The Gettysburg Address is one of the most recognizable documents in the history of the United States. It was delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA. This cemetery marks the final resting place for thousands of soldiers who were killed during the Civil War. At this time, the experiment in democracy, the United State of America, was 100 years old and had not dealt with a crisis such as this. The very existence of the country was at stake. At the time this speech was given, the Union Army, representing the North, and the Confederate Army, representing the south, were in the middle of a gruesome war. The casualties, on both sides, during the Civil War numbered 200,000. …show more content…
Lincoln’s election itself led to seven Southern states seceding from the Union. State’s rights and slavery issues divided the country and led to the Civil War. Slavery was woven into the economy of the South with ownership of slaves being a sign of social position. The North had abolished slavery, primarily, because of the immigration of low paid laborers from Europe. The struggle over whether the federal government could regulate or abolish slavery and what rights the states had in this process, led to more division in the country. The principles of democracy were put on trial during the Civil War and showed that a democracy of purely white men was not working (Divine …show more content…
The final speech was created as a result of reflecting on experiences and events that began when Lincoln was first invited to give the speech and ended when he stepped to the platform in Gettysburg (Johnson 55). The words and context began in Washington but developed over the trip to Gettysburg in as many as five different versions. .Lincoln requested and was given information about the national cemetery prior to departing from Washington so that he could speak with confidence about the battlefield. Lincoln was known for composing his speeches thoughtfully and was known as a slow writer who liked to tighten phrases and logic (Wills 28). On the morning of the Gettysburg address, Lincoln toured the battlefield and visited the grave of a friend, General Reynolds. Martin Johnson, in “Writing the Gettysburg Address”, says that the speech was created by a series of events in history based on Lincoln’s experiences (Johnson 4). One such experience that influenced Lincoln was the death of his son in 1862. His grief over the loss of his son impacted the speech in that he showed emotion about the young men who had died on the battlefield. Lincoln, in dealing with death and the natural setting of human burial, does not mourn a single soldier but talks about the birth of a nation’s life and its new birth of freedom (Wills 77). The excerpt, “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far
The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. The History Place indicates that on November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln went to a battle field positioned in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where three dreadful days of battle occurred called the Battle of Gettysburg. While he was attending the battle field to dedicate it as a national cemetery, he read his speech to the public. After the main orator, Edward Everett of Massachusetts, delivered his speech that lasted about two hours, it was Lincoln’s turn. Everyone was shocked that it only lasted a little over two minutes. The speech talked about the men who fought in the Civil War to help create the nation people have today: that it is only fair to honor them
That was the reason for the visit to Gettysburg. It was a trip with Edward Everett to dedicate a newly created cemetery that was must needed in the country at the time due to all the fallen during the war. President Lincoln followed Mr. Everett’s two hour speech with his two minute speech which was decided in nature to sum up what Mr. Everett just talked about. A key thing to remember in the Gettysburg address was the importance not to forget about the fallen young Soldier’s on the battle field. This is mentioned in the in the second sentence of the second paragraph “ We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live”. What the President is talking about is the importance of not just remembering the fallen but also reminding the audience of why they died. They died believing in a cause; weather it’s about uniting the country or making two separate
The Gettysburg Address was created by President Lincoln and is one of the most important speeches in American history. According to Barr, (2015) the Gettysburg Address was a remarkable endeavor for Lincoln and the president utilized it to his political advantage. Before he arrived at the Gettysburg cemetery to deliver it to the American people, Lincoln composed five different drafts of the Gettysburg Address.(Dirck, 2015) The Gettysburg Address came from a time of uncertainty, war, and change in U.S. history. It was just a time Americans were confused non the less. The old
This battle came to be known as the ever-famous Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. Generals Robert E. Lee (Confederacy) and George G. Meade (Union) led their armies into a three-day battle, resulting in the casualties of over 50,000 Confederate and Union soldiers, more than a third of Lee’s army. When the dust settled, Meade and his army had come out on top. The Union army had won. Months later, in November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his most famous to date, the Gettysburg Address, a speech dedicating the battlefield as a cemetery for those who gave their life for their country and those who inhabit it. This cemetery was named the Gettysburg National cemetery. In only 272 words, Lincoln transformed the Union cause into a struggle for equality and liberty
His speech did not catch anyone's attention during his lifetime , in many ways it was forgotten and lost popular memory until the u.s centennial in 1876. This battle was bloodiest and most decisive battles of the civil war , through he was not the featured orator that day , Lincoln’s 273-word address would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. After previous battles , thousands of the union soldiers killed at gettysburg were quickly buried , many in poorly marked graves. In the months that followed, however , local attorney david wills spearheaded efforts to create a national cemetery at
The reason behind giving the speech was given was to dedicate the ground at, Gettysburg, as a Cemetery and to honor the men who died in Battle.
