"House Divided"

Analytical Essay # 99682

Communication > Language and Speech
English > Analysis
History > Leaders
History > U.S. Impending Crisis, 1848-1860

"House Divided"

An analysis of the rhetorical style of Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech.

3,200 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper presents and analyzes Abraham Lincoln famous speech, "House Divided". The paper describes why this speech, in which Lincoln addressed more than one thousand Republican representatives at the Republican Convention in 1858, was so successful. The paper presents some examples from the speech and describes its content.

From the Paper:

"Three years prior to his legendary presidency, Abraham Lincoln addressed more than one thousand Republican representatives at the Republican Convention in 1858. Although the speech was initially condemned for its radical and seemingly inappropriate content, Lincoln's craftily constructed speech effectively established and defeated his enemy through a variety of rhetorical tactics. The success of Lincoln's "House Divided" speech lies in his ability to first elicit fear by creating a real threat and ultimately in overpowering that threat alongside his fellow morally upright Republicans, thus becoming a people's hero. Lincoln accomplishes this by constructing an unstable political atmosphere augmented by a conspiracy of past and present presidents in cahoots with legislators, namely the ever devious Stephen Douglas. He symbolically defeats these public enemies through a variety of strategies including a series of hypophoras in which he answers his own questions aimed to discredit Douglas and company, while simultaneously presenting himself as enlightened and superior by dismissively addressing the threat he constructed as easily assailable."