Comparison and Contrast

A Spirit Reborn

A Spirit Reborn is an article that was written by William Safire in the New York Times. The article focused on how the Civil War after the independence of the United States enabled the country to benefit from the lessons and how the incident of 9/11 bears similarity with those lessons.

The article seeks to shed light on to how the Abraham Lincoln's speech after the Civil War resembles that of former president George Bush after the attacks of 9/11 on the United States. Both the speeches in discussion here had a similar purpose; to unite and motivate the general public of the country and bring them all to an understanding of how important it is for the country stay united (Safire, pp. 41).

Abraham Lincoln's reign as President was marked by the stains of the Civil War between the Northern and Southern states of the country. The sentiment of division among the Northern states indicated that the country should be divided into separate nations rather than one. The situation at that time showed a wide vacuum between the two proponents of the war. To unite and rid the country of the civil unrest Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous speech at Gettysburg. The speech was supposed to be a comprehensive one with the president expected to convince that the country would stay united even if the North wins the war. Much to the surprise of everyone, the president made a very personal and short speech. In a similar attempt, President Bush made a speech after 9/11 with a personal touch to motivate the people of the country and gain popular vote. Both the speeches were an effort to portray that the country would manage to survive the hardships and stay as one. The purpose was also to ...