A b r a h a m L i n c o l n ’s

The Gettysburg
Address
Presented by: JEDAHLYN A. DEMATE
MAT ENGLISH
 Abraham Lincoln
(born February 12, 1809, near
Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died
April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.)

Abraham Lincoln became the United

States’ 16th President in 1861,
issuing the Emancipation
Proclamation that declared forever
free those slaves within the
Confederacy in 1863.
• NAME: Abraham Lincoln

• NICKNAMES: Honest Abe, the

Great Emancipator

• BORN: February 12, 1809, near

Hodgenville, Kentucky

• DIED: April 15, 1865, in

Washington, D.C.

• TIME IN OFFICE: March 4, 1861, to

April 15, 1865

• POLITICAL PARTY: Republican

(formerly Whig)
 Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky on February 12,
1809, to parents who could neither read nor write. He went to school on and
off for a total of about a year, but he educated himself by reading borrowed
books. When Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died. His father—a
carpenter and farmer—remarried and moved his family farther west,
eventually settling in Illinois.

As a young adult, Lincoln worked as a flatboat navigator, storekeeper,

soldier, surveyor, and postmaster. At age 25 he was elected to the local
government in Springfield, Illinois. Once there, he taught himself law, opened
a law practice, and earned the nickname "Honest Abe."
 He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives but lost two
U.S. Senate races. But the debates he had about the enslavement of people
with his 1858 senatorial opponent, Stephen Douglas, helped him win the
presidential nomination two years later. (Lincoln opposed the spread of
slavery in the United States.) In the four-way presidential race of 1860,
Lincoln got more votes than any other candidate.
 A Nation Divided

When Lincoln first took office in 1861, the United States was not truly united. The nation
had been arguing for years about enslaving people and each state’s right to allow it. Now
Northerners and Southerners were close to war. When he became president, Lincoln allowed
the enslavement of people to continue in southern states but he outlawed its spread to other
existing states and states that might later join the Union.

Southern leaders didn’t agree with this plan and decided to secede, or withdraw, from the
nation. Eventually, 11 southern states formed the Confederate States of America to oppose
the 23 northern states that remained in the Union. The Civil War officially began on April
12, 1861, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, when troops from the Confederacy attacked the
U.S. fort.
A Nation Divided
A copy of President Abraham Lincoln's short Gettysburg Address speech.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ARCHIVE PHOTOS / GETTY IMAGES
Context and Facts of the Gettysburg Address
•Abraham Lincoln was the author of the speech known as the "Gettysburg
Address".
•The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, and its aftermath
led to the creation of the first National Soldier's cemetery.
•As President, Abraham Lincoln gave the "Gettysburg Address" on
November 19, 1863, several months after the Battle of Gettysburg at the
dedication of the cemetery.
•Edward Everett was the main speaker and gave a two hour speech before
Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address".
•There are five accepted versions of the "Gettysburg Address"; the "Bliss
Copy" is the most cited and is 271 words long.
"Gettysburg Address" - Key takeaways
•President Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" is considered the
most famous speech in American History

•Abraham Lincoln was largely self-educated and crafted the speech

himself

•Lincoln connected the "Gettysburg Address" to founding principles

enshrined in the Declaration of Independence

•Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" reframed the Civil War beyond

preserving the Union, including equality for the recently freed slaves as
worth fighting for as well.
 Tragic Fate
Less than a week after people celebrated the end the Civil War, the country was mourning yet
again. Lincoln became the first president to be assassinated when he was shot on April 14, 1865.

The night he was shot, he and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, were watching a play in
Washington, D.C. The entrance to their box seats was poorly guarded, allowing actor John Wilkes
Booth to enter. Booth hoped to revive the Confederate cause by killing Lincoln. He shot Lincoln in
the back of the head, then fled the theater. He wasn’t caught until two weeks later. He was shot
during his eventual capture and died from his wounds.

The wounded and unconscious president was carried to a boardinghouse across the street,
where he died the next morning, April 15, 1865. Lincoln’s presidency was tragically cut short, but
his contributions to the United States ensured that he would be remembered as one of its most
influential presidents.
 Tragic Fate

The president's death at the end of the Civil War unsettled the fragile nation.
DRAWING BY BEIGHAUS, COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
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Thank You