Lincoln vs. Pericles

Abraham Lincoln’s speech was brought about by the Civil War in America. It was a hard time for the citizens of the United States as not only did they lose many loved ones in battle, but the country was divided and at war with itself, or at least the two halves(Union vs. Confederacy). Pericles’ funeral speech was to the Athenian peoples at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. This, like the one in America, was a civil war with Athens and Sparta fighting each other. These were the two dominant powers in Greece at the time. Abraham Lincoln’s speech is of higher quality than Pericles speech for his sensitivity to the people and admiration of the men he is talking about.