Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The speeches of Abraham Lincoln give a good picture of that great leader in his own words and open a window onto another historical era. Some of these speeches are well-known, while others are less often read. Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" is one of the most famous speeches in American history, learned by heart by many schoolchildren, with phrases that have rung down through the ages, though the precise circumstances of the speech may not be so well known. The speech is not merely of historical importance but also serves as a prime example of rhetorical structure in spite of the fact that it was probably "dashed off" by its author almost as an afterthought because of the need to make a speech at a certain place for a specific occasion. Of course, the Civil War divided the country literally, with North against South, brother against brother. Lincoln was very much a symbol of the Civil War to both sides, a symbol of strength and determination to the North, and a symbol of perfidy and betrayal to the South.

Abraham Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg reflected a number of concerns and attitudes Lincoln had shown throughout his life. The details of Lincoln's life in general terms are well known--how he was born in a log cabin on the frontier, how he walked five miles to school every day, how he dedicated himself to learning, how he became an attorney, how he entered politics and eventually became president of the United States. When Lincoln came to office, it was at

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hers thought the text was composed at this residence in Gettysburg the night before the ceremonies. It has been reported that a witness saw Lincoln writing something in the coach on the way to Gettysburg, though what this may have been is not certain. Lincoln's method of composition involved revision and still more revision, and the few words he spoke at Gettysburg were probably months in the making. It is clearly a very smooth and polished presentation no matter when or how it was written. In this speech, Lincoln achieved what many speakers have valued as their primary goal--to say a great deal in as few words as possible. The structure of the speech itself shows an unwillingness to waste words. Lincoln uses parallel constructions to repeat a concept and to engage the audience, enlisting each listener as a participant: "we are engaged," "we are met," "we have come"; "we can not dedicate," "we can not consecrate," "we can not hallow"; "that from these honored dead," "that we here highly resolve," "that this nation, under God"; and the internal parallelism of in "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." The structure of a sentence parallels the structure of the sentence preceding it in a way that links

Category: History - A