...In “The Words That Remade The Country” (The Atlantic, 2016), Garry Wills recounts aftermath of Gettysburg, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and the affects it had on the citizens of America. Wills first gives a background on the battle of Gettysburg and the planning of the battlefield dedication. In the summer of 1863, General Lee and the confederate army pushed north only to meet the union in Gettysburg. 50,000 people were killed and the confederates retreated. This was the bloodiest battle of the civil war, so the dedication of the cemetery was a big deal. David Wills, who has no relation to the author, was in charge of the ceremony and wanted the dedication to happen before the soldiers were buried. However when he reached out to the greatest...
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...score and seven years ago and emancipation proclamation along with President Lincoln’s assassination have molded American ideology and actions. President Abraham Lincoln was very influential in molding the United States of America and although some of the decisions made during the course of the presidency were controversial; these actions moved the country forward. Abraham Lincoln was the second child born from his father’s first wife. Life stated for Abraham Lincoln in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. The Lincoln’s lost their land in Kentucky and eventually forced to move to Indiana. Once in Indiana, tragedy struck the Lincoln’s again. He had to deal with his real mother dying from sickness and soon thereafter his father remarried to Ms. Sarah Johnston. Although he missed his biological mother his new family all got along well so well that Lincoln even called Ms. Johnston, mother. As Kane stated, “He held jobs as a store clerk, soldier, postmaster, rail-splitter, surveyor, lawyer, state legislator, United States congressman, and finally the President of the United States from March 4th 1861 until his death on April 15th 1869”. He was married to Mary Todd from Lexington Kentucky for over 22 years and together they had four sons. He was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. on April 14th and died the next day at 7:22 A.M. With Lincoln’s broad career choices no one would have thought that he would be a likely candidate for the Presidency of the United States...
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...Perhaps the Most famous battle of the Civil War took place at Gettysburg, PA, July 1 to July 3, 1863. At the end of the battle, the union’s Army of the Potomac had successfully repelled the second invasion of the North by the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Verginia. Several months later, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the dedication of the cemetery for the Union war dead. Speaking of “new birth of freedom,” he delivered one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history. On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The orator of the day was Edward Everett, a famed speaker, former senator, and candidate for vice president in 1860. Lincoln received a late invitation to make "a few appropriate remarks." Lincoln's brief Gettysburg address became a cornerstone of American expression of the nation's ideals, mission, and patriotism. On the first three days of July 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, had fought the Army of the Potomac, the principal northern army, to which General George G. Meade had been assigned command only four days earlier. In early May, Lee had won a smashing victory at Chancellorsville, Virginia, over a Union force approximately twice as large, and then had boldly determined to carry the war to the enemy by invading Pennsylvania. Drawn into an offensive battle at Gettysburg, Lee attacked both wings of the Union army before launching...
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...Lincoln was an amazing leader and one of the renown presidents to date, he brought a nation together after a war, was incredibly articulate, as shown by the Gettysburg Address, and created the Emancipation Proclamation which led to the freedom of slaves. However, his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, killed him because he believed the Confederacy would commend him. Lincoln’s assassination happened in 1865 at Ford’s Theater after Booth failed to kidnap him prior to the Confederacy’s downfall. One of the most of atrocious assassinations had happened in the most ironic of areas. The original intention was to use captured Confederate leaders as a ransom for Lincoln but he did not show up where Booth had been ready to take him. The idea was to save the Confederacy by killing Lincoln, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State to gain the advantage over the Union. On the night of the murder, Booth snuck into Lincoln’s box. Booth was a famous actor which is why he was able to get into the box so easily. After he was shot, Lincoln was said to be, “slumped in his chair, paralyzed, and struggling to breathe” (http://www.history.com/topics/abraham-lincoln-assassination)....
