Michael Garcia

English 110
Mr. Barnes
16 October 2016
Rhetorical Analysis
In his speech, The Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln successfully and efficiently uses
pathos, logos, and ethos to reassure and unify a broken and divided nation. In just less than 300
words, president Lincoln was able to discuss the future of the nation in a patriotic nonconfrontational way that appealed to not only the victors of the north, but the also the rebels from
the south. In doing this, Lincoln creates a sense of belonging and brotherhood for both sides.
This is crucial in order to re-annex/welcome back the formerly seceded states into the union.
President Lincoln used pathos in his introduction when citing the deceleration of
independence. Lincoln uses the statement all men are created equal in order to reaffirm the
emancipation proclamation but to also to remind his audience of the founding fathers ideology.
To quote the document that founded the existence of the nation, is a successful strategy in
appealing to ones emotions, thus evoking a strong sense of patriotism. This is Lincoln
successfully appealing to both to the north and south. It can also be argued that Lincoln quoting
the deceleration of independence is a form of ethos due to the authority and credibility the
document holds.
Lincoln uses logos when discussing how it is imminent that the nation never forget the
sacrifices made by all the men who fought in the war. Lincoln says that it would be dangerous to
forget what they did here and simply says we can never forget. This is clearly a logical
argument due to the fact that it is nearly impossible for a nation/society/culture to forget its
bloodiest and most gruesome war, evermore so, ironically that war was this nations civil war.

When discussing the dead, Lincoln does not create a sense of winning a war or losing a war, but
rather creates this sense of unifying in order to honor the lives sacrificed.
At the end of his speech, Lincoln uses ethos successfully to draw a unifying conclusion.
Again, Lincoln discusses the soldiers who lost their lives in the struggle and tells his audience
that those men [have not] died in vain but in fact given the ultimate sacrifice in order to
provide the nation a new birth of freedom. This is a successful usage of ethos because rather
than say the war was unnecessary or by exclaiming a victor, Lincoln simply reassures everyone
that the sacrifices made have created and preserved freedom within the nation, and being the
president, this establishes a sense of peace for the north and south. Establishing a sense of peace
is crucial in order to lead and unify a nation immediately after civil war.
Overall, Lincolns speech, laid the foundation for reconstruction and was the beginning
step to make amends to the relationship between northern and southern states. Throughout the
speech Lincoln is able to maintain a neutral stand and does not mention either side once. In doing
so, and through using logos pathos and ethos, Lincoln is able to establish senses of unification,
peace, and freedom, all the while appealing to both sides. It is not only remarkable, but also one
of the most influential speeches in the history United States.