“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
— Abraham Lincoln
Spoken at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, during the Civil War. The address redefined the war as a fight for equality and democracy.
I delivered these words at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, standing on ground soaked in the blood of thousands. The nation was tearing itself apart, and I needed to remind every grieving soul why we were fighting. I had lost my own son Willie just the year before. Grief was no stranger to me. But America's promise was worth every sacrifice. These seventeen words were not rehearsed on paper; they came from my deepest conviction that democracy must survive.