First of all, the story of Abraham Lincoln is a prime example of the American dream, that one can rise from humble origins to achieve greatness. So this compelling story should be told and retold to every generation of Americans to instruct and inspire them to become the best that they can be.
A second reason for students to learn about Lincoln is his great significance in American history. Lincoln's story sheds light on a turning point in American history, the Civil War. As president of the federal government during America's greatest crisis, Lincoln made great decisions that saved the United States from disintegration. And his decisions shaped the future of America.
Given his huge impact on American history, most historians today consider Lincoln to be the greatest president the United States ever had. So students need knowledge of Abraham Lincoln in order to understand how and why America became as it is today.
<span>In one of the first posts on this blog, I compared Lincoln’s two-minute address with the two-hour oration by Edward Everett on the same occasion. Today the former is universally regarded as one of the most famous speeches in American history; the latter is largely forgotten. </span>Indeed, Everett himself recognized the genius of Lincoln’s speech in a note that he sent to the President shortly after the event:
“I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”
In a speech that was comprised of only 10 sentences and 272 words, Lincoln was able to strike a chord that would resonate not only with his audience, but one that would resonate through time. Why is this short speech so memorable?
First, it is important to remember the context. America was in the midst of a bloody civil war. Union troops had only four months earlier defeated Confederate troops at the Battle of Gettysburg which is widely recognized as the turning point in the war. The stated purpose of Lincoln’s speech was to dedicate a plot of land that would become Soldier’s National Cemetery to honour the fallen. However, the Civil War still raged and Lincoln realized that he also had to inspire the people to continue the fight.
<span>Below is the text of the Gettysburg Address, interspersed with my thoughts on what made it so memorable.</span>
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