Daniel Thorburn
Period 2
Lincoln’s Persuasion to the People

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was a speech to persuade the Americans to unite and finish the work of the soldiers. Lincoln used specific phrasing to get the crowds into thinking by his perspective. Lincoln wanted them to look forward because better times shall come and to finish the work of the soldiers. Abraham signified that his purpose of the speech was to persuade the audience to unite and finish the work of the soldiers. Abraham said in his speech that, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” He also said, “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” The unfinished work of the soldiers is to make nation become as one and unite. So many times in his speech, Lincoln exclaimed the seriousness of the devotion and the dedication of this work. One could say that Lincoln was only informing the audience by sharing his thoughts and his perspective of the outcome of the war. Lincoln was sharing his thoughts and perspective of the outcome of the war, but it was to persuade the listeners to believe that the nation will become one.
Additionally, the diction in Abraham’s speech signifies that he was there to persuade the audience to believe in a better future. In his speech he used the words dedicate, consecrate and devotion multiple times in speech to prove his point that the people should be enthusiastic and give time and effort to regain the country. In the second paragraph of his speech, he says, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation,