Reflection: Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most well known speeches of all time. The Gettysburg Address. The Gettysburg Address was important to the people because it was very strong in saying that we we have declared our independence and we say that we are free, but were are not going to just keep living the lives that we are living. Great men from our country are fighting day in and day out to keep our country free. Freedom isn't free. Lincoln says that he is at the sight of the Battle of Gettysburg to honor those who gave their lives to fight for the freedoms we have in America, but he was also there to celebrate the lives of those fighting men that survived. The men that fought in the Battle were honored by a dedication of a portion of the battlefield as a resting place for those who gave their lives in the hopes that their country may live on (Lincoln). “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced” (Lincoln). This is also a very important part of the speech because Lincoln is giving all of the credit for his speech to the people that fought in the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln was advocating for the abolition of slavery. I think that there is a connection here. Henry David Thoreau went to jail to stand up for what he believed was right. I in this regard, Lincoln and Thoreau were very similar. They were both very strong men that were going to stand up for what they believe in. These two men had similar ideas for the full devotion of their lives to show what is right. Lincoln was fighting slavery until the day that he died and Thoreau went to jail because he was standing up for what he believed in.

Lincoln, Abraham, and Roy P. Basler. "The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln."Net INS Showcase. Abraham Lincoln Online. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.

"Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - 1." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.