolic expression‖ (Herrick, 2005, P.14). Lincoln engaged in aesthetic resources of①Frederick Douglass(born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escapingfrom slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing.language in a traditional way to make his speech more beautiful and thus more moving and memorable. ―Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray , that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass awa y‖,in this sentence, ―pray‖rhymes with―away‖; he compared the chaos resulted from the war to―mighty scourge‖, and this metaphor which clearly informed people the consequences of the war added vividness to his speech. Parallelism is also obvious in this address, such as ―All dreaded it, all sought to avert it‖and ―Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray‖.Lincoln wondered what God’s will might have been in allowing the war to come, and why it had assumed the terrible dimensions it had taken. He endeavored to address some of these dilemmas, using allusions taken from the Bible. These words ―wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces‖ is an allusion to the Fall of Man in the Book of Genesis. As a result of Adam's sin, God tells Adam that henceforth "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19, King James Version). Lincoln's phrase, "but let us judge not, that we be not judged," is an allusion to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1, which in the King James Version reads, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Lincoln quotes another of Jesus' sayings: "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." Lincoln's quoted language comes from Matthew 18:7 in the King James Bible; a similar discourse by Jesus appears in Luke 17:1 in the King James Bible. The quotation "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether" is from Psalm 19:9 in the King James Bible.The original is ―The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.‖3. ConclusionAbove all, Lincoln’s second inaugural address is categorized as a typical rhetoric not only it is planned, adoptive to his audience, and shaped by his motives, persuasion seeking, but also he used a perfect persuasion mode which is revealed by arguments, appeals, arrangements, and aesthetics. As a rhetorical discourse, it was a surprisingly brief but profound reflection on the meaning of the Civil War that speculated on the purposes of God to help reunite the country.The Inaugural address plays a very important role in the inauguration and term of office of American presidents. It shows the new president’s intention and confidenceand i nspires people to move forward under new leadership. The inaugural addresses are regarded as rhetorical discourses and analyzed many times by linguistists, of course including Lincoln’s second inaugural address. This thesis analyze s it from the perspective of its characteristics as a rhetorical discourse. Finally I hope that the thesis would be helpful to those who are interested in rhetoric, inaugural addresses, and even politics.BibliographyJames A. Herrick (2005). The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon 2005. 8—14Abraham Lincoln's second Inaugural Address. Retrieved May, 12, 2013 from /wiki/Abraham_Lincoln's_second_inaugural_addressLincoln’s “Almost Sacred Effort”: The Second Inaugural Address. Retrieved May, 12, 2013 from/groups/literacy/blog/2013/03/04/lincolns-almost-sacred-eff ort-the-second-inaugural-address。