1858 Lincoln Lecture 10

Lincoln did not think he was good at speeches, but he could make good political speeches and showed full talent in political activities.

He had two famous speeches in his lifetime, one during the campaign campaign and the other in the Gettysburg Address, which celebrated military victories.

The length is very long, so I will not reply to the full text of the speech here, and it is easy to search the original manuscript in Chinese and English on the Internet.

The most famous one is the one that won the war.

The answer upstairs is already in place, so I'll elaborate on it. Lincoln's inaugural address was primarily a last-ditch effort to avert civil war, when six Southern states threatened independence from the Union if Lincoln was elected. The Gettysburg Speech was only two minutes long, and it was Lincoln's speech at the funeral of the Northern Army after the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point of the Civil War, to illustrate the significance and necessity of the Civil War.

Although the speech lasted only two minutes, the applause far exceeded that of the famous orator Everett, who spoke for two hours before Lincoln spoke.

Lincoln's most famous speech was:

Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg

Eighty-seven years ago, our ancestors founded a new nation born of freedom on this continent. They advocated that all men are created equal and dedicated their lives to it.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, a war to test the longevity of this country, or of any country like ours that was conceived of freedom and adheres to its claims. We gather on one of the great battlefields of this war and dedicate a piece of land on this battlefield to those who have sacrificed their lives here for the survival of this country, as their final resting place. It is entirely appropriate and right that we have done so.

But, in a broader sense, we can't consecrate the land — we can't make it sacred.

Nor can we make it glorious. For the warriors who have fought here, both alive and dead, have made this land sacred, far beyond the power of our meagre power to add to or subtract. The world will not notice, let alone remember for long what we have said here, but they will never forget what these brave men did here.

On the contrary, we who are alive should dedicate our lives to the uncontested work of the warriors, and those who fought here have carried forward the work heroically. We should dedicate ourselves to the great task that lies before us — and because of their glorious sacrifices, we will dedicate ourselves even more to the cause for which they gave their last and all their might.

We must resolve to prevent those who have died from confessing their sacrifices—we will make this nation free and reborn under God's blessing—we must make this democratic, the rule of the people, and the people's enjoyment, not disappear from the face of the earth.