Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Reading
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Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Reading
Gettysburg, 1863
The United States was in the middle of the Civil War, fought between the Union and the Confederacy. In July 1863, Union and Confederate armies fought for three days near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union won, but thousands of soldiers from both sides were killed, wounded, or went missing. A cemetery was planned to honor the people who had died. On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln attended the cemetery dedication. The main speaker was Edward Everett, a well-known orator who spoke for about two hours. Lincoln spoke afterward. His address lasted only a few minutes and used about 270 words. Lincoln began by recalling the nation’s founding principle that all people are created equal. He said the Civil War was testing whether a nation built on that idea could survive. The soldiers who died at Gettysburg, he argued, had already honored the ground through their sacrifice; the living could best honor them by continuing their work. Lincoln called for a “new birth of freedom” and urged Americans to protect “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The address did not end slavery or the war by itself. It did, however, connect the Union’s struggle with the promise of equality and democracy. Its short, memorable words gave Americans a way to think about what the war should mean and what the living still had to do.
Investigate the address
Use details from the account for Questions 1–6. For Questions 7–9, explain your thinking using evidence.
- July 1863, in Washington, D.C.
- November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- November 19, 1864, in Richmond, Virginia
- July 4, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- The survival of a nation founded on equality
- The living continuing the work of those who died
- The need to protect democracy
- A plan to end the war immediately by speech alone
3 printable pages
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
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