Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address.On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was in Pennsylvania to dedicate a national cemetery at Gettysburg, site of one of the Civil War's key battles. On that day, he delivered what soon became one of the world's most famous speeches. Less than 300 words, the speech took only a few minutes to deliver. Yet it has been quoted, in part or in full, countless times since. Read the speech, then answer the questions that follow. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper. Words to Know * score: twenty * consecrate con·se·crate tr.v. con·se·crat·ed, con·se·crat·ing, con·se·crates 1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church. 2. Christianity a. : make sacred * hallow hal·low tr.v. hal·lowed, hal·low·ing, hal·lows 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honor greatly; revere. : honor; treat as if holy * detract: take away from Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty Conceived in Liberty, authored by Murray Rothbard, is a 4-volume set covering the complete history of the United States from the pre-colonial period through the American Revolution. , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal The quotation "All men are created equal" is arguably the best-known phrase in any of America's political documents, as the idea it expresses is generally considered the foundation of American democracy. . 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 battlefield 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. 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 con·se·crate tr.v. con·se·crat·ed, con·se·crat·ing, con·se·crates 1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church. 2. Christianity a. 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. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work An unfinished work is a creative work that has not been completed. Its creator might have chosen never to finish it, or have been prevented by circumstances outside of his or her control (including death). 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--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. QUESTIONS 1. What historic U.S. document was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal"? 2. Who was buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, with the support of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, the site was purchased and Union dead were moved from shallow and inadequate burial sites on the ? 3. America declared its independence in 1776, more than 80 years before President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address Gettysburg Address, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. It is one of the most famous and most quoted of modern speeches. . How does Lincoln refer to that date? 4. What war was being fought in 1776, and why does Lincoln refer to it in his speech? 5. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Lincoln, what was the fighting of the American Civil War American Civil War or Civil War or War Between the States (1861–65) Conflict between the U.S. federal government and 11 Southern states that fought to secede from the Union. "testing"? 6. Why does Lincoln refer to the Civil War as "unfinished work"? 7. Did Lincoln realize how famous his speech would become? What phrase in the speech answers that question? 8. What cause did Lincoln mean when he said, "that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion"? 9. What was "the last full measure of devotion"? 10. What did Lincoln mean by the speech's most famous phrase, "government of the people, by the people, for the people"? 1. The Declaration of Independence 2. The Union and Confederate soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg Noun 1. Battle of Gettysburg - a battle of the American Civil War (1863); the defeat of Robert E. Lee's invading Confederate Army was a major victory for the Union Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863. 3. Lincoln refers to this date in the first sentence: "Four score and seven years ago ..." This phrase indicates that the speech Lincoln is about to deliver comes 87 years after the U.S. had declared its independence. 4. Lincoln refers to the American Revolutionary War, a conflict that created a nation that the current war was threatening to tear apart. 5. The conflict was testing whether a democracy "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could survive. 6. The Civil War was still being fought at the time of Lincoln's speech. 7. No. Lincoln says, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here ..." 8. Lincoln was referring to the cause of preserving the Union. 9. Soldiers willingly fought to save the Union and preserve an ideal. Many gave their lives for the cause. 10. He meant that in a democratic system elected officials are chosen from and by a free citizenry to carry out the wishes of the majority. |
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