His balanced syntax evokes the idea of a balanced and united nation with a combination of long and short sentences like “While the Inaugural Address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war, seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation” and “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it.” The differences in the sentence …show more content…
Although he describes a “peculiar and powerful institution,” alluding to the common nickname for slavery, Lincoln states that “both read the same Bible and pray to the same God.” He elaborates using allusions to, and quotes from, the Bible, such as, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether” and “Woe unto the word because of offenses.” These religious references linked the Union with the Confederacy, reminding them of their shared values