Gettysburg Address Essays (Examples)

53+ documents containing “gettysburg address”.
Sort By:
By Keywords
Reset Filters

Example Essays

Essay
Gettysburg Address President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Pages: 4 Words: 1430

Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address encapsulates a major historical irony -- although Lincoln in his brief dedicatory speech claimed that "the world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here," it is not hard to argue in 2013 that the Gettysburg Address has nevertheless become Lincoln's most noteworthy and memorable work. Indeed the Hollywood film "Lincoln" begins with the somewhat implausible scene of Union soldiers reciting the Gettysburg Address back to Lincoln a year and a half after he delivered it. But what makes the Gettysburg Address great? It is my contention that there are three separate elements to this brief piece of oratory which may be understood as constituting the basic foundation of the greatness of the Gettysburg Address. The first element is Lincoln's mastery of the basic techniques of English prose and oratory, which can be seen in even a cursory examination of the text.…...

mla

Works Cited

Lincoln, Abraham. Gettysburg Address. Accessed 26 March 2013 at:  http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp

Essay
Gettysburg Address Starting With the
Pages: 2 Words: 712

His moving speech offers heartfelt appreciation for those who left their families and the comforts of their homes for the sake of preserving the Union. Lincoln respectfully refrains from disparaging the secessionists. The President of the nation could do no less, considering that the main Union goal was to reunite North and South into one United States. Isolating or insulting the South would have been a dreadful political move for Lincoln. Unfortunately, the President did not live long enough to forge meaningful alliances with his political enemies and econstruction failed miserably.
Ironically, Lincoln imagines a world that would forget the speech, saying: "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here." In fact, the first few lines or more of the Gettysburg Address is memorized by American school children well over a century after Lincoln spoke it in Pennsylvania. The speech remains relevant for several reasons. One,…...

mla

References

Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address." Retrieved Dec 8, 2008 at  http://americancivilwar.com/north/lincoln.html 

Gettysburg Address." Lillian Goldman Law Library. Yale Law School. Retrieved Dec 8, 2008 at  http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp 

The Gettysburg Address." Library of Congress Eshibition. Retrieved Dec 8, 2008 at  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/ 

Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln." Retrieved Dec 8, 2008 at http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/learn/gettysburg_address.html

Essay
Gettysburg Address Lincoln's Gettysburg Address the Burden
Pages: 6 Words: 1987

Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The Burden of Leadership

On November 19, 1863, approximately five months after the Civil ar battle at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln spoke before a crowd of about 15,000 during the dedication ceremony for the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg (Holloway 54). His address followed a two hours speech by the noted speaker Edward Everett. By contrast, Gettysburg Address took only two minutes to complete. hile the crowd's response has been characterized as less than enthusiastic, there were a few who immediately recognized the importance of Lincoln's words. As Everett wrote in a letter to the President the day after the ceremony, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in my two hours as you did in two minutes" (89). Lincoln's self-effacing reaction to this and other statements of praise indicate that he was wholly…...

mla

Works Cited

Archaimbault, Delores and Barnhart, Terry A. "Illinois Copperheads and the American Civil War." Illinois Periodicals Online, Northern Illinois University Libraries, 1996. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

Evans, Randolph W. "Migraine and the Presidency." Headache 51 (2011): 1431-1439. Prints.

"Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg, Pennsylvania." NPS.gov., (n.d.). Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

Holloway, H.C. "The Gettysburg Address -- Lincoln at Gettysburg: Recollections." First published Nov. 21, 1914 in the Gettysburg Compiler. American History 38.3 (2003): 54-57, 86-89.

Essay
Gettysburg Address Holds Significance at
Pages: 2 Words: 622

He stated, "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" (Lincoln). Again, Lincoln is appealing to an aspect that is larger than the present.
The ideals that Lincoln espouses are still significant today because they are victorious and they appeal to the most decent aspects of human nature. All war is dreadful and every soldier that loses a life because of war is a hero. This is as true today as it was when Lincoln dedicated the cemetery to the fallen. hen he appeals to the people to be the best they can be and to "to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us," he is asking them…...

mla

Works Cited

The Gettysburg Address. U.S. Constitution Online. Information Retrieved November 03, 208.  http://www.usconstitution.net/getty.html

Essay
Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Gave
Pages: 1 Words: 377

