Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address America’s “Great Commission”

My object was to secure the right of the people of each State and of each Territory, North or South, to decide the question for themselves, to have slavery or not, just as they chose. Stephen A. Douglas, July 9, 1858

“Watch Meeting – Dec. 31 st 1862 – Waiting for the Hour” Oil painting by William Tolman Carlton, 1863

 “How long ago is it?—eighty odd years—since on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives, assembled and declared as a self-evident truth that ‘all men are created equal.’ That was the birthday of the United States of America....  Gentlemen, this is a glorious theme, and the occasion for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one worthy of the occasion.”

And you are... ?

Paragraph One  Psalm 90:10  Why date the nation’s birth to 1776, not 1787?  From a “self-evident truth” to a “proposition”  Focus on the past...

Paragraph Two  Civil war as a test—of what?  Lincoln’s longstanding political theme  The brave dead deserve this ceremony  Focus on the present...

Paragraph Three  “Dedicate” as the key thread of the speech  Definition by synonyms  Official purpose a fait accompli  Actions speak louder than words... ... except when they don’t  Lincoln’s Plan B  What is the “new birth of freedom”?  Christian imagery, even without “under God”  Focus on the future

 Chicago Times (Democratic newspaper) —“an insult at least to the memories of a part of the dead, whom he was there professedly to honor.... How dared he, then, standing on their graves, misstate the cause for which they died, and libel the statesmen who founded the government?”  Daily Republican (Springfield, Mass.) —“His little speech is a perfect gem; deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, and tasteful and elegant in every word and comma.... Strong feelings and a large brain are its parents.”  In general, newspaper accounts reflected their partisan sponsor  What did the orator of the day think of Lincoln’s remarks?

Edward Everett to Abraham Lincoln (November 20, 1863) “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

“Hold that ground at all hazards.” Col. Strong Vincent to Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain Little Round Top July 2, 1863 “Rise up to the height of a generation of men worthy of a free Government, and we will carry out the great work we have commenced.” Abraham Lincoln to 164 th Ohio Regiment Washington, D.C. August 18, 1864