having a democracy is. The purpose of Lincoln's speech was very similar. It was to dedicate a monument as the final resting place for those who have died in the civil war; it was also to reinforce the fact that there is unfinished work. "It is for us the living rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who have fought here have thus far so nobly advanced." (Lincoln "Gettysburg Address") In my opinion the Gettysburg Address is a