Lesson 4.02 The Power of Words

The Virtual Times

Feature

"This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave."
- Abraham Lincoln

He served as President during a tragic period of American history. Abraham Lincoln, who believed slavery to be morally wrong, labored intensely to reunite a country devastated by civil war.

After his reelection in 1864, Lincoln witnessed the end of the war, but was assassinated just five days later by a fanatic sympathizer of the Southern cause. He has earned his place in American history as a great speaker and writer. Yet, he will forever remain one of the most respected and admired presidents, demonstrating fortitude and courage in the face of insurmountable national crisis.

In Brief

Did you know that the Gettysburg Address is inscribed on the south wall of the Lincoln Memorial?

View the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

President Lincoln dedicated a national cemetery on the battlefield at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863 to the soldiers who were lost there. A few months earlier, on this very same ground in Pennsylvania, more than 7,000 men lost their lives fighting for their cause.

At the time, Lincoln's address received mixed reviews (1863, delivering what is now known as The Gettysburg Address). Some critics called it insignificant and brief, but others found its message profound and appropriate for the occasion. Today, The Gettysburg Address is considered to be one of the finest speeches in the English language.

Find out

why Lincoln's term as President was such a complex one.
what famous phrases you recognize from the Gettysburg address.
why Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg is considered one of the finest speeches in the English language.