“The Gettysburg Address” Speech Analysis

By President Abraham Lincoln - Nov. 19, 1863

[Four score and seven years ago] our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation,

conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived,

and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to

dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation

might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add

or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what

they did here. 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. 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 that cause for which

they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not

have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government

of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

1. Lincoln’s persuasive purpose:

Lincoln’s persuasive intent in the Gettysburg Address is to transcend the immediate moment of dedication and

reframe the Civil War as a profound test of the nation’s very existence. By linking the Union’s survival to the

founding ideals of liberty and equality, he seeks to inspire a collective recommitment to those principles,

ensuring that the soldiers’ sacrifices are not in vain. He positions the war as a means of securing not just the

Union, but also a “new birth of freedom” that will define the future of democratic governance globally. In
essence, he argues that the war must be seen not as a struggle between North and South but as a battle to

preserve the very soul of the nation, rooted in its founding principles.

2. Three choices he makes to accomplish this purpose:

- Use of a temporal frame (Historical Allusion): By opening with “Four score and seven years ago,” Lincoln

skillfully draws a direct connection between the nation’s founding in 1776 and the current moment of crisis.

This framing not only reminds the audience of the country’s revolutionary ideals but also emphasizes that the

Civil War is part of the same continuum—suggesting that the current struggle is a necessary means of

preserving the freedoms originally envisioned by the Founding Fathers. This historical linkage allows Lincoln

to imbue the present conflict with greater significance, making the audience feel they are participating in

something much larger than their immediate time.

- Metaphorical consecration of the battlefield: Lincoln’s rhetorical move to declare that “we cannot consecrate

– we cannot hallow – this ground” is a striking example of his humility as well as his understanding of

rhetorical pathos. By asserting that the ground is already consecrated by the soldiers’ blood, Lincoln shifts the

focus from the ceremony at hand to the soldiers’ ultimate sacrifice. This rhetorical decision sanctifies their

deaths, elevating their sacrifice as something beyond human ceremony, thus rendering the audience’s actions—

and Lincoln’s own words—relatively insignificant by comparison. The soldiers’ actions, according to Lincoln,

speak louder than any ceremonial gestures, creating a sense of solemn reverence and inevitability.

- Repetition and parallel structure in the conclusion: Lincoln employs parallelism in his famous closing

statement—“government of the people, by the people, for the people”—to hammer home the universality and

timelessness of democracy. The repetition of “the people” as the focal point of each clause reinforces the

foundational democratic principle that the authority of the government is derived from the governed. This

structural choice serves to unify the various rhetorical strands of the speech, connecting the soldiers’ sacrifice,

the war effort, and the founding ideals into a single vision of democratic endurance. The cadence and simplicity
of this structure contrast with the weighty content, ensuring that the speech’s conclusion resonates with clarity

and emotional power.

3. Tone of the speech (based on the bolded words):

The tone of the speech is solemn, reverential, and morally charged, but also underpinned by a resolute

determination. Words such as “final resting-place” and “consecrate” establish a tone of deep respect and

veneration for the dead, elevating the moment beyond mere ceremony to one of almost sacred significance. The

inclusion of “new birth of freedom” and “devotion” infuses the speech with a tone of hope and moral resolve,

signalling a commitment to the future. This layered tone shifts between mourning and optimism, reflecting both

the profound loss of life and the potential for a renewed national purpose.

4. One appeal to ethos, one to pathos, and one to logos:

- Ethos: Lincoln appeals to ethos by positioning himself as the voice of the nation, speaking from a place of

humility and reverence. His reference to the Founding Fathers in “Four score and seven years ago” bolsters his

credibility, aligning him with the enduring ideals of the nation’s founding. He assumes the mantle of moral

leadership, subtly reminding the audience of his authority while grounding his speech in the shared values of the

nation.

- Pathos: Lincoln’s pathos is evident in his depiction of the soldiers’ sacrifice. The phrase “gave their lives that

that nation might live” transforms the battlefield into a symbol of selfless sacrifice, invoking a collective

mourning but also a collective purpose. His elevation of the fallen to near-sacred status aims to stir the

audience’s emotions, making them feel a personal responsibility to ensure that these deaths have meaning by

dedicating themselves to the unfinished work of preserving the Union.

- Logos: The logical progression of Lincoln’s argument is rooted in the assertion that the Union must endure to

fulfill its founding ideals. By arguing that the war is a test of whether “any nation so conceived and so dedicated
can long endure,” Lincoln uses logos to frame the conflict as more than a regional struggle—it is an existential

question about the survival of democracy. His conclusion that the dead must not have “died in vain” logically

follows from this premise: if the Union fails, their deaths would signify the failure of democracy itself. Thus,

the logical imperative is clear—preserving the Union is necessary for the survival of democratic governance.