Michael Whitfield Professor Horowitz Com 340: Rhetoric and Theory October 27, 2011 "The Gettysburg Address"

General Purpose: Specific Purpose: To inform To inform my audience of President Abraham Lincolns civil war speech entitled, The Gettysburg Address, which was given on November 19, 1863 for the people of the United States of America. President Abraham Lincoln's speech entitled, "The Gettysburg Address" uses rhetoric to try to convey that liberty and equality are worth fighting for.

Central Idea:

I. Introduction The dogmas (religious beliefs) of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall (liberate) ourselves, and then we shall save our country. This is a quote that I found on a website from (Abraham Lincoln Online). Doesnt that just say it all? We need to change our beliefs from the past, and we need to think of new ways to solve our problems, and we must liberate ourselves in order to save our country. II. Orienting Material Combining the use of rhetoric in looking at historical speeches will help us to pick apart the speech we are looking at with great accuracy in order to have a clear idea of what the author was thinking when they wrote it. Today, I will be going over a great speech given by a great man, The Gettysburg Address. I will be discussing the political and social climate during the time the speech was given, as well as looking at the rhetorical situation that will be applied to the speech. Lastly, I will be going over the rhetorical proofs the speech has to offer, and then, I will show how this speech can be applied to my life. What my personal connection is with this speech. Credibility I feel as though I am credible to be discussing the speech entitled, The Gettysburg Address, because of the level of respect I have for the man who wrote it, as well as the amount of research I have done in preparation for this speech.

Transition: I would like to switch over now and talk about the political and social climate that was taking place at the time this speech was given. Body I. Social and Political Climate: a. The Civil War was about during this time period and we were fighting to make freedom free for everyone. b. The abolishment of slavery was the primary cause for the war. c. The Emancipation Proclamation was enacted during this time period as well. d. We were at war with each other, we were at war with our neighbors. Transition: Now that you have a visualization of what was going on during the this time period, I would like to now go into to rhetorical situation of the speech. II. Rhetorical Situation: a. Exigencies i. The exigencies that I found was primarily the Civil War and the dedication of Gettysburg in honor of the soldiers who had fallen. b. Audience i. The audience for this speech was primarily to the Union Soldiers fighting in the war to preserve the Union. ii. The audience was also intended for the American people in hopes of uniting us even more so, and also to give us a reminder of what we're fighting for. c. Constraints i. I found some of the constraints from (biography.com) ii. Some constraints that Abraham Lincoln faced was primarily the opposition to the war. i. In how the country was not in agreement on the issue of slavery. Transition: I would like to now go into the rhetorical proofs that are presented in this speech. III. Rhetorical Proofs a. Ethos i. Although Lincoln does not show any credibility for himself in the speech itself, his position as president provides him the ethos that we are looking for. ii. Lincoln was well known for his kindness and caring characteristics as well, that added to his good character. Hence the nickname "Honest Abe."(I found this at ameslab.org) b. Pathos i. The pathos of this speech mainly came from the audience of it.

ii. iii.

c. Logos i. The logic, or logos behind giving this speech was simple. We were at war with ourselves over equality, Something that we have been fighting for, for a very long time. ii. This speech was used as an instrument to try to unite the Union even more so as well as provide a hope for the outcome. Transition: I would like to now go into the rhetorical analysis of The Gettysburg Address. But first, I would like to show a video of the speech to you. Since audio and video recording did not exist in 1863 I will show a video of how it may have sounded. Video 2:05 minutes IV. Rhetorical Analysis: a. We see the use of rhetoric throughout this speech. b. In this slide above you can see how the anaphora as well as the tricolon are used in combination. i. "We can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow..." i. We can see the anaphora being used in the repetition of the beginning of the phrases, "we can not" ii. and we can see the tricolon in the three phrases themselves. c. In this next slide, we are able to see how the asyndeton is used. i. "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it..." and so on. i. This is where we see the omission of conjunctions such as the word, "and." d. At the end of this speech we see how the antistrophe is used. i. "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." i. This is where we see the repetition at the end of these phrases. e. This speech could not have been given at a better time. i. The Kairos of this speech was flawless. This speech is seen as one of the turning points in the war. Transition: I would now, like to move on from the rhetorical analysis to how this speech has affected me personally. V. Personal Connection: I feel as though I have a personal connection with this speech, because it upholds the values and morals that I live by every day. Each one of us is unique and special in

The speech was given to commemorate fallen soldiers of the battle, but also bring hope to the future. I would imagine the audience to have felt saddened during this time, but also hopeful for the type of change this war could produce.

our own way. It doesn't matter what color your skin is we are all people, we are all equal, we make up the United States. Summary: Today we have talked about the speech given by president Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address." I have shown how I am credible to be speaking about this. I have shown the political and social climate during the time period. I have shown the rhetorical situation that I applied to the speech. I have gone over the rhetorical proofs from the address. And I have also given a rhetorical analysis of speech as well. Conclusion: Finally, I hope that I was able to give you an informative evaluation and rhetorical analysis of "The Gettysburg Address." I hope that you were all able to get something out of it in one way or another. Before I finish, I would like you all to imagine with me for a moment. Think about where we were, where we are, and where we are going. I would like to leave you with a quote right now. This is from Martin Luther King Jr. that I found at (brainyquote.com). He says, "I have a dream that one day my four children will live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I feel as though this is what Abraham Lincoln wanted, and I believe that we have arrived here.

Bibliography Abraham Lincoln . (n.d.).Supercomputing '94. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://sc94.ameslab.gov/tour/alincoln.ht Abraham Lincoln Biography. (n.d.).Famous Biographies. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540 Basler, R. (n.d.). Abraham Lincoln Online. NetINS Showcase. Retrieved November 1, 2011, from http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/ quotes.htm Keith, W. and Lundberg, C. The essential guide to rhetoric. (2006) Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes. (n.d.). Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quote Savegettysburg. (n.d.). Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Civil War Speech. American Civil War History Timelines Battle Map Pictures. Retrieved November 1, 2011, from http://americancivilwar.com/north/lincoln.html