The Gettysburg Address

Dec 18

2 min read

Are you a student learning about the Civil War? Are you a teacher preparing to teach about the Civil War? This website is for both of you! It will even be helpful if you are just curious about the Civil War.

If you are a student, you can read about the Gettysburg Address in the sections below. If you have questions as you read, you can send me a message, and I will do my best to get back to you.

If you are a teacher, you can use this website as a resource for yourself and your students, or you can purchase my printable reading passages and comprehension questions. They are available at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Gettysburg Address reading passage for Civil War unit

The Gettysburg Address

November 19, 1863

After battles of the Civil War, dead soldiers were quickly buried where they had fallen. At Gettysburg, more than ten thousand soldiers had been killed. The people of Gettysburg argued that a national cemetery should be created to honor the men who had lost their lives during the battle.

On November 19, 1863, the dedication ceremony of the National Cemetery of Gettysburg was celebrated. The main speaker, Edward Everett, a famous orator of the time, invited President Lincoln to say a few words at the event. After Everett’s two-hour speech, President Lincoln delivered what we now call the Gettysburg Address. His speech was short, just 272 words, but it is one of the most famous speeches in American history.

That summer, Lincoln had been struck by the fact that the Union had two major victories on July 4, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. His speech connected the Civil War to that founding document. The Declaration claims that “all men are created equal,” and the Union was fighting to bring that promise to life by ending slavery.

There are five known copies of the Gettysburg Address, and each is slightly different. Two were written before Lincoln delivered the speech as a first and second draft. Contrary to a popular myth, Lincoln did not write the Gettysburg Address while riding on the train to Gettysburg. His first draft was started on White House stationary and most likely finished in Gettysburg the night before he delivered the speech. The other three copies were created by Lincoln to auction off for soldier benefits. The version of the Gettysburg Address found on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, comes from one of these later copies.

Want to learn more about the Civil War? Check out the links below!