The Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was made on the November 19, 1863 as part of a dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Although he was not the key note speaker that day, he made what is now one of the most important speeches in American history (History.com, 2010). Reflecting on what the Civil War stands for and persuading the people to continue the work of the fallen soldiers.
The Gettysburg Address
President Lincolns speech was so important at the time because he wanted to make clear that the Declaration of Independence was what the founding fathers affirmed when it was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1863, para.1). There were slave owners, at the time, which indicated that the Constitution did condone slavery, therefore allowing the act. President Lincoln’s speech made it clear that this was not the case.
…show more content…
Lincoln stated “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure” (Lincoln, 1863, para.2).
President Lincoln proceeds his speech with the notion that it was not appropriate for one to dedicate a memorial site, as the fallen soldiers who fought have already dedicated the area with their lives. Lincoln states “we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power to add or detract (Lincoln, 1863, para.3). The ground was already sacred in his eyes, it was up to the nation now to continue the “unfinished work” (Lincoln,
Seven score and nine years ago, Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth President of the United States of America, set off for Gettysburg in order to consecrate Gettysburg National Cemetery. In an uncharacteristically short speech-at least for the 1860s-Lincoln was able to reaffirm the values our Founding Fathers had laid down in the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution, and painted a vision of a unified United States where freedom and democracy would be the rule for all citizens. Lincoln utilized various rhetorical devices to make the Gettysburg Address accomplish two tasks in one. The first is to bring remembrance to the principals and morals for which the United States was built upon, second is to honor the brave soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg and consecrate the land upon which they stood and finally was to sway those attending into giving their “…last full measure of devotion-” to ensure a nation that would remain built upon the concepts of liberty and democracy and continues to gain support for the cause of the war.. Seeking only to honor the dead and inspire the living, Lincoln ended up delivering one of the most powerful speeches in American-if not world-history.
John Wolff Mr. Samek ELA 10 May 14, 2024 The Gettysburg Address Amid a civil war, President Abraham Lincoln employed many persuasive techniques in the Gettysburg Address in an attempt to save the country from itself. Through the use of pathos, Lincoln drives home the dedication and sacrifices made by the men who died on the very battlefield they stand on. He also uses the fear of the South winning to unite the North and inspire a sense of national pride. In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln utilized pathos, and national pride along with other persuasive techniques in an attempt to rally support for the war effort and bring hope to a nation in despair. President Lincoln is commemorating a new national cemetery at Gettysburg for the fallen
Seven score and fourteen years ago, following the Battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln stood in front of a crowd of approximately 1,500 people and gave a short speech. His audience included surviving Union soldiers, families of those who perished, and some politicians, all of whom gathered to consecrate the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address, although only 271 words and lasting a mere two minutes, is one of the most well-known speeches in American history. In it, Lincoln argues that though he would like to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers, there is no way to “add or detract” from the consecration those men gave with their blood (Lincoln). In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln uses the stasis forms of evaluation and proposal to convince his audience of the importance of the fallen soldiers. Using the rhetorical appeals of pathos, appealing to emotions of the distressed soldiers, ethos, catching the attention of his audience with both his diction and his position granting him credibility, and logos, structuring his speech in such a way as to draw in his audience, he successfully resolves his constraints while continually surrounding his argument around the exigence, the loss of life at the Battle of Gettysburg, to the target audience.
In American history, there were always these amazing speakers like John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), Martian Luther King Jr and others, that would influence the people around them to strive for success, never give up because there will always be hope, and one of those speakers was Abraham Lincoln in possibly his best speech “The Gettysburg Address”. The American civil war was the bloodiest war the Unites States had ever seen roughly 620,000 soldiers died, and in that dark time people needed inspiration to rekindle the flame of hope, to have something worth fighting for and Abraham Lincoln inspired them to fight for their nation and not let those who died for the cause not die in vain. In Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address he used rhetorical appeals, Parallel structure, Contrast, and Allusion to end the American civil war, unite the north and the south to end slavery in the United States once and for all.
Furthermore, in Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” speech, he begins with the famous, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ‘all men are created equal’.” A well known passage by Abraham Lincoln but holds a quote from the Declaration of Independence. “All men are created equal”. Now to give some background to the speech. Take note that Lincoln is speaking during the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery. The final resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. On into the speech, Lincoln touches on the survival of the nation. “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” He’s not only speaking to just the Union side of the war, but to both the Union and the Confederacy. Hoping that both see where the war is headed to. Gettysburg was a major turning point in the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln provides key notes to the people just in the time they needed them.
SPEAKER | Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States of America and he help office during the Civil War. During the Civil War, the North and South split into two sides – the Union in the north led by president Lincoln and the Confederacy in the south led by president Davis. Originally, the Civil War was not an attempt by Lincoln to abolish slavery and emancipate the slaves, but to preserve and protect the Union, but later Lincoln decided that ending slavery was a key step necessary to winning the war. He was assassinated on April 15, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. | OCCASION | Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into the Declaration of Independence by the founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign
The time of the speech was towards the end of the civil war, when the North and the South where still fighting after a bitter 4 year war. The battle of Gettysburg had already been fought and Lincoln had given the distinguished Gettysburg address just a few months before. He spoke of freedom, devotion, and the ideals for which he believed the Union stood. Lincoln had also already written the emancipation proclamation which had freed the slaves of the south in the previous year. The audience which
The reason behind giving the speech was given was to dedicate the ground at, Gettysburg, as a Cemetery and to honor the men who died in Battle.
When Lincoln spoke to Congress in December of 1864, he enhanced the idea of freedom for all by saying, "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom for the free " He was fully aware that the Civil War would change the course of the future of the United States of America, and that his choices during the war would tip the scale towards continued democracy, or the death of it. He strongly believed that if the Confederacy were to win the war, and the American experiment in democracy were to fail, that the beacon of hope for oppressed humanity the world over would be destroyed.'
At the time when our country was divided and the Civil War was ongoing, a President delivered one of the most influential speeches of all time; The Gettysburg Address. On November 19, 1863, four months after the Battle at Gettysburg former President Abraham Lincoln addressed the weary soldiers, the deceased soldiers’ family members, and many other citizens that traveled far and wide to attend the dedication ceremony. The dedication was for the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Over 20,000 people were in attendance, they witnessed first had a powerful and heartfelt speech. Furthermore, it became one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. With 227 words Lincoln planted the seed in the hearts and minds of the people in attendance, with the notion of reforming the nation by discussing the Declaration of Independence, slavery, honoring the dead, dedication to the cause, and new birth of freedom. (LaFantasie 74)
In the third paragraph, President Lincoln stresses the important point that the words of his speech cannot actually bless or make holy the Battlefield of Gettysburg. Rather, he indicates the bravery of the men, both living and dead, has already made the ground of the battlefield sacred. Again, Lincoln is honoring the actions of all the soldiers, Union and Confederate, and trying to unite the nation instead of dividing it.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would
That was the reason for the visit to Gettysburg. It was a trip with Edward Everett to dedicate a newly created cemetery that was must needed in the country at the time due to all the fallen during the war. President Lincoln followed Mr. Everett’s two hour speech with his two minute speech which was decided in nature to sum up what Mr. Everett just talked about. A key thing to remember in the Gettysburg address was the importance not to forget about the fallen young Soldier’s on the battle field. This is mentioned in the in the second sentence of the second paragraph “ We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live”. What the President is talking about is the importance of not just remembering the fallen but also reminding the audience of why they died. They died believing in a cause; weather it’s about uniting the country or making two separate
The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. The History Place indicates that on November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln went to a battle field positioned in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where three dreadful days of battle occurred called the Battle of Gettysburg. While he was attending the battle field to dedicate it as a national cemetery, he read his speech to the public. After the main orator, Edward Everett of Massachusetts, delivered his speech that lasted about two hours, it was Lincoln’s turn. Everyone was shocked that it only lasted a little over two minutes. The speech talked about the men who fought in the Civil War to help create the nation people have today: that it is only fair to honor them