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Similarities Between Lincoln And Martin Luther King

Decent Essays

Since the first acts of oppression against black men in the United States there have been many men who stood on the declaration of our founding fathers that "all men are created equal." Two of these men are none other than Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Although separated by birth of over 100 years both shared critical speeches that were essential to the growth and development of freedom that our nation now knows today. In 1863, the American Civil war was at its peak with the Battle of Gettysburg as the turning point of the war and Lincoln knew he had to inspire his troops and Americans as a whole to push forward until the war was won. His speech reminded the North of what the Nation was built on, the equality of all men, and that …show more content…

Lincoln opens his speech with the claim "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." By saying this he is demonstrating his purpose with the help of some of the most respected men the nation has ever known, our founding fathers. The president reflected on the nations past and how the country was built on the assumption that all men are equal. He knew that freedom for all was right, and he supports that statement with the use of other great men before him. In the remainder of the speech, Lincoln begins talking on the grounds of a larger scale. He ensures the audience that the men who died at Gettysburg will not be forgotten and that the best way to commend the fallen comrades are to finish the fight so the cause is not lost. He goes on to encourage his supporters to let the fallen soldiers be a basis for the new birth of freedom for the nation. In a way, the remainder of the speech is also an allusion to history. He focuses on the Battle of Gettysburg being a historically relevant part of the nations new birth and future. He says "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." This, one of the more influential excerpts from the speech, further makes the theme of history relevant to his speech because he is saying that their goal should be to not quit but to push on and not allow the future world to ever forget the men who died for the cause of

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