Lincoln at the Gettysburg Dedication Ceremony (House Divided Project)
Introduction:
On November 19th, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He claimed, “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.” In that year of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and with this call for “a new birth of freedom,” Lincoln was signaling his shift toward accepting the convergence of principles for both union and an “abolition war, ” as Frederick Douglass had once called it.
Text: Founding Principles
The “final” Gettysburg Address contained ten sentences and 272 words. Lincoln thoroughly prepared various drafts of his speech, both before and after the dedication event in Pennsylvania. The word count for the text thus varies depending on which version. The five known copies of the speech are named after the people who received them: Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss. Nicolay and Hay’s copies were written before his delivery, and Lincoln drafted the other three in the months after his delivery. Lincoln started his speech by reminding Americans of the founding principles of the country: liberty and equality. He stated, “our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
He dedicated the latter part of his speech to honoring the men lost at the pivotal battle (and now being honored at their national cemetery), reminding fellow Americans that they must carry on the fight. Lincoln claimed, “the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” He closed his address as a call to action. Despite its brevity and abstract qualities, Lincoln’s speech invoked a powerful sense of urgency and national purpose.
Context: New Birth of Freedom
Lincoln’s address came at a pivotal moment for the country, following the shift in early 1863 toward an emancipation policy and following major victories in the war. The three-day Battle at Gettysburg had left tens of thousands of Americans either dead or injured. Lincoln’s speech gracefully acknowledged the solemn loss but still pushed hard for action. Lincoln used the ceremony as an opportunity to unify the people and refocus their attention on their end goal.
Was Lincoln still being cautious in his address, or did he fully come around to Douglass’s position on abolition?
Subtext: Abstractions
Lincoln provided no specifics in his speech. He left out words like Union, Confederate, emancipation, and slavery. He mentioned no individuals. He apparently wanted his speech to connect to as many citizens as possible. Lincoln argued about the need for the nation to act, believing the very survival of democracy was at stake.
Conclusion:
Before 1863, Lincoln focused on the principles of union. By this point in the war, however, Lincoln had come around toward a more radical view of the war’s purpose. The Union’s progression toward “a new birth of freedom” was evident to everyone.