The 16th president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, in his speech, “The Second Inaugural Address”, expresses his gratitude for the soldiers that died at Gettysburg and the importance of supporting the cause to preserve the Union. Lincoln’s purpose is to honor the lost souls of the brave me that sacrificed themselves out on that battlefield by dedicating this national cemetery and to encourage the people not to give up on the war. He adopts a strong and determined tone in order to boost citizens morale and give them hope that this war would be brought to a halt soon.
When it comes to the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln, wrote it within three days in July after the chaos that resulted in deaths and injured soldiers. Lincoln, believed that you can move forward after a loss by reminding the people (government) of principles that are bigger than just one person, give an accurate description of the mess that they're placed in, understand and acknowledge the sacrifices made, propose a rededication towards the main goal (mission), lastly, remind them again of the principles and how they're bigger than one person alone.
The gettysburg address was said by Abraham Lincoln, where he honors the dead and encourages the living to go out and finish the war. In his speech he uses repetition, alliteration, and antithesis to demonstrate recognition to those who departed. The passionate and certainty of the speech was used to convey his point. Although, repetition was a contributing factor.
Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the United States greatest presidents and is well-known for writing one of the most iconic literary pieces in American history, the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is an outstanding 272-word oration, meant to have been a “few appropriate remarks” (Wills), yet it is considered to be one of the greatest speeches ever written, and rightly so. However, Lincoln was not the only one that gave a Gettysburg Address at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nor was he “the star of the show” (Emberton). Today, many have forgotten the name of Edward Everett and the importance and value of his Gettysburg Address. Edward Everett was chosen as the main speaker at the ceremony and gave a 2-hour oration, preceding Lincoln’s 2-minute dedicatory remarks, that was highly praised among critics and the audience. Everett’s qualifications, his message within his speech, and his overall purpose have greatly contributed to the value of his Gettysburg Address. Today, it is clear to see that Lincoln’s Address has overshadowed Everett’s Address, but that wasn’t the case in 1863. The question left to answer, should Everett’s Gettysburg Address be considered just as valuable and praiseworthy as Lincoln’s speech?
Gettysburg could never have been forgotten, but its place in American memory was kept when President Abraham Lincoln visited the site of the battle four months later, in November 1863. President Lincoln had been invited to attend the dedication of a new cemetery to hold the Union dead from the battle. He took the opportunity to give a speech which would provide a lot of information for the war. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address would become known as one of the best speeches ever announced in front of an audience. The text of the speech is short yet brilliant, and in less than 300 words it expressed the nation’s dedication to the cause of the
The speech, Gettysburg Address, was written in Gettysburg Pennsylvania after the Gettysburg battle. According to Civil War Can Trust, this battle was between the union led by George G. Meade and the confederates led by Robert E. Lee. The union had 93,921 men and the confederates had 71,699; from those there were 51,112 casualties from both sides of the battle field. It was after the war that president Lincoln went to Pennsylvania to deliver his, now famous, speech the Gettysburg Address along with other political leaders.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was not given the spotlight at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery on November 19, 1863, and was instead invited to give a few remarks. In fact Edward Everett’s speech would have been the official ‘Gettysburg Address’ was it not for its two hours in length and its historical rhetoric. Abraham Lincoln, took to the podium with a solemn face, and in just two minutes, summarised his feelings towards the grim turn of events of the American Civil War. Lincoln’s speech, in my opinion, resonated very deeply with the crowd however it was not till after Senator Charles Sumner statement, “the battle itself was less important than the speech” in his eulogy, was it properly given its recognition. This speech provided others with buildings blocks for their own civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, as well the French Constitution of the Fifth Republic adopted in 1958.
During the late 1900’s, the American civil war was going on. The United States had split between the confederacy and the union, which was mainly the north and the south, each side with its own beliefs on the issue of slavery. The president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, was invited to deliver his remarks at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the soldiers, who four and a half months earlier defeated the confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles in the civil war. The speech was delivered on November 19, 1863, named The Gettysburg Address.
On november 19th, 1863, president Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech we know as the Gettysburg Address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. “Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , was the site of intense fighting between Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War”(UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History p631.). Though it was a relatively brief speech, it was full of meaning. Abraham Lincoln was elected president in november of 1860, making him the 16th president of the United States of America. His Gettysburg Address was one of his most elegant speeches and has gone down as one of the most referenced speeches of all time.