On November, 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in the hopes that it would help to unite the people, bringing them together for a higher purpose (rmc.library.cornell.edu). Essentially, the civil war had been going on for a while and as a result of the fighting, there were so many horrendous deaths that people were getting distracted. Their focus was being pulled away from the real reasons why they should be fighting. Given in the middle of the Civil War time period, the Gettysburg Address was delivered at the exact right moment. So many people were traumatized by the brutalities of war and the address ended up shifting their focus from thinking they were fighting just to kill other people, to thinking they were fighting for the higher purpose of uniting the country. The soldiers’ mindset was altered to fighting for a moral purpose rather than mindlessly killing the opposing side.
The kairos in the Address was more subtle than other kairotic examples. Lincoln did tak
e advantage of an opportunity, but the window for this opportunity was open for a while longer than other examples of Kairos. Take for example Colin Kaepernick. He had to make a split second decision to kneel or stand up during the national anthem to make a statement. Lincoln had the opportunity to give the Union army one last push before the battle between Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac. Seizing the opportunity, Lincoln gave the address. Considering that the Gettysburg Address can be considered the single most important turning point identified during the Civil War, Lincoln’s kairotic appeals were extremely effective. Again, the soldiers now realized they were fighting for a higher moral purpose, giving them motivation to push through the war, resulting in the Confederates essentially losing the war.
In addition to inspiring the Union soldiers, Lincoln also encouraged urgency by reminding the people of the on-going national crisis. Their nation was divided and just having gained independence from Britain, Lincoln reminds them of the embarrassment they’ll feel if the nation’s crisis is not solved. Personally, I’m not motivated by this address simply because it was a completely different one from which I find myself in today. Yes, the United States is a nation that often becomes divided on political issues, but I cannot say that I am motivated to unite our country simply because of the present situation.