USA HISTORY

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.Lincoln meant ____

(A) ** He says this is not about us, it’s about the soldiers who have sacrificed. They have already consecrated the cemetery with their blood and their lives.

(B) Everett’s speech was very political, saying this was a great battle, we have to remember that the Confederates are our enemies.

(C) The forces of the United States are trying to achieve a united nation, not a united set of states.

Concept note-1: -Lincoln means that the extreme sacrifice the men who had fought and died on that battlefield have made was in itself a greater act than any other could now, or ever, perform in ordaining the soil on which they died. Their deed was more than enough for the ground to be consecrated.

Concept note-2: -The main message of the Gettysburg Address is that ideals are worth dying for and that it is up to the living to carry on the work of those who died to protect ideals. The ideals of equality and freedom are the bedrock of the United States as a nation.

Concept note-3: -The stated purpose of Lincoln’s speech was to dedicate a plot of land that would become Soldier’s National Cemetery. However, Lincoln realized that he also had to inspire the people to continue the fight. Below is the text of the Gettysburg Address, interspersed with my thoughts on what made it so memorable.