Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln is thought to be one of the greatest presidents our country has ever seen for the way he handled the Civil War and the issue of slavery. However, from a literary aspect, is simply a Realist speech writer. His speeches did not make light of the situations being faced when both were written; they gave instruction and guidance to those who were feeling lost and unsure in times of trouble, grounding people in reality while leading the way, and it is probably this aspect of his writing which gave the country direction in such dark times as those were.

Lincoln’s second inaugural address was steeped in advice from above, for example (Lincoln, "Second" 339). While this may appear on the surface to be Romantic, one must recognize that it is not as it is calling for action while still being realistic. After all, many people back then did believe that God was a part of reality, as far fetched as such an idea might seem for some people, so it is alright for God to be included in Realist works. Here is a piece from Lincoln’s religious address to a nation finally finished with its bloodiest war to that date:

“The Almighty has his own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?" (Lincoln, "Second" 339)

Here Lincoln uses religion, the word of God, in order to show the American people who have been so open to the slavery of their fellow dark-skinned Americans why it is alright now for the slaves to be free (Lincoln, "Second" 339). He uses this religious argument because it would pertain to the average person, since the average person would generally believe in God and want to please Him. In this way, Lincoln uses Realism to set the his political policy for the Reconstruction era of the United States.

Another example of Lincoln’s use of Realism to assure the nation was in his famous Gettysburg Address. This speech was given after the Battle of Gettysburg in which many lives were lost. In order to comfort those that were grieving, Lincoln spoke not of other things, but addressed the things pertinent to them right then, something Realism strives to do. He spoke those famous words, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (Lincoln, "The Gettysburg" 402). Lincoln celebrates those average, everyday men, the heroes of Realism, who fought and died at Gettysburg, while recognizing with logic what will and will not be remembered from that day forth (Lincoln, "The Gettysburg" 402). This is what Realism does.

Works Cited

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

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