Lincoln's 1862 Annual Message: A Paradigm of Rhetorical Leadership

A president exercises rhetorical leadership by simultaneously respecting and challenging situational constraints. In his 1862 Annual Message, Lincoln advocates colonization of freed blacks outside the United States, yet also subtly subverts this appeal and opens rhetorical space for considering emancipation. Multivocality in this text, typified by its peroration, enables Lincoln to extend the limits of the possible.