Comprehension Check page 121
1. “Our fathers” created a new nation.
2. The war is testing whether a nation that was founded on
America’s principles can endure, or survive.
3. They have met to dedicate a portion of the battlefield to the
men that died in battle.
4. The ground already has been dedicated, consecrated, and
hallowed by those who took part in the battle, especially those
who died.
5. It is a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”
and will continue forever.
6. Lincoln begins by recalling the nation’s founding on
principles of liberty and equality. He says that the current
struggle is a test to see whether the United States now can
survive. He and his audience have gathered to dedicate a portion
of the Gettysburg battlefield to those who died there. In a larger
sense, however, the ground already has been hallowed by those
who perished there. Lincoln urges his listeners to resolve that
the dead will be remembered, that the nation will have a new
birth of freedom, and that its government will continue forever.
Analyze the text page 122
1- Lincoln moves from describing the principles for which the
colonists fought to describing the conflict that is being fought in
his own time for much the same reason. He sets the scene for his
next points.
Practice page 123