The Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Given during the Civil War, it was a brief yet powerful address that emphasized the principles of human equality and the importance of preserving the Union. Lincoln used the occasion, which was part of a dedication ceremony for the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, to honor the fallen soldiers and reaffirm the commitment to the Union’s cause. His speech linked the sacrifices made on the battlefield to the larger ideals of democracy and freedom, highlighting the notion that the nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.”
In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln also framed the war as a struggle not just for national unity but for the survival of democracy itself. The speech famously began with “Four score and seven years ago,” referring to the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence, and called for a “new birth of freedom” to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Though brief—lasting only about two minutes—the address eloquently captured the moral purpose of the Civil War and helped redefine the nation’s ideals, making it a key moment in both the Civil War and American history as a whole.
