The "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865" and "The Gettysburg Address"

The "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865" and "The Gettysburg Address" are both by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States, and he fought for the freedom of slaves (Abraham). Lincoln was a president during the Civil War which aged him very much. Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth (Abraham).

As the president, Abraham Lincoln inspired many people from his many and various speeches. Lincoln was a strong voice in a terrible time of need which was during and after the Civil War. Although Lincoln was a man full of sorrow from the death of his children, his dying nation, and the slowly dying of himself, he portrayed courage, compassion, and faith in God in his speeches. His his Second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, Lincoln said that all of the troubles in American, including slavery and the war, are from God, and that only God and resolves those problems (Lincoln, "Second"). Although Lincoln says God will make everything better again, the people are still all caught up in their every day lives, so they are too blind to see the big picture. The South is concerned about slavery because they want to keep the slaves so their economy does not crash, and the North wants to abolish slavery because they think it is a terrible thing. In Lincoln's address, he also says that the country has many chances to heal itself, but they must make their own decisions to do so. They cannot lay it all in God's hands (Lincoln, "Second").

This thought from Lincoln portrays Realism because Realism is like telling people how things are. It is like saying that you have to do something, even if it is a bad, it must be done. Which is pretty much what Lincoln was telling the United States of America. He was saying that the nation is in a pit right now, so they all need to work together to pick things back up and become a real nation again.

In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, he was very inspirational. Lincoln said that they (the country) could not do anything more than what the soldiers on the battlefield had already done (Lincoln, "Gettysburg"). The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest and most terrible battles in American history. It is a battle that truly defines the Civil War and the fight of brother versus brother, father versus son. Lincoln realized in his speech that the greatest sacrifice was death, and that there was nothing the living could do to add to that sacrifice (Lincoln, "Gettysburg").

This speech portrays Realism because Lincoln talks about the sacrifices that the soldiers made, and he tells it how it happened. He was very "real" about what happened on the battlefield, and he tried to inspire the nation from the sacrifices that the young men made.

Both of these speeches reflect the time period because they both took place during the Civil War. The speeches have a little bit of religion in them because Lincoln talks about how part of the redevelopment of their nation is in the hands of God. These speeches have government in them only in that Lincoln was president when he made these speeches, so that obviously has something to do with government. These speeches kind of talk about the American Dream because the slaves wanted to be freed, so it was the American Dream for the slaves. These speeches kind of have a little bit of psychology in them because Lincoln tried to inspire the nation.

Works Cited:

Lincoln, Abraham. "The Gettysburg Address." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 402. Print.

"Abraham Lincoln". The History Place. 1996. The History Place. 14 Feb 2011. http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/.

Lincoln, Abraham. "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 339. Print.