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...King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, alongside with Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg address”, reveals that both men had the same idea of human equality. What is the definition of human equality? This is a definition that was brought to the country’s attention by two great men of history. Nearly one hundred years separated two men that both had the same ideals of what human equality means in a free nation. They both came to the same ideal that was set by our founding fathers. All men were created equal and had the rights to liberty and justice, including the prosperity of the American Dream that so many fought for with demonstrations and the wars of our fathers. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln walked on the battlefield of Gettysburg and delivered the Gettysburg address. Compelled by the constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the ideals of the American nation were to be upheld to the highest regard for basic human life. The wars that were fought previously and the war that the President was going through in order to uphold the promises that the founding fathers promised all those living in the new nation. The civil war separated a single nation fighting one another based on the ideals that one man can own another man. This war lasted for 4 years in order to retain what both sides thought to be right. President Lincoln of the Union stated that we were anti-slavery, and fought rigorously in order to defeat the thought that any man is lesser than another. This speech that Lincoln...
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...His orientation changed throughout his presidency. During inaugural speech, he repeatedly insisted that he wouldn't violate the doctrine of states' rights or “interfere with the institution of Slavery in the States where it exists.” He thought that preserving the Union was the most vital aim, and that emancipation could not be tackled because slavery was protected by the Constitution. However, he moved to the radical side of the party during the war as a means to further the Union’s objectives, and later used his political authority to garner support for the Emancipation Proclamation. David Potter believes that Lincoln’s leadership was one of the main causes of the Union’s victory, stating that “Had Lincoln been leading the Confederacy, the South might well have...
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...young African American boy who tried to enter the Glen Echo Amusement Park for a class field trip, but was unable to enter because of his race. Your establishment should allow Clifton to participate in your amusement park because Abraham Lincoln fought hard for justice in the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King Jr. explains how unjust America is and why we need to fix it in his I Have a Dream speech. You might think it is okay to discriminate against colored people, but the Declaration of Independence says otherwise. First, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address explains that you should not discriminate by color. In the Gettysburg Address Lincoln says, “...that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government birth of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 3). This is important because we should not discriminate African...
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...Twelve score years and two years ago, America was founded upon the idea that “all men are created equal.” Throughout history, some people have been denied their equal rights. Lincoln’s famous speech,”Gettysburg Address” and Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, The Life of Frederick Douglass both show insight on the civil war. Douglass wrote his book before the Civil War began and Lincoln wrote his speech during the Civil War. Douglass showed what it was like to live as a child kept in slavery. Lincoln gave his speech about the struggle over ending slavery and having equality. The Civil War changed Americans’ ideas about freedom because it ended slavery and changed the way people thought about equality. Life before the Civil War seemed to have...
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...her very much and even later recalled her "his angel mother. (Encarta)" Abraham had less than one year of formal education during his life. He was self-educated and taught himself how to read and write. When he was not in school, he worked on the frontier farm clearing out forests with his axe. When Abraham Lincoln was 21 he and his family moved to Illinois. There he worked on a farm growing corn. But more importantly here was where he gave his first political speech. In 1830, the same year his family moved to Illinois, he went to a political rally and was convinced to talk for a candidate on his behalf. According to a witness there, Lincoln "was frightened but got warmed up and made the best speech of the day. (Encarta)." Abraham Lincoln's political career started in the spring of 1832 by running for a seat in the Illinois' House of Representatives. However an unusual turn of events happened a month after he announced he was running. The store he was working at went bankrupt and he lost his job. Very shortly thereafter Native Americans rebelled and the governor of Illinois asked for volunteers to help put this down to which Lincoln promptly volunteered for. He never experienced actual combat, but during his 3 month time period he served as a captain and a private. Lincoln enjoyed his his short stay in the military. When the brief uprising was over, Lincoln returned to Illinois to campaign for a spot in the Illinois House of Representatives. He spoke on tree stumps to groups...
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...Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States from 1861-1865 before he was assassinated in 1865. Lincoln's successes made him one of the best presidents to have existed. He accomplished many thing for the short time he was president like passing the 13th amendment. Another big success was winning the civil war. These are just a few of lincoln's accomplishments. Lincoln was an accomplished decision maker, as demonstrated by his leadership, communication skills, intelligence, and resourcefulness. Lincoln’s leadership skills demonstrated that he was good at making the right decisions. This is shown by how he choses to make decisions, he did so by thinking what the founding fathers would have done, and in some cases if it was constitutional. He also listened to the people that supported him(Smith, 1). It is shown that this is true because he had members of his cabinet that were from different political parties. He did this to show that he wanted to know what the rest of the people that did not support him wanted so he could compromise and make everyone happy(Smith, 1). He was also good at making decisions as shown by his communication skills....
