A Place of Impact
The Gettysburg Address is one of the most significant speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War. It was spoken at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of the deadliest battle in the American Civil War.
The two-minute speech was so poignant and powerful, it is still remembered for its profound message of unity, equality, and democracy.
The Enduring Impact of the Gettysburg Address
Lincoln was not the main speaker that day; that role belonged to Edward Everett, a renowned orator, who spoke for over two hours.
Lincoln’s speech lasted only about two minutes, yet it would become one of the most enduring pieces of American rhetoric. His words transformed the occasion from a mere memorial service into a powerful declaration of the nation’s ideals.
Though it was brief, the Gettysburg Address left a lasting impact on the American conscience. Its simplicity and clarity highlighted Lincoln's gift for using plain language to express profound ideas; namely those upon which our nation was built and the common goals our nation aspires to achieve.
The Gettysburg Address
Here is the complete text of Lincoln's 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.”
-Abraham Lincoln
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