He said especially a nation conceived for the purposes of liberty cannot allow part of the people living in it to be enslaved to others living in that same nation. He said that the soldiers who had fought and died here struggled to preserve the ideal of liberty for every person. He said that their blood had been spilled because they had dedicated themselves to a cause in a way no living person could, that they gave their life for freedom, something that had not yet come about.
Lincoln felt that those soldiers' work was unfinished, and that those listening needed to increase the effort to finish the task the soldiers had died for, so these dead soldiers would not have died in vain. The cause he spoke of was to ensure that freedom and liberty should belong to every person in this nation. No one should belong to anyone…...

mla

Abraham Lincoln gave the speech called the "Gettysburg Address" on November 19, 1863. In it he tries to look into the future and justify the deaths of the soldiers he has been asked to honor. He sees the future of the "new nation" that his ancestors dreamed of when they arrived on the North American continent, seeking freedom and liberty, for once on an equal basis with everyone else who had just arrived in this virgin land; no one richer or poorer than or with any kind of unnatural advantage over anyone else. Each person was on an equal footing with everyone else who had just arrived. This was what they wanted and what they wanted for their children's future. He said that the soldiers lying in Gettysburg cemetery had died for this kind of nation, a nation dedicated to liberty, where all men (and women) are equal to everyone else.

He speaks of the civil war that he had seen come about because the South wanted to retain slavery. He speaks of civil wars in general, saying that a nation cannot endure a civil war for long. He said especially a nation conceived for the purposes of liberty cannot allow part of the people living in it to be enslaved to others living in that same nation. He said that the soldiers who had fought and died here struggled to preserve the ideal of liberty for every person. He said that their blood had been spilled because they had dedicated themselves to a cause in a way no living person could, that they gave their life for freedom, something that had not yet come about.

Lincoln felt that those soldiers' work was unfinished, and that those listening needed to increase the effort to finish the task the soldiers had died for, so these dead soldiers would not have died in vain. The cause he spoke of was to ensure that freedom and liberty should belong to every person in this nation. No one should belong to anyone else or to any government, but the government should belong to and be ruled by the people. He ends with a wish that this kind of government, belonging to the people and ruled by the people should never end.

Essay
Spiritualism of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln
Pages: 3 Words: 1100

Spiitualism of Lincoln's Gettysbug Addess
Abaham Lincoln was not know as a eligious man, in fact he neve joined a chuch in Washington D.C. duing his entie time as Pesident. But Abaham Lincoln was also a man who was well vesed in the Bible and went on to developed a deep pesonal spiituality duing his time as Pesident. Not only did he suffe the pesonal loss of one of his own childen, but he also suffeed pesonally fom the loss of thousands of soldies who died in the wa. Afte one of the most hoendous battles in the wa, a battle in which the Noth was victoious ove the invading foces of the South, Abaham Lincoln was invited to speak at the dedication ceemony fo the cemetey whee the casualties wee buied. The site was the new Gettysbug National Cemetey, and on Novembe 19th 1863, Abaham Lincoln deliveed his now…...

mla

references to the reasons for the many deaths, asking the nation to dedicate themselves to the unfinished work of those who died, and invoking the name of God. This was done in order to explain how the cause of the United States of America was a holy cause, dedicated to freedom; and that freedom was a holy thing. The nation that was conceived in liberty must dedicate itself to expanding that liberty to everyone, and that was the reason those men died. It was now up to the survivors to finish the work of saving the nation and bring freedom to all it's citizens. To do otherwise would amount to the destruction of the country and allowing those who made the ultimate sacrifice to have died in vain.

Essay
Why Did Lee Engage the Union Gettysburg
Pages: 4 Words: 1270

Gettysburg: Why Did Lee Engage the Union? “Four score and seven years ago.”[footnoteRef:1] The Battle of Gettysburg is today remembered best in the popular imagination as the inspiration of President Lincoln’s famous address. Lincoln wrote, [1: Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address,” accessed December 28, 2018, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/gettysburg/good_cause/transcript.htm]
“…from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion,” and resolved to fight on in what ultimately became a successful Union effort.[footnoteRef:2] Of course, from the Confederate perspective, the Battle was quite the opposite, as it became the source of dashed hopes and dreams. Gettysburg is also famous because of the bloody nature of the engagement, occurring relatively late in the American Civil War. It was fought from July 1-3, 1863, and was to prove in retrospect decisive in securing a Union victory, tipping the then-delicate balance in favor of the Union army.[footnoteRef:3] It…...

mla

Bibliography

“Battle of Gettysburg.” History.com. Accessed December 28, 2018.

