“A condolence letter is a strange hybrid of forms. It is for the mourner, but about the deceased. It is formal, but emotional. It gestures simultaneously at the past, the present and the future. It seeks to provide solace while acknowledging that there is no genuine solace to be provided.” During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln found himself writing letters to the love ones of many fallen Union soldiers. In the following letters of condolence, Lincoln tries to evoke emotions and memories about the decreased in the mourners by describing the type of person their lost was, Lincoln also tries to form the foundation for the process of the mourners healing by using bright and lively words, but knowing that his words arent enough for the mourners, he tells them that he was once in their situation in an attempt to let them know he knows what he is talking about.
In all three letters of condolence, Abraham Lincoln describes the fallen Union soldiers as brave and/or kind which arises emotions in his audience. In the first letter, Lincoln states that even though Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth was young, he had a “power” to command men and that this power was a combination of “a fine intellect, an indomitable energy, and a taste altogether military” by stating this, Lincoln conceives in the mind of Ellsworth’s parents what kind of soldier was their son. one can also infer that by stating this, it reveals a son who, maybe, Ellsworth’s parents didn't know. This indicates that Ellsworth was someone tough in the battlefield, which is what you need to be when you're in the field. In the second letter, Lincoln also defines Fanny’s father as “brave.” But unlike with Ellsworth’s parent who maybe didn't know the “brave” side of their son, one ca...
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...a purer and holier…” by constantly reminding Fanny that she is young and that her father’s memory will become pure and holy due to her young heart, Lincoln is brightening the tragic news for her lost. Reminding her that her agony with fade away and will turn into a “sad sweet” memory. In the third letter, Lincoln doesn't use the same strategy due to the Madame losing all five sons of hers but he does state “I pray that our Heavenly Father….and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost..” by stating this, Lincoln indicates that he hopes the madam will recover from all of her lost and remember her sons as the people they were. even though he states it differently due to the different type of audience, Lincoln delivers the bad news and is constantly using bright, lively words in order to establish a foundation to the process of the audience’s healing.
...ll trying to figure itself out. Lincoln dedicated his speech to the dead because they died in vain and he wanted them to be happy to see a country that was equal. Equality today is much different than it was during Lincoln’s days and it’s come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.
Then, the speaker of this letter is Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in America. However, without Robinson as the speaker this text wouldn’t be preserved as it is today, specifically if the speaker was a little known person of color or even a white person speaking on the behalf of the black community. The audience includes President Lyndon B. Johnson directly; then Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York; and lastly the people of America, the black community, and those fighting for civil rights. This audience is important because if Robinson hadn’t written to the President, and indirectly to the others, then, similarly with the speaker, the text might not be as preserved or well-known nor carry the same influence it has. The subject, as mentioned before for the text’s purpose, is the Civil Rights Movement and the President’s involvement in it during the Vietnam War, which is affects the text as Robinson is a
give the reader insight about anything relating to President Abraham Lincoln in his final days as
Within a short amount of time after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the office of presidency, the south had seceded from the Union and brought on the beginning of the American Civil War. In 1863, the third year of the war, Lincoln had given a speech of the sacred battle ground at Gettysburg, most notably called the Gettysburg Address. In it, he expressed sincerity for those who fought and died there and most of all, proclaimed his aims of war itself. Walt Whitman, a celebrated poet of the time, traveled from hospital to hospital witnessing the operations of wounded soldiers and also the horrific scenes of death and amputation. His views were very much different than those of Abraham Lincoln and though not evident, were still noticeable in his writings. Last, none other than William T. Sherman himself, a Federal Army General, disclosed letters sent between him and the Confederate General, J. B. Hood and also letters sent between him and the mayor of Atlanta, James M. Calhoun. In them, he expresses his opinions about the war which, not-so-surprisingly, is very similar to Lincoln's.
Perhaps unbeknownst to him, Lincoln engaged in the two thousand-year-old tradition of epitaphios logos, or a particular form of Greek eulogizing. Lincoln’s eulogy appears to consider aspects of Gorgias’, another example of epitaphios logos. Both eulogies use similar themes and diction. Furthermore, these two eulogies are alike in purpose; both Lincoln and Gorgias seek to honor the dead as heroes and assuage the living. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the connections of the two eulogies that allow a cogent comparison.
. .’, concludes James Oakes’ book with the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination. Oakes discussed the respect Douglass gathered for Lincoln over the years and the affect his assassination had on both himself and America as a whole. Oakes even brushed over Douglass’ relationship with Andrew Johnson, the president succeeding Lincoln. Analyzing his experience with the new president, it was safe to say that Andrew Johnson had no consideration as to what Douglass and Lincoln previously fought for. Johnson did not have the same political skills as Lincoln did, and he did not retain the same view for America that Lincoln did. It was obvious that Douglass held Lincoln at a higher standard than Andrew Johnson, stating that he was a “progressive man, a humane man, an honorable man, and at heart an anti-slavery man” (p. 269). Oakes even gave his own stance on Andrew Jackson, “It was a legacy that Andrew Johnson could ever match. When all of Lincoln’s attributes were taken into consideration - his ascent from the obscurity to greatness, his congenial temperament, his moral courage - it was easy for Douglass to imagine how much better things would be ‘had Mr. Lincoln been living today’.” (p. 262). It is hard to imagine the pre-war Douglass to have said something like that as opposed to an older, much more reserved Douglass. With the abolishment of slavery, so came much discrimination. Without
'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.' In the delivery of Lincoln's 'Second Inaugural,' many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an end before it was too late. The annihilation that had taken place was tragic, and Lincoln brawled for a closure. The 'Second Inaugural' was very influential, formal, and emotional.
