馬鞍山崇真中學
2013-2014 年度 初中閱讀課好文共賞 (四)
(中一至中三)
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
The Author: Abraham Lincoln (1908 – 1865) was President of the United States from March 1861 to April 1865,
the only President who presided over the American Civil War. He was assassinated in a theatre
soon after the War had just ended.
Lincoln was born in his father’s farm house in Nolin Creek, Kentucky. From a very young age, he
was exposed to anti-slavery sentiment. The family moved to Indiana when he was seven, partly
because they refused to support slavery. Soon afterwards, his mother died, and his father married
Sarah Johnston. Sarah, the step-mother, raised young Lincoln as her own, and loved him much.
Lincoln was very close to his step-mother, but not to his own father.
In 1830, the family moved to Illinois, probably because of his father’s problem with the land title.
That is believed to be the reason why Abraham Lincoln studied law. But he was a self-made man.
His formal education was 18 months of schooling from unofficial teachers. He was such an eager
reader a small shop in Springfield, Illinois, there was this story that Lincoln once walked 5 miles
just to repay a nickel (5 cents) to a customer who had overpaid a day before. That indicates what
an honest man he was. When he later became a lawyer, he was well trusted by people.
It is generally believed he was very knowledgeable on the Bible, Shakespeare’s works, English
history and American history. The plain writing style he had developed puzzled many of his time. It
is also believed that he had personally witnessed slave auctions in Kentucky and New Orleans,
against which he had developed his later opposition to slavery issue as well as moving not fast
enough in abolishing slavery. As a politician, however, he proved himself to be a successful one,
winning the Presidency in 1860 and again in 1864.
Lincoln is always ranked as one of the top three of the U.S. presidents. The Lincoln Memorial in
Washington D.C. is virtually a “must see” for visitors over there, Americans and non-Americans
alike.
Reading Guide: The Gettysburg Address is the most famous speech of Mr Lincoln and one of the most quoted
speeches in United States history. Some say it is the most well-known speech by any American
President so far. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery in
Gettysburg, on November 19, 1863, a little over four months after the Union (the North)
defeated the Confederacy (the South) at the Battle Gettysburg. Why was that battle so critical?
Gettysburg is a small town in Pennsylvania. The battle took place in the plain outside of the
town, from July 1, 1863, to July 3, 1863. In three days, more than 7,500 soldiers died, and the
town people needed to find a way to bury them in dignity. The decision they came up with was
to have a cemetery for soldiers from both sides, and a war monument. Since the dead were
many, it took them months to do that. At the end, Mr Lincoln was invited to dedicate the site
to honour those who died in the battles in July.
The battle was important for Abraham Lincoln himself since, as President, he was the
Commander-in-Chief of the Union armies. Before this day, the armies of the South were
advancing; they were winning battles and moving up to the free states in the North, where
Pennsylcania was one of them. Britain had threatened it would recognise the South if the North
could not hold the line, and a number of European nations were about to follow Britain’s lead.
If so, that would bring a big headache to Lincoln.
In fact, Lincoln’s army did not “win” the battle; the Union generals only held their lines. But in
holding their lines, they were able to halt the Southern army’s advancing further to the North.
That became the turning point of the war. Two years down the road and the North was to win
the American Civil War at the end.
It was therefore fitting and proper for Mr Lincoln to present this crafted speech to his audience,
not only the town people of Gettysburg, but his entire nation, and even the world. The
Gettysburg Address was written when he was on his way to the cemetery, in pencil, in the
wagon. It has since become one of the greatest over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the
principles of human equality and redefined the American Civil War as a struggle for ‘a new birth
of freedom’ for all citizens. His words that described a democracy as a ‘government of the
people, by the people, and for the people’ have of course become a classic statement for all of
us.
Here, we have a very short speech, a speech that has become a famous piece of essay for the
world to admire. It carries with it something very heavy in history: the issue of slavery. If we
didn’t value the worth of human life, we wouldn’t care about slavery would we?
The Address is not only an American national document, it has become a world rallying point
for all who fight for human freedom, who fight against human slavery. The classic statement on
government is now a torch of inspiration for all who aspire for democracy. A few words more
than 100 years ago are still shining, brightly, for all humankind to see.
Introductory Remarks: The soldiers who died in Gettysburg died for a cause: they died so that their nation
might live. What kind of a nation? A nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Liberty and Equality are something worth
dying for, as Lincoln believed. How do you achieve that? By setting up a government of
the people, by the people, and for the people. This is now a classic statement for
political democracy all over the world! The beauty of this Address lies in its brief and
inspiring prose.