Victory speech" offer close readings of presidential speeches given during times of crisis. Safire's essay analyzes Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," which was delivered during a commemoration ceremony soon after one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Wood's essay analyzes Barak Obama's victory speech after Obama won the presidency in 2008. Obama, the first African-American elected to the office of the presidency, took power during a time when America was at war and facing its deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Safire analyzes the Gettysburg Address to encourage the reader reconsider the speech in a new way, given that the Address has become a kind of cliche, rather than a living, breathing document that inspires people. Safire notes the number of times the word 'dedicate' is articulated in the speech, and the determination and self-sacrifice called upon by Lincoln. He analyzes how the speech is broken down, paragraph...
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