Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address in November 1863 as a short speech to dedicate a new national cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg and to redefine the purpose of the Civil War.

Who wrote it

  • The Gettysburg Address was written and delivered by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
  • Lincoln prepared multiple handwritten copies; five are known today (Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss manuscripts), each with small wording differences.

When and where it was given

  • Lincoln delivered the speech on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
  • The cemetery honored Union soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, a major Civil War turning point fought in July 1863.

Why Lincoln wrote and delivered it

  • The immediate reason was to offer “a few appropriate remarks” at the cemetery’s dedication, following a much longer formal oration by speaker Edward Everett.
  • At a deeper level, Lincoln used the address to explain why the Union war effort mattered: to preserve a nation “conceived in liberty” and “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

The meaning and purpose

  • Lincoln connected the Civil War to the ideals of the American Revolution, arguing that the conflict would determine whether a nation based on equality and self-government could endure.
  • He called on the living to dedicate themselves to finishing the “unfinished work” of those who died, so that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Why it’s still important

  • Though only about 272 words long, the Gettysburg Address is now regarded as one of the most powerful expressions of American democratic ideals and political eloquence.
  • It continues to be studied, quoted, and memorized as a model of clear, concise rhetoric and as a statement of the United States’ core values in times of crisis.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.