“Letter from President Lincoln to George G. Meade, July 14, 1863.” Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/LincolnToMeade.pdf

Lincoln, Abraham. “Gettysburg Address.” Accessed December 28, 2018. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/gettysburg/good_cause/transcript.htm

“Robert E. Lee’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 31, 1863).” Accessed December 28, 2018. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/eamerica/media/ch17/resources/docume nts/lee.htm

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-gettysburg

Essay
War Can Be Seen as a Pillar
Pages: 4 Words: 1488

War can be seen as a pillar of te American tradition. We are a nation born of war - our Revolution - and defined by war - our Civil War.
Tere were a number of circumstances tat led to te colonists' rebellion against England and te monarcy. Tensions began to rise wen King George III issued te Proclamation of 1763, banning Englis settlements west of te Appalacian mountains and ordering anyone in tose regions to return east.

In 1764, te Sugar Act was passed, increasing duties on imported good, and establised a court to deal wit custom matters.

Te Currency Act proibited colonists from issuing paper money as legal tender, tus, destabilizing te colonial economy, and colonists called for a boycott of Britis luxury goods.

Te Stamp Act of 1865 ordered colonists to pay tax directly to England and te Quartering Act ordered colonists to ouse and feed Britis troops.

Tat same year, te…...

mla
Essay
Lincoln's Speech Compared the Evolution of Lincoln's
Pages: 4 Words: 1602

Lincoln's Speech Compared
The Evolution of Lincoln's Thought in His Speeches

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most celebrated and popular Presidents in the history of the United States. Lincoln presided over the Presidency at a difficult time for the country, when the unity of the nation was at stake and the question of slavery deeply polarized the society into two. Lincoln was able to preserve the Union, but at a great cost which made him as controversial as he was popular. But it is uncontroversial among his contemporaries and the readers of his speeches today that the sixteenth President of the United States was a great orator, able to address a broad range of audience: rich and poor, literate and illiterate, freemen and slaves; and he possessed a rare skill of persuasion. Lincoln was able to address a divided nation with great care and measurement. He was reserved when he knew…...

mla

Works Cited

All the references come from The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler, and is available online at (Accessed: February 19, 2011).

Essay
Lincoln the Civil War Was
Pages: 3 Words: 1057

It appeared almost as if the South might win, and many of Lincoln's advisers "said that there was no way to win the war and he might need to compromise on slavery," (Moreton, 2008). However, Lincoln would not budge. It would have certainly been the politically expedient thing to do for Lincoln to surrender and make a compromise that would result in the preservation of the union on the South's terms. Lincoln did not want to preserve the union at the expense of its moral integrity, though. For Lincoln, the emancipation of the slaves was integral to the creation of a "more perfect union." eferring to the tremendous loss of life that the Civil War caused, Lincoln (1863) stated in the Gettysburg Address, "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."…...

mla

References

Goodwin, D.K. (2005). Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Lincoln, a. (1863). Gettysburg address. Retrieved online:  http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp 

Moreton, C.L. (2008). 10 Qualities that Made Abraham Lincoln a Great Leader. HRBLR. Retrieved online:  http://hr.blr.com/whitepapers/Staffing-Training/Leadership/10-Qualities-that-Made-Abraham-Lincoln-a-Great-Lea 

Phillips, D.T. (1992). Lincoln on Leadership. New York: Warner.

Essay
Civil War How the Civil
Pages: 7 Words: 2408


The war and the years that preceded it led to the creation of social classes in our country. These classes consisted of the rich upper-class down to the poor immigrants; and each class had its own rules and regulations by which it lived. To this day, a large part of our society is based on classes. Socially, the war divided races and started what would lead to racism, bigotry, and the separation of black and whites. The war had served as a pathway to change but it would be several decades before the racial views of whites would change and allow for blacks to be treated fairly. Another thing that changed shortly after the war was women's rights. This movement paved the way for women to be considered equal and treated fairly (Ferland, 2009).

Ever since the Civil ar ended there has been great discussion over whether or not the crisis…...

mla

Works Cited

"Civil War Overview." 2008. Son of the South. 26 April 2009

Ferland, R.W. 2009. AuthorsDen.com. 26 April 2009

Essay
Women in Douglass Still Bound
Pages: 4 Words: 1698

I have frequently felt her head, and found it nearly covered over with festering sores, caused by the lash of her cruel mistress. I do not know that her master ever whipped her, but I have often been an eye witness of the revolting and brutal inflictions by Mrs. Hamilton; and what lends a deeper shade to this woman's conduct, is the fact, that, almost in the very moments of her shocking outrages of humanity and decency, she would charm you by the sweetness of her voice and her seeming piety." (149) Slavery thus causes, what Douglass states are "THE BANEFUL EFFECTS OF SLAVEHOLDING ON MY DEAR AND GOOD MISTRESS," upon women in particular. omen are suggestible and such a bad institution as slavery corrupts even good hite females as well as harms the tender bodies of Black females -- again a very persuasive appeal to a hite Northern…...

mla

Works Cited

Amelia, a Lowell Factory Worker, on Wage Slavery." From Making Connections: Reading American Cultures. 2000 Edition.

Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom. With and Introduction by James M. Cune Smith. Retrieved at   Feb 2005]http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=DouMybo.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=10&division=div2 [2

Lincoln: First Inaugural." From Making Connections: Reading American Cultures. 2000 Edition.

Lincoln: Gettysburg Address." From Making Connections: Reading American Cultures. 2000 Edition.

Essay
Close Scrutiny of Books Journal
Pages: 30 Words: 9042

2) states:
An eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of seven days of leave because of the death of a parent, spouse, son, daughter, or person for whom the employee serves as designated representative... If the deceased died in the line of duty as a member of the uniformed services. Such leave is intended to permit the employee to prepare for or attend the burial ceremony of the deceased member of the uniformed services and may be paid or unpaid leave.

Conversely, however, the United States Federal government presently has no laws in place to similarly (or otherwise, in comparable and appropriate ways) formally acknowledge and honor the passing of federal government personnel other than military personnel.

According to U.S. Code Title 5, Part III; Subpart E; Chapter 63; Subchapter II (2005), the federal government does in fact authorize, according to three separate sections of Title 5: (1) Sec. 6321,…...

mla

References

Acuff, J. (c2004). The relationship edge in business: Connecting with customers and colleagues when it counts. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Andrus, P. (2005). Grief in the workplace. Martin & Castille. Retrieved February 3, 2005 at  http://www.mourning.com/your_grief_workplace.html .

Banusiewics, J.D. (2004). Customs of military funerals reflect history, tradition.

United States Department of Defense. Retrieved January 31, 2005, at  http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/n06102004_200406106.html .

Essay
War in Afghanistan From a Liberal Pluralist
Pages: 8 Words: 2518

War in Afghanistan from a Liberal Pluralist Perspective
The term "liberal" has taken on a specific meaning in Western politics that is somewhat different than the actual stated definition of the word. The word truly means "favorable to progress or reform" (Liberal, 2012) and is seen as the opposite of conservative which is being "disposed to preserve existing conditions" (Conservative, 2012). These terms have become politicized and the groups which carry the two labels may be better described by the opposite literal use of the word at any given time. However, another term, liberal pluralist, is something else again.

The book "The Practice of Liberal Pluralism" discusses introduces the topic of how liberal democracy has changed from it original meaning into something that is wholly different, at times, from the origins of the term (Galston, 2005,1). Democracy is a government which is focused on the people being served rather than the…...

mla

References

Bajoria, J. (2011). The Taliban in Afghanistan. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved June 17, 2012 from  http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/taliban-afghanistan/p10551 

Conservative. (2012). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved June 16, 2012 from  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative 

Galston, W.A. (2005). The practice of liberal pluralism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Liberal. (2012). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved June 16, 2012 from  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal

Essay
Race and Reunion
Pages: 6 Words: 1833

ace and eunion
Briefly describe each of the three visions

Vision one: The reconciliationist vision -- this vision had its roots in the "process of dealing with the dead from so many battlefields, prisons, and hospitals," the author writes on page 2; and it also developed in ways prior to the process of econstruction; people were weary of war, and many Americans longed for a time of forgiving, in the Christian sense; vision two: The white supremacist vision -- this vision was manifest through terror, violence, and its legacy promotes a memory of the Civil War aftermath as one of segregation on southern terms; those of white supremacist / racist leanings would never consider giving in to a Constitutional mandate to allow all blacks freedom, the vote, and other equal rights; vision three: The emancipationist vision -- this includes much of what African-Americans remember about gaining their freedom, it also includes the…...

mla

References

Blight, David W. Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. Cambridge,

Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001.

Wilson, Clyde. "War, reconstruction, and the end of the old republic." Society 33.6

(1996): 68-75.

Q/A
Who was president during Civil War?
Words: 786

Abraham Lincoln: The President Who Guided the Nation Through the Civil War

The American Civil War, a brutal conflict fought from 1861 to 1865, witnessed the rise of one of the most consequential figures in American history: President Abraham Lincoln. His leadership during this pivotal era played a transformative role in shaping the nation's destiny and forever etched his name in the annals of greatness.

The Road to the Presidency

Born in a humble log cabin in Kentucky in 1809, Lincoln's early life was marked by poverty and self-education. Despite these challenges, he developed a keen intellect and a deep understanding of law....

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now