Speeches: Lincoln's "Second Inaugural," Robespierre's Essay

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Robespierre argues in a speech by turns logical and eloquent, that in order to establish democracy, the popular will must be enforced with a virtuous application of terror. He delivered the speech during the height of the French Revolution in an attempt to justify the political violence which the revolutionary tribunal had indulged in as it sought to implement its (ultimately) peaceful reforms. He argues that the very "sublimity" of the tribunal's aims had resulted in vicious royalist counter-revolutionary activities by men who hoped to protect their private interests by preventing the revolution, and that killing such men was justified. "Subdue by terror the enemies of liberty, and you will be right," he argues, hoping to speed the pace of the revolutionary throngs.

Churchill delivers his speech at a low moment in the midst of England's battle against the Nazis. In a very brief address, he declares in no uncertain terms the nation's resolve to go on fighting the Gestapo without flag or fail. He repeats the phrase "we shall fight" eight times in successive phrases in a single sentence, ending that sentence with "we shall never surrender" in order to show that whatever the costs, wherever the battle, his country will continue until the end. His purpose is twofold: (1) to shore up the resolve of the English people in their cause, and, (2) as evidenced in the last phrase, to call out the United States, "the New World, with all its power and might," to aid in "the liberation of the old."

Of the three speeches, Robespierre's seems the least convincing.

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Because it relies on an appeal to logic through much of its length, it fails to move when it gets to its emotional context. Churchill's speech, on the other hand, while likely to be powerful to its contemporary audience only briefly addresses one of its most important aims. Lincoln's address seems to this reader to be the most effective in terms of its approach to different audiences and its structuring of message to achieve a variety of goals. It is a masterwork of….....

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"Speeches Lincoln's Second Inaugural Robespierre's", 17 December 2009, Accessed.5 June. 2026,
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