Lincoln's Word

According to the speech, what was the new nation dedicated to?

• the creation of a final resting place

• a great civil war

• the proposition that all men are created equal

• a new birth of freedom

In this speech, what is Abraham Lincoln trying to persuade people to do?

• to fight in a great civil war

• to dedicate a field to brave men who fought in Gettysburg

• to create two new nations dedicated to equality and liberty

• to continue the work of the people who fought and died in Gettysburg

Read this sentence from the text:

"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."

Based on this evidence, what conclusion can you draw about the cause "these honored dead" fought and died for?

• They fought and died in order to be honored by the government.

• They fought and died for the government and nation to survive in freedom.

• They fought and died to show their devotion to the people they loved.

• They fought and died to create a new nation with a new government.

Read these sentences from the text:

"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. 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."

Why might Lincoln have used the words "us" and "we" in this excerpt?

• to create a sense of closeness and shared goals among the people listening

• to prove to his listeners that he is as sad about the many deaths as they are

• to suggest that he does not have more power than any of his listeners

• to make his listeners feel like they should have given their lives to the cause

What is the main message of this speech?

• We cannot dedicate, consecrate, or hallow the ground at the Soliders' National Cemetery.

• Our fathers brought forth a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

• We must dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives to the nation.

• We must honor the dead by ensuring that this nation endures and has a new birth of freedom.

Read these sentences from the text:

"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. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us."

Based on this evidence, what is the meaning of the word "dedicated" in this excerpt?

• unsure or uncertain of a task

• unsupportive of a task

• committed or devoted to a task

• lazy or indifferent about a task

Read these sentences from the text:

"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor 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."

To whom or what does the word "they" in the second sentence refer?

• the world

• the brave men

• the dead

• those with poor power

According to the Gettysburg Address, why did Lincoln and his listeners come to the battlefield in Gettysburg on November 19, 1863?

• to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who gave their lives

• to get more land and resources

• to fight in a great civil war

• to find more ammunition for the war

What "great task" still remained for the living, according to Lincoln's speech?

• to find more ammunition for the war

• to fight in a great civil war

• to fight in a great civil war

• to have a "new birth of freedom," and United States would not "perish from the earth."

What was the purpose of the Gettysburg Address?

Choose 3 correct answers.

• To honor soldiers who had died in the Civil War and dedicate a final resting place for them.

• To give them more soldiers to fight against Crook's forces

• To persuade listeners to dedicate themselves to finishing the work of the deceased soldiers.

• To preserve and protect the United States and the freedom of its people.