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When President Abraham Lincoln learned of the Union victories
at Vicksburg and Gettysburg in July 1863, he told the celebratory
crowd gathered at the Executive Mansion that it was providential
that this occurred around the nation's birthday.
"Gentlemen, this is a glorious theme, and the occasion
for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one worthy of the
occasion." He found his occasion that fall at the dedication
of the national cemetery for the soldiers who fell at Gettysburg.
Abraham Lincoln pondered his topic in the four months since
the battle, and had written several drafts even before the arrangements
to speak were final. By the time Mr. Lincoln left Washington
by train on November 18, the speech was substantially complete.
Because of unreliable train schedules, especially in the midst
of war, Mr. Lincoln made a point to leave the day before. He
would stay at the home of David Wills, banker, organizer of
the Gettysburg event, and owner of the largest home on the square.
Still, he arrived late on the eve of the dedication because
of train delays at the switching stations between Washington
and Gettysburg. Nearly missing dinner, he excused himself early
to study the speech, even using the house stationery to finalize
the few words he would speak the next day.
At the ceremony on November 19, Lincoln followed the widely
praised two-hour oration by Edward Everett, the principal speaker.
Delivering his 272-word speech in just three minutes, he sat
down, his brevity surprising the crowd. Scattered applause left
him uncertain whether it had been "worthy of the occasion"
after all. His supporters called it "thrilling," but
his enemies thought it "silly." Subsequent generations
of Americans proclaim the speech immortal.
One of those Americans is 17-year-old high school junior Avram
Sand of Teaneck, New Jersey. Avram is among the five runners-up
of the 2004 Idea of America Essay Contest, sponsored by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Avram spoke for many
when he answered the question, "What is the relevance of
the Gettysburg Address today?”
This was not the first time Lincoln had declared the
Civil War to be one of ideas and not interests. ... There
is still "unfinished work which they who fought here
have thus far nobly advanced."
Avram reminds us how Abraham Lincoln deftly used the occasion
to define the meaning of the war to the American people. He
explained how both North and South were to blame for its start,
and how both sides must unite to contend with its lasting effects.
The dedication of a cemetery at Gettysburg was more than a ritual
to bury dead soldiers. Mr. Lincoln’s words were a salve
to heal the wounds of a divided nation--the physical wounds,
the social wounds, the psychological wounds. The healing began
November 19, 1863, and continues yet.
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