Lincoln’s optimistic tone encourages all Americans to put behind them the Civil War and progress forward as a united nation once more. President Lincoln calls to action all the peoples of America with sentences such as, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in” and “ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace”. The tone that President Lincoln capitalizes on is purposefully optimistic because he hopes to end the war and move past the issue of slavery, among others, which has divided the nation, and he wishes to safeguard the nations reunification. Lincoln’s tone also has hortative sentences such as asking the American people to “strive”. President Lincoln also wishes to rid both sides of any grudges or rancor they may feel towards one another for the war by reflecting that “all sought to avert it” and by articulating, “Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it…attained”. And towards the end of his speech, Lincoln calls the nation to be unified “with malice towards none, with charity for all” so that their minds and souls may be cleared of any ill will in order for the nation’s reunification to be permanent and not just superficial. President Lincoln evokes the nation as a whole to a higher degree in hop...
Imagine that the person you love most in the world dies. How would you cope with the loss? Death and grieving is an agonizing and inevitable part of life. No one is immune from death’s insidious and frigid grip. Individuals vary in their emotional reactions to loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve (Huffman, 2012, p.183), it is a melancholy ordeal, but a necessary one (Johnson, 2007). In the following: the five stages of grief, the symptoms of grief, coping with grief, and unusual customs of mourning with particular emphasis on mourning at its most extravagant, during the Victorian era, will all be discussed in this essay (Smith, 2014).
As you can imagine the assassination of Lincoln greatly influenced the relationship between the north and the south. The assassination soured their relationship, increasing the north’s hate toward the south (The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln pg.51). Even before the north even knew who killed Lincoln, they blamed the south. The north mourned whereas the south was happy (History Engine). In the north, not only whites, but blacks too mourned for their fallen president (History Engine). In the south most were happy, but not all of them (History Engine). Some southerners joined with the north in their sadness and sorrow. The ones who mo...
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was asked to say a few words at the opening of a military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg stood as one of the bloodiest battles in America’s Civil War and the Governor felt that these fallen soldiers needed a better resting place. Lincoln had a problem with the people in his country that happened to be in war fighting against each other for the freedom of blacks, which they currently did not have. When Lincoln came to give his speech he had many people on the edge of their seats listening to him word for word. He takes his time in what he says and chooses his words precisely. Some may not apprehend what Lincoln was actually saying whether they were soldiers or people who were mourning the loss of their family members. He wanted to let the families and armed forces know that he's proud of what they have done; although, he may also be marginally disenchanted since his country is fighting against one another. He reveres these people no matter what side they are on and hopes for the freedom of slaves whil...
...he had and that he had so much love for them. He even started to cry witch shows how much love he had for his fellow soldiers. The Massachusetts 54th regiment demonstrated great courage at Fort Wagner. by attacking Fort Wagner nonstop knowing that they were fighting against the wall and that they could easily lose. They still continued to fight because they were close and when they saw one of their own men fall to the ground, it hurt their heart so they fought for that person. They did this that because the regiment was the only family they had and the way they trained and acted made them closer and become like brothers. This was one of those grate emotional motives that really pushed them to fight even harder. This was also to prove to whites that blacks were just as capable as whites in battle. When they proved this they were braking stereotypical boundaries.
This helped develop the central idea by pulling at heartstrings. The device Lincoln used for this main idea is pathos and sentence structure. First, he uses pathos when he says, ‘’Now we are in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.’’ This appeals to our hearts because during wars, blood is shed. Notably, he uses pathos when he states, ‘’We have come here 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.’’(Lincoln, 1) This appeals to the heart since people lost their lives; this device moves us to do what is asked. Likewise, he uses sentence structure and pathos when he says, ‘’The world will little note, nor long remember what we have to say here, but it can never forget what they did here.’’(Lincoln, 1) The commas make the sentence more slow and fitting as he continues to honor the deaths. Lincoln’s use of pathos and sentence structure pull heavily at our
In his speech, Lincoln immediately makes an appeal to people’s patriotism. “ 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”. This preliminary line reminds the audience of their country and their duty to their countrymen. It intuitively eases folks into the idea that their country was a nation founded by liberty, a popular notion, and serves to fill those listening with national pride. Lincoln goes on to address the soldiers who gave their lives towards preserving the country that they love so. “We are met on a great battlefield 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.” He uses this rhetoric as a way of reminding the American people of these honorable fallen and why they should pay particular respect towards the soldiers. Lincoln also shows a more humble side to his speech. “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not 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
In November of 1863, with the bloodshed still fresh & the graves still being made, Lincoln travelled back to Gettysburg where he presented The Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony of the cemetery. According to the Library of Congress Lincoln’s speech followed a two-hour long speech by the famous orator, Edward Everett. Everett expressed his gratitude and admiration that he held for Lincoln prior to Lincoln taking the podium. As Lincoln dedicated the ceremony, his speech stemmed for approximately two minutes and contained 273 words. Although, these words were deemed to be “ludicrous” to some according to our text, The Gettysburg Address spoke towards the future. Lincoln’s memorable Gettysburg Address has been stated that “In it, he invoked the principles of human equality contained in the Declaration of Independence and connected the sacrifices of the Civil War with the desire for “a new birth of freedom,” as well as the all-important preservation of the Union created in 1776 and its ideal of self-government” (History.com Staff, 2010). Lincoln addressed the 15,000 spectators solemnly and expressed that the lives of all of the soldiers that were laid to rest were to serve for a larger purpose and that it was up to the living to carry on with this movement. One of the most prominent statements made by Lincoln within The Gettysburg Address was