EXTRA CREDIT III: Lincoln Speech

Recently I decided to attend the 23rd Annual Kenneth Burke Lecture in Rhetoric.  Having no idea what to expect, I went in with an open mind.  After a few awards were given out we got to the meat of the program, which was a speech by Northwestern’s esteemed Dr. David Zarefsky.  He came to give a speech on the rhetoric that Lincoln utilized.

When I saw Lincoln’s name on the brochure, I immediately expected it to be a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg Address.  This seems like it would be the most obvious topic of rhetoric utilization within speeches.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the presentation was no on this speech, but on his second inaugural speech.  The main topic of discussion was the the utilization of “somehow”, “may”, and “if” within the speech.  I was actually incredibly impressed with how much thought actually went into Lincoln’s decision to utilize these three words.

The major reason for using somehow was to reconcile everyone’s differing thoughts for the cause of the war.  A major point he made in his speech was how “interest”, a major point utilized within many of Lincoln’s speeches, was representative of that way in which slavery was in the economic interest of the South.  He stated that this economic interest was, somehow, the cause of the war.  By utilizing somehow, everyone’s reason for the war in their own mind becomes justified.   Through vagueness, everyone’s belief regarding the cause of the war is justified, and people feel a personal connection to the war.

He then later goes on to place the word “may” within the speech.  By doing this it gives Lincoln the sense of uncertainty moving forward, but also of not being certain.  It makes the idea of slavery seem to have a chance to be supported by God, and not definitively say that it was the cause of the war.  As a result, it isn’t gloating over the North’s win, nor is it justifying the South’s actions.  By staying ambiguous Lincoln is able to keep calm within the community without alienating a single side.

Finally, the speaker than goes on to justify the use of “if”.  This makes him seem not all knowing in the way that politicians today typically are (He cited Georg Bush and another man misquoting Lincoln), and as a result makes his speech more personable.  Through the utilization of the term if, it creates the idea that the people of the period must put their faith in God and hope that their actions were just.

In general, I thought that the speech was great. I had never considered how much thought could go into using three simple words like somehow, may, and if.  It really opened my eyes up to how difficult crafting speeches can be.  In addition, it showed how much power could be had in a short speech.  This speech turned into Lincoln’s living will I believe the speaker stated, and it really does seem to embody his belief for moving forward with reconstruction at the time.  I feel that despite the negative attention this speech received at the time of publishing, it was almost as great as his Gettysburg Address.

Speak Your Mind

Skip to toolbar