Episode 35 - The Gettysburg Address

In our American history, probably no speech is well known and powerful as the Gettysburg Address.  The time of its delivery, the presence of President Lincoln, and the field upon which it was delivered all point to an incredible historical event.

I invite you to listen to this podcast as we look at the story behind the story of this amazing event.

References:  

Historical Marker Database

Library of Congress

Abraham Lincoln Online 

Transcript

Hello Friends,

I’m your host Dave Laton and welcome to Signs of Our Time, Discovering America’s heritage, one sign at a time.

 This podcast is designed to provide the story behind the story found on America’s roadside historical signs and markers.  

In this episode I want to look at the story of one of the most famous speeches in the history of America, the Gettysburg Address.

It was November 19th, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Our nation was torn apart by civil war. Just four months earlier, more than 50,000 lives were lost during the Battle of Gettysburg. It was one of the bloodiest battles in our nation’s history.

Then, at that now quiet battlefield, a tall, war-weary president stepped forward to address the nation.

He wasn’t there to give a long speech. He didn’t expect his words to become famous. But what he said echoes through history.  

An interesting note that many are not aware of is that when President Lincoln delivered the speech, he was in the early stages of a mild case of smallpox.  That makes the event even more amazing.

People gathered to dedicate a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Very few remember the main speaker or his speech.  His name was Edward Everett and he spoke for nearly two hours.

Then president Lincoln stood up to deliver his remarks.  I can imagine the collective hush that fell over the crowd as he stood tall, looking out over the crowd.  He then delivered what was to become one of the most amazing orations of our nation’s history.  It wasn’t long, but it was powerful. 

President Lincoln spoke for just under 3 minutes.  His remarks were only 272 words.

As he began, he reminded the nation where it started: “Four score and seven years ago…”

He was pointing back to the founding of the country—built, as he said, on the idea that all people are created equal. Then he did something powerful.

He didn’t focus on blame.  He didn’t celebrate victory. Instead, he honored sacrifice.

He said the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg had already consecrated the ground with their courage—far more than words ever could. 

But the heart of the speech wasn’t about the past.  The president pointed to the future.

He challenged those living to continue the work the fallen had begun. He called on the nation to recommit itself to freedom, unity, and democracy.

Then he ended with words that still define America today: “A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

At the time, some thought the speech was too short, too simple, and too hushed.  But history decided otherwise.  Those few words reshaped how Americans understand our nation—not just as a place, but as a promise.  America is more than a physical nation.  It is an idea.  President Lincoln captured that idea.  He stirs us to remember that America is a promise worth fighting for and living for.  

What follows is a recording of the Gettysburg Address courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. 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. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- 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.

Friends, sometimes, it doesn’t take many words to change the world.  Just the right ones at the right time.

Well, there you have it.  A story behind the story from America’s historical signs and markers.  I hope you enjoyed this episode.  I invite you to subscribe and continue listening as we bring more episodes about the rich heritage of our great nation.

 Please share this podcast with others.  If you have interesting stories about historical signs and markers, email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.  Maybe your story behind the story will be featured.

I’m your host Dave Laton and thank you for listening, and safe travels!