Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered remarks, which later became known as the Gettysburg Address, at the official dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the Civil War. Though he was not the featured orator that day, Lincoln’s short address would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. In it, he invoked the principles of human equality contained in the Declaration of Independence and connected the sacrifices of the Civil War with the desire for “a new birth of freedom,” as well as the all-important preservation of the Union created in 1776 and its ideal of self-government.

Historical Context

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"

Part 1

Multiple Choice

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"

Which statement best reflects the meaning of this sentence?

• 47 years ago, my father brought our family to this country seeking freedom.

• In 1776, the Founding Fathers created the United States of America. The United States was born on the idea that all men are equal.

• 87 years ago, the Native Americans were thrown from this nation so that the American people can live in freedom.

• The people who are fighting in the Civil War are fighting for their lives and their freedom.

Multiple Choice

Which document from 1776 is Lincoln referring to when he says “all men are created equal?”

• Declaration of Independence

• Constitution

• Emancipation Proclamation

• Declaration of Rights of Man

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

Part 2

Open Ended

What is Lincoln referring to when he says “it is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this?” Do what?

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this part of the speech?

• The Civil War must be won by the north.

• The fighting from Gettysburg will never stop.

• It is important to honor those soldiers who died at Gettysburg.

• The soldiers who died at Gettysburg died for nothing.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

Part 3

Open Ended

Why does Lincoln feel that “we cannot hallow this ground?

Multiple Choice

What is the best meaning of “the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced?

• The soldiers failed because the war is not over

• Only northern soldiers should be honored because they fought to end slavery

• It is up to the living to finish the work started by those who died in the war.

• Only by giving your life can you truly show that you love your country.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.<!--EndFragment-->

Part 4

Open Ended

According to Lincoln what is the “great task” that remains for the living?

Open Ended

Exit Ticket: What are Lincoln's two main ideas in the Gettysburg Address?