The Rhetoric of Lincoln’s Letters

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Although citing individual letters for biographical and critical purposes, Lincoln’s letters have not been studied as a whole. But careful study of his letters reveals that studying Lincoln’s letter writing is fundamental to understanding his development as a writer of memorable prose. Early, he employed Hugh Blair’s popular idea of developing
taste
in written documents, while he later carefully studied the letters of his contemporaries, and using
imitation as a guide, he learned to write, ultimately composing well over 5000 letters. Lincoln’s letter writing began in his youth in rural Indiana, developed further in his early life as a lawyer and nascent politician, and finally concluded in his letters to his cabinet. As he became more proficient as a writer, Lincoln gradually employed more sophisticated rhetorical strategies. While not necessarily focusing on his most memorable letters, the focus is on his developing effective rhetorical strategies to meet a variety of situations.