Gettysburg Address

American  

noun

1. the notable short speech made by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pa.

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Gettysburg Address British  

noun

1. history the speech made by President Lincoln at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg in Nov 1863

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Gettysburg Address Cultural  

1. A speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Lincoln was speaking at the dedication of a soldiers' cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. The opening and closing lines are particularly memorable: “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…. [We must] be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”

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Lincoln surprised his audience at Gettysburg with the brevity of his speech. He delivered the Gettysburg Address, which lasted about three minutes, after a two-hour speech by Edward Everett, one of the leading orators of the day.

Example Sentences

In DeSantis' stirring inaugural address, he invoked the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address and the "I Have a Dream" speech, pledging he would "never surrender to the woke mob."

From Salon

He was known to be able to recite the Gettysburg Address in English from memory and once publicly endorsed “Titanic,” helping the movie become a hit in China.

From Washington Post

In his appearance on “60 Minutes” in 2000, Mr. Jiang, smiling determinedly, his eyes obscured by huge square eyeglasses, recited the opening of the Gettysburg Address, which he had learned as a student.

From New York Times

A halting but determined speaker of English, he would recite the Gettysburg Address for foreign visitors and on a visit to Britain tried to coax Queen Elizabeth II to sing karaoke.

From Seattle Times

He spoke enthusiastic if halting English and would recite the Gettysburg Address for foreign visitors.

From Washington Times