19 pages • 38 minutes read
Gettysburg Address
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg took place between Union and Confederate forces on July 1-3, 1863. The battle is named for the nearby town of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northwest of Washington DC. The 104,000 soldiers of the Army of the Potomac clashed with the 73,000 troops of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Virginia. The Civil War itself rode on the outcome: If the South could push past the Northern defenses, it might threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington, perhaps forcing the North to give up the war altogether.
The advantage moved back and forth. The South threatened to break through on July 2 at Little Round Top hill, where beleaguered Northern defenders, out of ammunition, staged a sudden and raucous bayonet charge that startled and scattered the Southern attackers. A final assault on the Northern line on July 3, famous as “Pickett’s Charge,” failed decisively; the Confederate Army lost the battle and, eventually, the war. The engagement killed or wounded more than 50,000 soldiers, making it the bloodiest three days in American military history.
Soldiers’ National Cemetery
Thousands of troops lay dead at Gettysburg. Their hasty burials in the battle’s immediate aftermath proved inadequate, and all were reinterred in a cemetery constructed for them on the battlefield. On November 19, 1863, the site was consecrated as Soldiers’ National Cemetery. President Lincoln gave a short dedicatory speech, the Gettysburg Address, that soon became as famous as the battle that inspired it. The cemetery later was renamed Gettysburg National Cemetery; today, it’s part of Gettysburg National Military Park.
Freedom
The ideal of freedom looms large within the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s purpose is to honor the soldiers who fell defending the North in a crucial battle against the Southern rebellion. Those soldiers died protecting not just the nation but its dream of freedom for all, including African Americans enslaved in the South. Lincoln calls on his listeners to rededicate themselves to the cause of freedom not only for themselves but for those trapped in slavery.
The Written Speech
Lincoln began the Gettysburg Address on White House stationery and then finished it on lined paper. This version is called the Nicolay copy in honor of John Nicolay, one of Lincoln’s personal secretaries to whom the president gave the copy. Lincoln wrote out a second draft version, which he gave to his other secretary, John Hay. Later, the president made three more copies, one for Edward Everett and two for historian and former Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. Bancroft’s stepson, Alexander Bliss, obtained the fifth copy; that version, known today as the Bliss copy, differs slightly from earlier drafts but is signed and dated by Lincoln and is widely considered the authoritative source for the speech. (For the complete Bliss version, see the “Important Quotes” section, below, where the speech is separated into its 10 sentences for analysis.)
Unlock all 19 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Abraham Lincoln