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...greatest presidents in the history of the United States because of his patriotism and wisdom. Lincoln shows off his love for the country in the “Gettysburg Address”. He starts it out by bringing it back to our country’s inception, “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.” With this statement, everyone in attendance had their attention captured. This was crucial for the speech, and for truly getting everyone to listen to what Lincoln had to say. He then goes on and calmly explains that our great nation...
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...He was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth at Henry Ford’s Theatre. John killed him because he was determined that the president didn’t care about the South. On this Friday night, Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard had the night off and this facilitated John’s approach. He was the first president to be assassinated in American history. The nation lost the most significant person at the time. He was elected for two terms (8 years) but was not able to complete this because of his death at an early age. One reason America suffered from this lost is because how he had tons of integrity. His nickname was Honest Abe and they started to call him this because he was working as a young store cashier and whenever he realized he had not given the correct change to a customer by a few pennies, he would close the shop and give the correct change regardless of how far he had to walk. This nickname stuck with him throughout his entire life. People soon...
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...general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America,” (US Constitution). This quote illustrates that the people are in charge of the government's rules, and they decide together what it is going to happen next. Throughout the quote, the people of the United States are referred to as “we”, “our”, and “ourselves” which show that they are united in their mission. Therefore, proving the idea that one of the pillars of the American government is to vest power within the people, which is the core philosophy of an ideal democracy. Another piece of evidence that supports the idea of the U.S. being a democracy is Abraham Lincoln’s speech in the Gettysburg address, when he says, ““Four score and seven years ago our father brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal… That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and the government of the people, by the people, and of the people shall not perish from this earth,” (Lincoln). This quote reveals that Abraham is suggesting that the U.S. is a democracy when he states “of the people, by the people, and of the people” as he explicitly states that the power is in the hands of the people. Based off of the context in which he uses the phrase “of the people, by the people, and of the people”, it also signals that the people are to make the decisions...
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...Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin in the Kentucky wilderness. When be was a little boy his Grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War. He had a little sister by the name of Sarah. As he went to school he met a boy by the name of Austin. They instantly became friends more so best of friends. At first Abe wasn't allowed to go to school because he didn't have a good pair of britches. In his pastime he loved to read. When Abe was eleven, his mother died of what they called "milk sick" which occurred from drinking unpasteurized milk. That was four years after they moved to a new farm in southern Indiana. He had to live in an open shed throughout the winter. The same year his mother died, his father remarried. He married Sarah Bush Johnson. She brought three kids and a cousin Dennis Hanks. When Abe was nineteen, he worked as a boatman and make his first trip down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, the center of the slave trade. When Abe was twenty-one, he moved with his family to Illinois. However Abe's brother Thomas didn't make it to Illinois because he died of influenza. Soon after Abe made his second trip on the flatboat to New Orleans to defend the blacks and fight slavery. Abe served as a captain in the Black Hawk War and was defeated. Abe came back to Illinois and not long after was elected to the State Legislature and soon became one of the most promising young Whig party leaders. When Abe was thirty-three, he...
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...April 15, 1865 the sixteenth president of the United States of America took his last breath after being assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Being the first president successfully assassinated in the United States of America would be enough to put Abraham Lincoln’s name in the history books, however his life is equally remarkable. Lincoln’s reputation as a strong leader has stood the test of time from his career as a politician and lawyer to the president who preserved the union during a crucial turning point in our nation’s history. Lincoln’s unquenchable thirst for education and self-improvement formed the foundation for the leader he later became (Austell, 2006). Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, was the first person in his life that understood the importance of education and encouraged Lincoln in his educational efforts (Herndon & Weik, 1888). Lincoln’s quest for knowledge was a lifelong journey that continued throughout his career as a lawyer and a politician, and helped him to earn the trust and admiration of colleagues and friends (Alvy & Robbins, 2010). Lincoln’s first office for the federal government was as postmaster at New Salem followed by multiple terms in the Illinois state legislature. Over time Lincoln’s influence within the Illinois legislature grew, in large part due to his ability to draft bills and laws (Burlingame, 2008). It was during his first term in the Illinois legislature that Lincoln was first encouraged to study law by John Todd Stuart, a...
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