Download The Gettysburg Address A Great Speech By Abraham Lincoln

The Gettysburg Address
A Great Speech By Abraham Lincoln
Presentation by G. Shope
The Civil War
A civil war is when a country is fighting against itself. Because of this, the Civil War was the
bloodiest war America has ever seen. As soon as America’s great war began, sides were picked by
all. The North wanted the nation to be whole, industrialized, and without slavery. The South wanted to
form a new nation, called The Confederacy, which depended on agriculture and slave labor. However,
this was not always the case. Some people, though not believing in their side’s goal, chose a side
because they lived in an area and chose to fight for their family and land.
The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in the civil war. There were 45,515 men
reported dead, missing, or wounded. After the Battle, Abraham Lincoln visited the field and gave a
famous speech. This was called the Gettysburg Address.
The North and South: Concepts and
Advantages
Advantages:
North: Had many cities and factories that
could make their weapons, uniforms, and
supplies. The North also had a larger
population and more states with it. After
the slaves were set free, the North got
many of them to fight for the North to gain
their freedom.
South: Was still trading cotton with
England and making money that way.
Since most battles were fought in the
South, they knew the land better. Because
many good generals were from the south,
they had better military training and
officials.
C1: How does Lincoln characterize the soldiers who died
during the Battle of Gettysburg?
He believes that these men have given their last devotion, their life, to our
country and there are no acts can repay them. They have endured the great
Civil War, and now they shall have a monument dedicated to their everlasting,
unwavering devotion to their country in a time of great hardship and struggle.
As Lincoln states in this great speech, “We can not dedicate- we can not
consecrate- we can not hallow- this ground. The brave men, living and dead,
who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or
detract.” Even though Lincoln was the president of the Union, his speech
shows that he respects the dedication of the soldiers that gave their lives at the
Battle of Gettysburg and all of the war, despite the color of their uniforms.
C2: What inferences can you make about Lincoln’s hopes
for the future of the United States?
I think that Lincoln’s hopes were that people would respect him more because he gave this
address. The fact that he had a monument made as “A final resting place for those who here gave
their lives that that nation might live.” for both sides is brave, but also very well written. Not only does it
show the respect Lincoln has for the men who died, but it also shows his ability to sympathize the
enemy. Lincoln hoped that the South might start thinking they were just fighting the north, and not
fighting Abraham Lincoln imparticular. However, by saying “A new birth of freedom.” and “Dedicated to
the proposition that all men are created equal.” implies that the North will triumph. He probably meant
by “New birth of freedom.” was freeing the slaves and creating equality. This might have been
because he was trying to rally the Union troops, or at least give them a glimmer of hope by showing
them that he was still with them and on their side. However, it could mean many other thing, but
because of Lincoln's view of slavery we can infer he means getting slavery abolished.
C3: What is Lincoln’s address say about the concept of
liberty?
When our country was created, our founding fathers created the Constitution. In this document,
they said all men were created equal, and as Lincoln says, “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.” Though this statement may have some truth to it, it is
counteracted by the statement, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war.” This shows that even if the
Constitution says all men are equal, the rules don’t apply to African Americans, or they don’t apply to
the Confederacy. Lincoln says liberty is what we are fighting over, and this is partly true. Also, Lincoln
say at the end of his speech, “A new birth of freedom.” By definition, freedom means having liberty,
and being lifted from a constraint. This could mean that the slaves are being freed, but it could also
mean the Confederacy is being freed from the Union. Due to Lincoln’s side and view of this war and
slavery, we can assume that he hopes the birth of freedom will be freeing the slaves.
D1: In your own words, rephrase the statement, “It is for us the living, rather, to
be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have thus far
so nobly advanced.”
Those who lay here died because of this great civil war. Though many men died in this battle
and throughout the war, we must bravely continue and finish what those who fought, living and dead,
started just as bravely.
D2: In three sentences, summarize the message Lincoln is trying to convey to
the American people.
.
There are no words that we can say nor acts that can be done to repay these men who died
here. They have given their devotion, which we cannot give them back, for it is the the strongest will a
man has. We can, however, devote ourselves to the great task they started so bravely and remember
all who died in the bloodiest war America has seen.
Creative Synthesis
The stakeholder from the audience I wrote about is Mary Todd Lincoln. She
was married to Abraham Lincoln, and was the 16th first lady. She was also the
mother of 4 boys. Though her family was mainly with the Confederacy, she was
loyal to North and was a Unionist like her husband. This led to some
Northerners accusing her of treason and some Southerners disliking her for not
being devoted to the South.
Abraham Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Fun Facts:
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6.
While Lincoln gave his speech, men were burying bodies nearby
There are five different versions of this speech that are all handwritten
Abraham Lincoln seemed to be obsessed with cats and loved animals
The name of the battle was not mentioned in Lincoln’s speech
The most common speech was 271 words
Lincoln was almost absent because of a bad morning
Bibliography
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Biography.com
Historynet
Abraham Lincoln’s Classroom
History.com
Google images
Civil War Trust
Thank You!
Thanks for listening. I hope you learned something new about the
Gettysburg Address!