The Gettysburg Address

We all know that famous speech that starts with "Four score and seven years ago..." that was said by Abraham Lincoln. You especially know it if you grew up in Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln seems to be everywhere. Even if they have no idea what it's about, everyone has heard of the Gettysburg Adress. Basically, the speech was talking about how all men are created equal and kind of bashing slavery (Lincoln). This obviously makes sense since Lincoln was the president that was known for freeing the slaves (and if you haven't heard that, smh). I liked this speech because it short, got to the point, and easy to understand. I am not saying I dislike it when we read longer things, but it's nice every now again to get something that's more to the point as opposed to some of the things we've read that seemed overly detailed. Occasionally, I'll read something that I don't understand as well which is never fun to read and makes me feel stupid sometimes. Also, Lincoln is trying to do something good and have actual liberty. It's always nice seeing (or in this case reading )someone do the good thing. Especially in situations like this where it isn't exactly the easiest thing to try and get the whole country to believe something is the right thing.
One of the things that Thoreau believed in most was civil disobedience (Mannion). Lincoln says how 1) soldiers have taken a stand to what they thought were right and took it to the man (or in this case, the south). Which sadly led to some of their death. Then there is the fact that Lincoln himself is saying that he wants there to be freedom and explaining why the civil war is going on (Lincoln).
Lincoln also says how he wants freedom. He is talking about the country (mainly slaves) in general. Emerson believed in freedom of the soul (Mannion). Although these two things aren't exactly the same, they're still similar concepts.


Mannion, James. "Ralph Waldo Emerson - Philosophy." Netplaces. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. .

Mannion, James. "Henry David Thoreau - Philosophy." Netplaces. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. .



Lincoln, Abraham. "The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln." NetINS Showcase. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. .