After reviewing all the speeches, I observed that Lincoln was the only one who referenced God six times during his speech. On the web site it says that Lincoln mainly focused his second inaugural speech about the civil war. God and war are two words that I usually don't associate together in a speech of this nature. It just makes me wonder under what context he used these two words throughout his speech.
Another observation that I made was the almost every speech used the word God at least once or twice which was odd to me. Considering that the very first amendment to the constitution abolishes the right of congress to establish any religion for the nation, every president still makes a religious reference in each speech. I think it shows how deeply humanity is still scared or feels about the war over religion and how it is such a huge part of the world's history.
The final observation I made is fairly obvious, but surprisingly refreshing. Lincoln is one of the few who doesn't use the word government or nation multiple times in his speech. I like the fact that he was focused on other major issues with the country and recognized that other issues could take a back seat for a while. I don't mean to say that none of the other presidents were not in-tune or connected to the people whom they govern, it's just that sometimes the president's agenda can consist largely of what needs to be fixed in the capital.
Hi Willa!
ReplyDeleteI though your observations were very interesting, and you made a lot of great points in your blog post. I wasn't as surprised as you were that God was used at least once or twice in their speeches because usually our country leans more toward the election of a leader who does believe in God.
Great post!
Interesting observation Willa! I agree with you in that I believe presidents have been scared to completely remove the word "God" from their inaugural speeeches. Although everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs under the constituition, the ideas of God and religion helped shape our country. People do not want to take away something that has become such a constant.
ReplyDeleteThinking about this made me wonder, will God always play such a large roll in presidential inauguarations? From the word "God," to swearing on the bible, it seems to me like the tradition of religion is here to stay.
Willa,
ReplyDeleteI think you made a great observation. I definitely agree and think that it is shocking to see that he used God in his speech. I think it also shows how different things are now. People seem much more sensitive to things like that. I feel like a situation like that would be blown way out of proportion if it happened today. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like people can get past things that may not be that important and focus on what he was really trying to say. I guess that is just something that has changed from then to now. It will be interesting to see if it changes in the future or stays how it is.
Nice Job!
That's interesting--I would imagine it wasn't uncommon in Lincon's time to speak about God in circumstances such as that. God was a huge part of the making of our country, and it is easily argued over today as to if that should be the case (like in the Pledge of Allegiance). Speaking of God has toned down a little since then as far as politics goes, but it is still a factor that we struggle with. I agree with Morgan's comment about God's role above--after all, we do swear on the Bible and speak of God fairly often. However, I believe that in the future, Christianity will become a smaller part of our country as we attempt to widen the acceptance of various beliefs. Good post!
ReplyDeleteWilla,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! While reading it, I too found it very odd that God was used in almost every speech given. With all the rules on the schools about God like discussions, I'm surprised that the president is allowed to do so. Then again he is the president, so as long as he's not preaching to me all about God during his speech I suppose it is all good. Very nice job!