Protesters took to the streets across the Arab world in 2011, pushing their leaders to end decades of oppression. The Middle East and North Africa was engulfed in an unprecedented outburst of popular protests and demand for reform. It began in Tunisia and spread within weeks to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria.
The Declaration of Independence was signed 87 years before 1863. Lincoln began his eulogy with a reference to this event as a reminder that the Civil War soldiers were fighting and dying for freedom.
