The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in the history of our country, the United States of America. It was given by one of the most famous presidents our country has had, Abraham Lincoln. This speech is given after the civil war has began. Basically in the country at the time they have their freedom, and government is good and all that, but each and every day men that fought so hard to be free are fighting again against men of their own kind...It is not really fair. However, Abraham Lincoln commemorates and gives this battle land to those whom have lost their lives fighting for our country. Many powerful statements are made this day. "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). Lincoln wants everyone to be remembered for the good that they did, and I agree. Yes, Lincoln is a political figure and Thoreau and Emerson did not really believe in government, and basically thought they could do no good, but in this case I think Abraham Lincoln made a very strong right choice and I think this is a time that maybe these two men from the Transcendentalism period would appreciate a government figure because only someone who had great self wisdom would dedicate something like this and give this speech with such poise. Self Wisdom is also a characteristic from this time period known as the Transcendentalism period(Quinn). Most of the time in the literary period people were strong and valued themselves and I think most of the people in the time period were intelligent. I think Lincoln embodied all of these things quite well during his presidency, including when he gave this speech. He was a very strong intelligent man, I know a lot of people may not agree with that statement, but that is my opinion and I think he was a great president.

Lincoln, Abraham, and Roy P. Basler. "The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln."Net INS Showcase. Abraham Lincoln Online. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.


Quinn, Edward. "Transcendentalism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= DLLT1007&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 26, 2012).