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The Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic commemorative speech to the Battle of Gettysburg. In a mere 272 words, the President effectively summarized and capitalized on the justness and importance of the Union cause, ultimately persuading his people to not let the dead have died in vain and to grant America a new birth of freedom.
Mr. Lincoln opened his address by reminding the American populace of the nation "conceived in Liberty" that the United States was designed to be, then stating that this nation was being threatened by a great Civil War that endangered the success of not only the American democratic experiment, but of equality and justice themselves. He then commemorated the heroic actions of those who fought to conserve such a nation, stating that they had given up numerous years of their God-given lives to protect God’s creation. Lastly, he directly addresses the living, prompting them to ensure with great devotion “that the dead shall not have died in vain… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Photography and the Gettysburg Address
There exists no photograph of President Lincoln's oration of the Address, as its brevity came as a shock to many, including the photographer, who could not properly set up and capture a picture. The picture to the right is of Lincoln immediately following his speech, returning to his seat.
Lincoln himself was rather disappointed by the Address, as he felt that its pithiness was inadequate for the grandiose ideals he had wished to convey, especially in comparison to the main speaker of the event, Edward Everett, who preceded Lincoln with a memorized two hour soliloquy honoring the dead at Gettysburg. Public reaction to the speech, however, could not have been more different (save a group of his Democratic political opponents) - the speech would come to be cited countless times in the future, and Everett himself was noted for saying "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
"AmericanCivilWar.com." Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Civil War Speech. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://americancivilwar.com/north/lin
coln.html>
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic commemorative speech to the Battle of Gettysburg. In a mere 272 words, the President effectively summarized and capitalized on the justness and importance of the Union cause, ultimately persuading his people to not let the dead have died in vain and to grant America a new birth of freedom.
Mr. Lincoln opened his address by reminding the American populace of the nation "conceived in Liberty" that the United States was designed to be, then stating that this nation was being threatened by a great Civil War that endangered the success of not only the American democratic experiment, but of equality and justice themselves. He then commemorated the heroic actions of those who fought to conserve such a nation, stating that they had given up numerous years of their God-given lives to protect God’s creation. Lastly, he directly addresses the living, prompting them to ensure with great devotion “that the dead shall not have died in vain… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Photography and the Gettysburg Address
There exists no photograph of President Lincoln's oration of the Address, as its brevity came as a shock to many, including the photographer, who could not properly set up and capture a picture. The picture to the right is of Lincoln immediately following his speech, returning to his seat.
Lincoln himself was rather disappointed by the Address, as he felt that its pithiness was inadequate for the grandiose ideals he had wished to convey, especially in comparison to the main speaker of the event, Edward Everett, who preceded Lincoln with a memorized two hour soliloquy honoring the dead at Gettysburg. Public reaction to the speech, however, could not have been more different (save a group of his Democratic political opponents) - the speech would come to be cited countless times in the future, and Everett himself was noted for saying "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
"AmericanCivilWar.com." Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Civil War Speech. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://americancivilwar.com/north/lin
coln.html>
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/0/4/25043004/322230700.jpg?240)
Legacy and Influence
The Gettysburg Address is widely considered to be one of , if not the, greatest speech by President Abraham Lincoln (as can be noted from the etching of the oration on the right, which is one of two speeches chosen to rest with Mr. Lincoln in his Memorial at Washington DC). From a short-term domestic perspective, the Address was highly influential in reminding the American people of the importance in the preservation of the Union, an effort that he described as the sole hope for the success of the democratic experiment, not just in the United States, but in "any nation so conceived and so dedicated". The impact of the address, however, was far greater in scope than a single time period and country.
The speech would go on to be highly influential in shaping cultural views of national identity and governmental responsibilities, being cited by the current Constitution of France, Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People", Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream", and myriad other orations, literary works, and documents.
"Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on the Wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C." Inetours.com. INeTours, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.inetours.com/
DC/photos/Gettysburg-Address.html>.
The Gettysburg Address is widely considered to be one of , if not the, greatest speech by President Abraham Lincoln (as can be noted from the etching of the oration on the right, which is one of two speeches chosen to rest with Mr. Lincoln in his Memorial at Washington DC). From a short-term domestic perspective, the Address was highly influential in reminding the American people of the importance in the preservation of the Union, an effort that he described as the sole hope for the success of the democratic experiment, not just in the United States, but in "any nation so conceived and so dedicated". The impact of the address, however, was far greater in scope than a single time period and country.
The speech would go on to be highly influential in shaping cultural views of national identity and governmental responsibilities, being cited by the current Constitution of France, Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People", Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream", and myriad other orations, literary works, and documents.
"Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on the Wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C." Inetours.com. INeTours, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.inetours.com/
DC/photos/Gettysburg-Address.html>.