The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address

Introduction

Impact

Why The Gettysburg Address was Given

This speech impacted so many people because of Edward Everett. Edward Everett was the man who gave the long speech before The Gettysburg Address. He bloviated for 2 hours comparing the Civil War soldiers to Greek gods. Lincoln's speech lasted only 2 minutes, and because it was so short compared to Edward, there was silence from the audience afterward. The crowd was in awe of what the president had said.

Fourscore and 70 years ago, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered--The Gettysburg Address! Can you believe that such a short speech like this one could influence many historical events and change so many people's perspectives?

This famous speech was delivered to remind people why the Union was fighting the Civil War against the Confederacy. It was delivered to state that the United States would continue to fight so that the world, not just the U.S, could enjoy freedom and equality. The Civil war started because the southern states wanted to keep slaves and secede the Union, but this idea conflicted with the Constitution and human rights.

Where

The speech was delivered at the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

When

The Gettysburg Address was delivered on November 19, 1863: Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the battle of Gettysburg. To be more specific, it was delivered on Thursday afternoon.

Who Delivered The Gettysburg Address?

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the man behind the Gettysburg Address. He was the sixteenth president of the United States at the time and he is given credit for holding Union together during the Civil War which began in 1861 and ended in 1865

How was it Delivered

Abraham Lincoln was born on February twelfth , 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was a son of a frontiersman and grew up in poverty. His mother died when he was only ten years old, but despite his hard upbringing he still managed to get a good education. He is known for marrying Mary Todd in 1858; they had four children. He became president in 1861 and got re-elected in 1864. Unfortunately, he didn't finish his term . On the night of April 14th, 1865, an actor named John Wilkes Booth shot Licholn at the Ford's theater in Washington D.C because he sympathized with the Confederacy's loss in the Civil War and thought that Abe was a tyrant. Booth shot him for all to see so that he too would go down in history. Lincoln died the next morning at the age of 56.

The Gettysburg Address was a very powerful and poetic speech. It is mostly known for its brevity because it was only ten sentence long, 271 words and was just over two minutes. Abraham Lincoln used repetition and alliteration to get his message across.

Vocabulary: Consecrate, hallow, vain, and endure