Transcript Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address (1863)

Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
• Historical Context
– About the Author
– Major issues of the times
– Intended Audience
• Main Points
• Historical Significance
– Impact and it’s importance on society at
the time
– Impact and it’s importance on society of
later generations
Abraham Lincoln
• Leader of the Republican
Party in 1860
• Becomes the 16th
President of the United
States receiving 40% of the
popular vote
• Southerners called him the
“Black Republican”
2 Major Issues and Presidents View
• issue over the expansion of slavery
– The majority in the North were opposed to Slavery
– The majority in the South were in favor of Slavery
– President Lincoln was not advocating the abolishment of
slavery rather he felt slavery should not expand and it
would die a natural death
• issue of secession – did a state have a right to
secede from the United States?
– The North says no
– The South felt if they could ratify the Constitution they
could UN-ratify it
– President Lincoln said it was unconstitutional
Disagreement over issues led to
Civil War
• Began in Summer of
1861
• Americans killing
Americans
• Highest U.S.
casualties of any war
Gettysburg Address
• About a 2 minute speech given by
President Lincoln at the dedication of the
Soldier’s National Cemetery.
– Given 4 months after the costliest battle of
the Civil War.
• Total casualties of the War to this time
472,154
• This battle alone had 54,707 casualties
Intended Audience
– People of Gettysburg
– Union Soldiers
– United States Citizens
Main Points
• It is time we talk about the promise of equality.
– “…a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal”
• We honor the soldiers sacrifice.
– “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say
here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
– “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task
remaining before us”
• The Union is worth fighting for. It is not a
confederation but a federal government.
– “—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 parish from the earth.”
Historical Significance
• Impact on the society at the time
– Renewed devotion to the Union war efforts
– Verbal reassurance that the government was “of the
people” not “of the state”
– Gave people on both sides pride and purpose
Historical Significance
• Impact on society today
– The idea that “all men are created equal” is
still an American democratic ideal
– Settled the issue of secession