Voices for Abraham Lincolns Assassination - Essay Example

Full Voices for Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination Abraham Lincoln is said to be one among the greatest in American history,fighting for human rights, respected and loved by his people. His untimely death has brought out the passions from his admirers and led some to write about their hero. For Walt Whitman, he wrote an intensely emotionally driven poem entitled, O Captain! My Captain! which passionately expresses the author’s grief for the death of his captain, President Lincoln. Similarly, Frederick Douglass wrote a speech entitled Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln, which he delivered at the unveiling of the Freedmen’s Monument in Washington D.C. in memory of the deceased president on the 14th of April, 1876.

The theme of his speech, like that of the article published in Harper’s Weekly entitled The Murder of the President shared the same air of intense sorrow for the loss of a dear friend and father of the nation. The greatness and advocacy of the president were immortalized in the three written pieces, with the discussion not only of his convictions but also the actions he took to convey his seriousness in such matters. With a similar theme, the poem, speech and report had stirred the emotions not only of American readers during that time but also both Americans and foreigners alike in this present age.

The poem by Whitman strongly expresses the poet’s unbelief of the untimely death of the president who is nearing the witnessing of his victory in his fight for his beliefs. Douglass on the other hand appeals to the emotions of the white Americans to the remembrance of the man who fought for their rights and protected them in all his services as the president. He did this by talking about the passions of the late president and his dreams for the American people. He did not try to paint a beautiful picture of the president but gave a factual report about him, mentioning even the president’s indifference towards the colored race, stirring the people’s heart to remember the man who loved the white people dearly to have shared even such feelings.

The tone of voice used in the speech may not have been as passionate as the poem’s but it has been written to a degree where it moves readers to appreciate the subject even more. The speech was obviously written on a subjective point of view, as observed by the author so that the decision of sifting one’s reaction depends on the individual and should not be dependent on the speech alone. However, of course the speech as it is widely publicized had its on setting of the minds of the readers.

The report of Harper’s Weekly has been simply stated, mentioning facts about the president and his assassin and appeals to the readers’ emotions more through the use of factual information. As a news report, its voice was more objective in contrast to Douglass’ speech, carefully speaking about the circumstances as gathered by authorities in the investigation of the case. It appealed to the general public and not just to the white Americans who were the audience of Douglass’ speech, to look into the facts of what happened and stir the love and respect due to the man who was unjustly killed in a means he never deserved.

Facts in the report showed that the president was a good man, worthy of love and respect while presenting a senseless assassin in the person of John Wilkes Booth, worthy of contempt. Although the report might have not been written to stir the emotions of readers rather to present facts, it still has the same effect as that of the poem and speech mentioned earlier. References Douglass, Frederick. Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln. TeachingAmericanHistory.org. April 14, 1876. Web. May 6, 2011. . Harper’s Weekly.

The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Son of the South. 2008. Web. May 6, 2011. < http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil war/1865/assasssination-abraham-lincoln.htm>. Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain!” Bartleby.com. 2011. Web. May 6, 2011. .