Post by Miss Rose on Nov 19, 2009 8:14:32 GMT -4
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln came to Gettysburg to help dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. He was not the featured orator. He followed a two-hour speech with one that took just two minutes. At the end of his address, many of those in attendance didn’t even realize he had spoken. But today, those 272 words continue to inspire a nation.
In the few words of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln redefined for the North – and eventually for all Americans – the meaning and value of the continuing struggle for a unified nation: “...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It was what many consider the best summation in the nation’s history of the meaning and price of freedom.
Contemporary reaction to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address varied widely. The Chicago Tribune predicted that it would “live among the annals of man,” while its competitor, the Chicago Times, editorialized that “the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of the president.”
Event orator Edward Everett wrote Lincoln the next day: “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.”
Today, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches of all time. At some time or another, most of us probably were required to memorize all or part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. But how many of us were challenged to understand what it meant? As you read it now, we invite you to consider its significance.
READ THE ADDRESS
Only five manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address exist. Two of them, the “Nicolay Copy” and the “Hay Copy,” are in the Library of Congress. The third, the “Everett Copy,” is at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The fourth, the “Bancroft Copy,” is at Cornell University. The fifth copy, the “Bliss Copy,” is in the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House.
The “Nicolay Copy” is often called the “first draft” because it is believed to be the earliest copy of the Gettysburg Address that exists. The “Hay” or “second draft” version was probably made by Lincoln shortly after his return from Gettysburg and its phrasing more closely matches contemporaneous accounts of the speech than the “Nicolay” or “first draft” version.
The other three known manuscript copies of the Address were written by Lincoln for charitable purposes well after the November 19, 1863, event. The “Everett Copy” was written for Edward Everett, the orator who spoke for two hours at Gettysburg, immediately prior to Lincoln’s Address at the dedication of Soldiers' National Cemetery. Everett asked Lincoln for a copy to include in a volume he was assembling to mark the November 19 dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. He also included in that volume his own two-hour oration, other speeches given that day, maps of Gettysburg and accounts of the day. He wanted to auction it, with the proceeds going to support health care for Civil War soldiers.
Another copy, the “Bancroft Copy” was requested by historian George Bancroft. The fifth copy, the “Bliss Copy,” was made for Col. Alexander Bliss and is the version that is most often reprinted today.
Read the text of different copies below. (Differences between the texts of the drafts are indicated below by bold type.)
See:
www.gettysburgfoundation.org/lincoln-address.htm
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln came to Gettysburg to help dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. He was not the featured orator. He followed a two-hour speech with one that took just two minutes. At the end of his address, many of those in attendance didn’t even realize he had spoken. But today, those 272 words continue to inspire a nation.
In the few words of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln redefined for the North – and eventually for all Americans – the meaning and value of the continuing struggle for a unified nation: “...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It was what many consider the best summation in the nation’s history of the meaning and price of freedom.
Contemporary reaction to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address varied widely. The Chicago Tribune predicted that it would “live among the annals of man,” while its competitor, the Chicago Times, editorialized that “the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of the president.”
Event orator Edward Everett wrote Lincoln the next day: “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.”
Today, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches of all time. At some time or another, most of us probably were required to memorize all or part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. But how many of us were challenged to understand what it meant? As you read it now, we invite you to consider its significance.
READ THE ADDRESS
Only five manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address exist. Two of them, the “Nicolay Copy” and the “Hay Copy,” are in the Library of Congress. The third, the “Everett Copy,” is at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The fourth, the “Bancroft Copy,” is at Cornell University. The fifth copy, the “Bliss Copy,” is in the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House.
The “Nicolay Copy” is often called the “first draft” because it is believed to be the earliest copy of the Gettysburg Address that exists. The “Hay” or “second draft” version was probably made by Lincoln shortly after his return from Gettysburg and its phrasing more closely matches contemporaneous accounts of the speech than the “Nicolay” or “first draft” version.
The other three known manuscript copies of the Address were written by Lincoln for charitable purposes well after the November 19, 1863, event. The “Everett Copy” was written for Edward Everett, the orator who spoke for two hours at Gettysburg, immediately prior to Lincoln’s Address at the dedication of Soldiers' National Cemetery. Everett asked Lincoln for a copy to include in a volume he was assembling to mark the November 19 dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. He also included in that volume his own two-hour oration, other speeches given that day, maps of Gettysburg and accounts of the day. He wanted to auction it, with the proceeds going to support health care for Civil War soldiers.
Another copy, the “Bancroft Copy” was requested by historian George Bancroft. The fifth copy, the “Bliss Copy,” was made for Col. Alexander Bliss and is the version that is most often reprinted today.
Read the text of different copies below. (Differences between the texts of the drafts are indicated below by bold type.)
See:
www.gettysburgfoundation.org/lincoln-address.htm