The Gettysburg Address

Abraham | incoln

The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address
By Abraham |_incoln (1 809-1865)

The Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, in
November, 1863, followed a few short months after the roiling, acrid
clouds of gun smoke dissipated, leaving a little crossroads town in
Pennsylvania heir to the human tragedy of over 7,000 corpses and

21,000 men suffering wounds. lt was a most unnatural disaster.

On November 19, the chief executive made the trip to the still-dazed, shot-torn community to
deliver, almost as an afterthought (For he was not the keynote speaker), an address that clarified
his belief that the Negro race should be liberated from its slavery, and that despite the loss of so
much blood and life, the (nion should hold to the goal of completing this emancipation.

That he knew the eyes of the nation would rest on him was evident; this address was the first
speech since his inauguration that he prepared in advance. Dut these carefully crafted words —
only 269 of them — became a vital part of our nation’s identity, and area signature to the bedrock

of our beliefs.

Read by Mark F. Smith; total running time: 00:02:41.

This recording is in the public domain and may be reproduced, distributed, or modified without permission. For
more information or to volunteer, visit librivox.org. Cover photo & author photo by Alexander Gardner (1863).
Copyright expired in US, Canada, EU and all countries with author’s life +70 yrs laws. Cover design by Janette
Brown. This design is in the public domain.

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