Word for the Wise, November 19

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Topic: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Months after the days of fighting had ended on a hot July day in 1863 and the bodies of the thousands of fallen soldiers had begun to be collected for burial (or re-burial) on nearby lands, President Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was invited to speak at the November 19th, 1863 ceremony dedicating the new National Cemetery. Lincoln's comments followed the two hour speech given by statesman Edward Everett, a pre-eminent orator.

Although Everett was originally billed as giving the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's remarks are remembered by that name today. But contrary to myth, the Gettysburg Address was not written on the back of an envelope, and the five versions known to be written in Lincoln's own hand differ in punctuation and in wording.

The president's speech was brief—ten sentences, fewer than 300 words—and its impact enduring; it has been studied, admired, and quoted for close to a century and a half.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address began "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent . . . " (not, as is sometimes misquoted, "four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth . . . ")

And Lincoln closed by urging those present to be "dedicated to the great task . . . before [them] . . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.  

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