Civil War era Presidential Elections

In this season of elections and how the current presidential primary and the upcoming presidential election I thought it would be interesting to share a website on Civil War era elections.

Harper's Weekly has created a website for researching historical elections from 1860 to 1912. According to the website, the Presidential Elections page features political cartoons from several different digital resource centers such as Harper's Weekly, the Library of Congress and Vanity Fair. The website also "provides explanations of the historical context and images of each cartoon, campaign overviews, biographical sketches, a review of the era's major issues, and other valuable information."

Let's take a moment to explore the 1860 election between Lincoln, Douglas, Breckinridge and Bell. First, each election contains four sections: Overview, Cartoons, Biographies and Events. From here you can learn about the events leading up to to the 1860 election, how the Democratic party split, the Union Constitution Convention, the Republican Convention and the Campaign.

One of the greatest part of this site for teachers are the political cartoons. Let's look at one and see how you can use it in your classroom.


The above image shows Abe Lincoln as a rail-splitter and is intended to appeal to the average voter. Before giving your students the full description of the cartoon, ask them to tell you what they see, what do they think is going on in the cartoon, what does the little child represent and why are the words "Democratic Party" listed on the rail?

You can then follow up by reading them the complete description: "In order to appeal to average voters, Republicans emphasized the poor, hardworking origin of their candidate through the myth of Abraham Lincoln as a rail-splitter. This cartoon in the Wide-Awake Pictorial plays on that image by joking that the last rail he split is th Democratic Party in 1860, which divided into the Northern and Southern Factions."

Then, have your students think about presidential campaign ads or commercials they have seen recently. Do any of those ads try to appeal to the average voter by making the candidate look like every hardworking American? I think so and can name a few but let me know what your students come up with as you review these cartoons.

Until next time....

Lincoln Loved Learning

Here is another cool use of VoiceThread for your classroom. Melanie Lewis is an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher in Virgina and has created a webpage called Lincoln Loved Learning.

Mrs. Lewis has taken several images from the life of Abraham Lincoln and combined them together with a narrative text using VoiceThread. These photographs depict various parts of Lincoln's life growing up including his family and how he loved to read. What is especially interesting about this project is that throughout the slideshow, several students provide additional insights and comments about the life of our 16th President. Finally, Mrs. Lewis has listed several additional resources for you to explore about the President.

I have discussed the use of this type of technology before, so here is just another example of how you and your students can create and share information. These types of activities are cross-curricular and promote student engagement and creativity.

Here are some ideas for other VoiceThread projects:

• Research a Battle and discussion the important facts
• Research a particular unit and show photos and provide information
• Research a specific figure from the Civil War (lots of possibilities here)
• Research a particular aspect such as medicine and show photos of wounded soldiers

So many possibilities...Let me know what you think and if you create any in your classrooms.

More on Lincoln in Gettysburg

The following is from The Lincoln Log website and gives you an idea of what Lincoln's day was like on November 19, 1863 prior to giving his famous speech.

If you plan to have your students recite the Gettysburg Address for class, this should help provide some background information about the event.

If the technology had been available, Lincoln probably would have used something like PowerPoint during his speech. Here is a link to what the PowerPoint presentation may have looked like for the the Gettysburg Address.

Here is a nice YouTube video of Jim Getty portraying President Lincoln 11/19/2006.



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Thursday, November 19, 1863.
Gettysburg, PA and Washington, DC.

According to Nicolay's account, after breakfast at Wills house, Lincoln retires to his room, where Nicolay joins him, and completes preparation of his speech. John G. Nicolay, "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address," The Century Magazine 25:598.

About 10 A.M. President, dressed in black, wearing white gauntlets and usual crepe around hat in memory of Willie, leaves Wills house to join procession. Receives round after round of "three hearty cheers," and shakes many hands as crowd gathers. Washington Chronicle, 21 November 1863.

Thousands welcome President in Gettysburg. Weather fine. Flags in Washington at half-mast in honor of dead in cemetery at Gettysburg. Washington Star, 19 November 1863.

Gov. Curtin (Pa.), who arrived last evening with numerous important people on special train from Harrisburg, Pa., remarks to Lincoln about serenade given Gov. Seymour (N.Y.), and Lincoln replies: "He deserves it. No man has shown greater interest and promptness in his cooperation with us." Rice, 514.

President mounts "a magnificent chestnut charger." Monaghan, Diplomat, 341.

Rides in procession to cemetery. Hay, Letters and Diary.

