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Brimmley Nielsen
November 5, 2016
Hist 1700
Professor Cope
Primary Source Paper
The Gettysburg Address
Imagine a chance to go down in history for sharing your thoughts to a
small crowd. What might you say? How grand would your speech be? Why
would it be remembered for hundreds of years to come? On November 19,
1863, Abraham Lincoln stood before such a crowd, humble in words and
thought and gave the Gettysburg Address. He gave the speech four months
after the Battle of Gettysburg during the dedication of the battleground. As
he spoke not many people paid attention to him, they had just finished
listening to a man speak for nearly two hours and were bored out of their
minds. However, the few people that did listen managed to put it in the
newspaper. Slowly the speech spread and was discussed by citizens all over
the country, it soon became the well-known document that it is today. It
became such an important document because of the circumstances
surrounding the speech. The Civil War was raging in America. Abraham
Lincoln was working hard to unite the broken country, bring the Union back
together. Citizens disagreed and could not find a way to be respectful. The
Gettysburg Address was given at a vital time and became a key document in

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uniting the States. It brought the people together and boosted moral as well
as honored the men that died in that battle.
The Civil War began in 1861 at the Battle of Fort Sumter. This is the
war known throughout American history as the war with the greatest
American casualties, granted both sides were Americans so only Americans
lost their lives, thereby making that a skewed statement. The American Civil
War is also known for slavery being its main catalyst, however there are
more causes that created a rift in the people that festered and led to the
warring of citizens. Wanting different representation for federal matters,
disagreeing with the elected President and old-fashioned human pride were a
few of the things that led to the seceding of the South, which then called
themselves the Confederacy. However, the North, or the Union, used slavery
as a scapegoat to gain the support of Great Britain and keep Great Britain
from aiding the South. To make the war about slavery, Abraham Lincoln took
the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and free the slaves.
All of his actions led to creating a unified country once again, his freeing of
the slaves and the Gettysburg Address given later that same year show this
clearly.
One of the bloodiest battles in the war was the infamous Battle of
Gettysburg in 1863. There is some debate among historians on who actually
won the battle. However, most of the historians agree that the Union beat
the Confederacy. Although, the most important part of this battle is not who

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won but what it did to the people as a whole. At the beginning of the war,
many of the citizens did not think the war would last long or that it was a big
deal. People would bring blankets and picnic baskets and watch the battles;
it was a grand, old time. It was not until the devastating Battle of Gettysburg,
which lasted three days and cost 620,000 casualties, that outsiders took the
war seriously. This is why we remember this battle in our history books today.
This was a great turning point in the war, it actually gave the Union the
upper hand they needed to beat the Confederacy and unite the States once
more.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union felt the desire to dedicate the
land to keep it sacred. In Abraham Lincolns speech that day, November 19,
1863 he told us how the land was already consecrated by the men that died
in that battle, But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. Abraham Lincoln stood on the
grounds and gave his speech to a small gathering of people. It was not a
long-winded speech, not even two minutes long, but it did not need to be.
What he said that day is still remembered even today and studied by
students and historians; it was full of pure intent and did not need any
flowery speech. That was just the way Lincoln was he kept things short and
simple. I think that if he had talked for a long time the speech would not
have made such an impact on the world. Lincoln spoke in earnest about how
much he believed in his country, showing his desire to find common ground
with both sides of the line, that this nation under God shall have a new

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birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people shall not perish from the earth. He also talked with respect about the
people that died on that battlefield just months before, The brave men,
living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor
power to add or detract. Lincoln spoke about how little importance his own
words were but remembering what happened was of utmost importance,
The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can
never forget what they did here. His humble words resonated with America
and ensured that we would forever remember the Battle of Gettysburg. From
this speech, you can feel how much he cared about the people that died
standing up for what they believed. His character played into the speech a
great deal, he was an honorable man and spent his whole presidency trying
to bring the Confederacy back to the Union.
In conclusion, the Gettysburg Address was a pivotal part of uniting the
States during the Civil War. It boosted moral by helping the citizens come to
the realization that this war was real and needed to end with unity. The
address also showed the true nature of Abraham Lincoln and his desire to
bring the states together again to keep the nation united. It honored the men
that lost their lives during those three days of battle. However, as Lincoln
said, the war tested whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so
dedicated can long endure which put America on track to end the fight. The
Gettysburg Address may not have initially intended to incite unity, but it

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played a vital role in bringing together both sides of the United States of
America once again.

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Works Cited
Lincoln, Abraham. "The Gettysburg Address". 19 Nov. 1863.
avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp. Web. Accessed
September 21, 2016.

Unknown. Gettysburg. 2014. www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html?

tab=facts. Web.
Accessed November 7, 2016.

Unknown.
The
Gettysburg
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address. Web.

Address.

2016.

Address.

2016.

Accessed September 21, 2016.

Unknown.
The
Gettysburg
www.history.com/topics/american-civil-

war/gettysburg-address. Web. Accessed September 21, 2016.