They Shall Not Have Died In Vain (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

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 battle-field 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 can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not 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.

Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

[Figures by First Legion]

 

[Jack]

Brad

Seems too lighthearted given the subject matter to say 'nice dio' but the use of the backdrop and figures is certainly effective.

As an aside I often used the Address as an example to students of the power of brevity. I have seen it rated as one of the three greatest speeches in history along with Pericles' Funeral Oration and the Sermon on the Mount. Personally I have always loved McArthur's goodbye at West Point.

Jack

 

[jazzeum]

Jack,

It is one of the great speeches. Much of Lincoln's writing was intended to be read out loud and this one is no different. Note his use of repetition (conceived and dedicated) and contradiction or opposition (add and detract and little note nor long remember). Really remarkable. It is likely that this was a speech Lincoln had been working on for a long time and that when he was invited, he used the ideas he had been developing. It was his practice to carry around scraps of paper on which to jot ideas, some of which he carried in his stovepipe hat.

Brad

 

[jazzeum]

Jack,

Two books I recommend are Garry Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America; it won the Pulitzer Prize.

Another book that's very good is Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words by Douglas Wilson; it won the Lincoln Prize, which is one of the top awards in the field of Civil War history. The book is not just about Gettysburg. It covers key writings during his presidency.

 

[Ghostrider]

Well done Jazz, it's right out of the Matthew Brady mold. :salute::

 

[jazzeum]

Thanks for all the comments and likes. The photo is probably not the most popular subject but I thought it needed to be highlighted.