Backstory to the Gettysburg Address
How Abraham Lincoln Changed America's Self-Identity
President Abraham Lincoln was invited almost as an afterthought to Gettysburg, PA on November 19, 1863 for the dedication of a national cemetery to honor the more than 7,000 soldiers — Union and Confederate — who died in battle over three days between July 1-3. The main speaker was Edward Everett (1794-1865), a prominent orator, Secretary of State under…
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