preview

Meaning Of The Gettysburg Address

Decent Essays

On november 19th, 1863, president Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech we know as the Gettysburg Address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. “Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , was the site of intense fighting between Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War”(UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History p631.). Though it was a relatively brief speech, it was full of meaning. Abraham Lincoln was elected president in november of 1860, making him the 16th president of the United States of America. His Gettysburg Address was one of his most elegant speeches and has gone down as one of the most referenced speeches of all time.
The battle of Gettysburg was an intense fight between the union and the confederacy, and lasted three days. Many consider the battle as being one of the most important battles of the American Civil War. Forty-three thousand soldiers died, and the Gettysburg National Cemetery was the final resting place for over three thousand five hundred union soldiers. “Lincoln's words were received by a tired crowd without much enthusiasm”(UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History p631.). The speech was well received. Lincoln's eloquent way of speaking showed his intelligence and education. The speech is easy to understand so that anyone could be inspired by Lincoln’s words.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg address tells of why the Civil War was so important. In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, he says “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so

Get Access