The Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech and one
of the most quoted political speeches in United States history, was
delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, during the American
Civil War, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.
Lincoln's carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations
that day, has ultimately become regarded as one of the greatest
speeches in American history. In fewer than three hundred words
delivered over two to three minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of
human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and
redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as
a "a new birth of freedom" that would bring true equality to all of
its citizens. Ironically, despite the speech's prominent place in the
history and popular culture of the United States, the exact wording of
the speech is disputed. The five known manuscripts of the Gettysburg
Address differ in a number of details and also differ from
contemporary newspaper reprints of the speech.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg__Address
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
The Convention Parliament was convened to determine if James II, the
last Catholic king of England, had vacated the throne when he fled to
France in 1688.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England)
1733:
Georgia Day: James Oglethorpe established the city of Savannah and the
Province of Georgia, a penal colony for the resettlement of people in
debtor's prison in the United Kingdom.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah%2C_Georgia)
1818:
Led by General Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile formally proclaimed its
independence from Spain.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile)
1912:
Xuantong Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the last Emperor of
China, abdicated.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuantong_Emperor)
2001:
NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to
land on an asteroid.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEAR_Shoemaker)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us,
to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." -- Abraham
Lincoln
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln)