Today in History: The Gettysburg Address

On this day (November 19) in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the cemetery on the battlefield. There were five texts of the speech in Lincoln’s hand, each slightly different than the others, but the text that has come down to us has become a powerful statement of the founding principles of the United States and of the sacrifices which the men and women of our armed forces have made to protect those principles and the nation they guide.

The opening sentence of the address has become iconic. “Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Our forefathers made a good start, but failed to get a lot right. Abraham Lincoln brought us closer to the mark. Let us hope that when future generations look back on us, that they will agree that we too moved the country closer to liberty and genuine equality.

I have had the pleasure of visiting Gettysburg on two occasions. The first was with my family when I was quite young and I don’t remember it as clearly as I would like. The second was with my brother and my father. We had just finished reading the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (later the movie Gettysburg would be based on this book). My father, brother and I walked the battlefield until we reached the Little Round Top and spent fifteen or twenty minutes reconstructing Joshua Chamberlain’s stand on the second day of the battle—the decisive point of the battle and arguably the entire war. Right as we finished, a park guide brought a group of tourists to the site and did in about 90 seconds what it had taken us much longer to do. It was a really good day. If you haven’t been to Gettysburg, it’s well worth the trip.