Gettysburg Address

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The Gettysburg Address is a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, during the American Civil War. The address was delivered on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Background

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, was one of the most significant battles of the American Civil War. It resulted in a Union victory and is often considered the turning point of the war. The battle left approximately 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded, or missing, making it one of the bloodiest battles in American history.

The Speech

Lincoln's speech, which lasted just over two minutes, is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Despite its brevity, the Gettysburg Address eloquently expressed the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as "a new birth of freedom" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens.

Text of the Gettysburg Address

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Legacy

The Gettysburg Address is considered a pivotal moment in the history of the United States. It has been memorized and recited by countless Americans and is often cited as an exemplar of eloquence and brevity. The speech has also been analyzed for its rhetorical brilliance and its profound impact on American political thought.

Related Pages

• Abraham Lincoln
• American Civil War
• Battle of Gettysburg
• Declaration of Independence
• Soldiers' National Cemetery