Procession delayed; starts to move about 11 A.M. LL, No. 1425.

Head of procession arrives at speaker's platform inside cemetery at 11:15 A.M. President receives military salute. President and members of cabinet,with group of military and civic dignitaries, occupy platform. "The President was received with marked respect and a perfect silence due to the solemnity of the occasion, every man among the immense gathering uncovering at his appearance." Washington Chronicle, 20 November 1863.

Lincoln shakes hands with Gov. Tod (Ohio), who introduces Gov.-elect John Brough (Ohio), and takes his place between chairs reserved for Sec. Seward and Edward Everett, orator to make principal address. At 11:40 A.M. Everett arrives, is introduced to President, and program music begins. Washington Chronicle, 21 November 1863.

Once during Everett's two-hour oration Lincoln stirs in his chair. "He took out his steel-bowed spectacles, put them on his nose, took two pages of manuscript from his pocket, looked them over and put them back." Monaghan, Diplomat, 341.

About 2 P.M. Lincoln "in a fine, free way, with more grace than is his wont" delivers Gettysburg Address. He holds manuscript but does not appear to read from it. John G. Nicolay, "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address," The Century Magazine 25:602; Dennett, Hay Diaries and Letters, 121; Address

Delivered at the Dedication of the Cemetery at Gettysburg, 19 November 1863, CW, 7:22-23.

Pronounces his "r" plainly, does not speak like Southerner. Henry B. Rankin, Intimate Character Sketches of Abraham Lincoln (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1924), 285.

On platform, after speech, President remarks to Marshal Lamon: "Lamon, that speech won't scour! It is a flat failure and the people are disappointed." Lamon, Recollections, 173.

John R. Young, recording speech in shorthand for Philadelphia "Press," leans across aisle and asks President if that is all. Lincoln replies, "Yes, for the present." John R. Young, Men and Memories: Personal Reminiscences, 2 vols., edited by May D. Russell Young (New York: F. T. Neely, 1901), 1:69.

President decides to hear address by Lt. Gov.-elect Charles Anderson (Pa.) at 4:30 P.M. in Presbyterian Church. Meets "old John Burns, the soldier of 1812, and the only man in Gettysburg who volunteered to defend it." Burns accompanies him and Sec. Seward to hear Anderson speak. President's special train leaves Gettysburg about 7 P.M. and arrives in Washington at 1:10 A.M. on Friday. Washington Chronicle, 21 November 1863.

Lincoln returns from Gettysburg with a mild form of smallpox (varioloid) and remains under half quarantine in White House for nearly three weeks. Bates, Diary, 30 November 1863; Welles, Diary, Dec.

New Image of Lincoln at Gettysburg Found

While in Boston this morning I opened my complimentary copy of USA Today to find a headline article about a new image of Abe Lincoln at Gettysburg being found at the Library of Congress.

The story discusses how an amateur historian was looking at photographs of the famous Gettysburg Address and found Lincoln in his famous top hat riding a horse to the speaker's stand.

You can read the entire article HERE.

Here is a close up of the photo from the article showing what appears to be Lincoln

Photo from USA Today.

I have posted before about using photographs in your classroom. The historian in the article had researched the events around the Gettysburg Address and was simply looking at photographs and made a terrific discovery. You and your students can do the same thing in your classroom. Who knows, you may be the one to find the next photo of Lincoln or other famous Civil War figure.

Researchers advocate instructional approaches that engage students in the processes of doing history (Friedman, 2005). This process includes building historical knowledge through the use of primary sources, conducting historical inquiry, and encouraging students to think historically. As part of this process, students must be active learners, by seeking answers rather than waiting for them when engaging in the analysis of primary sources. The reason for this is that the process of engaging in historical thinking is more than simply absorbing information; instead it requires seeking out answers to questions (Friedman, 2005). While viewing a primary source, students will examine the historical document and then construct a narrative based on that document. Through the process of constructing this narrative, students have begun to develop inquiry skills that they will be able to use throughout their life (Wineburg, 2001). According to VanSledright (2002), children as young as seven and eight years old are capable of thinking historically.

Good luck and have fun exploring those photos.

--------------------------------------------------------
References:

Friedman, A. (2005, May). Using digital primary sources to teach world history and
world geography: Practices, promises, and provisions. Journal for the Association of History and Computing, 8, Retrieved October 2005, from http://mcel.pacificu.edu/jahc/JAHCVIII1/articles/friedman.htm#037

VanSledright, B. (2002). In search of America's past. New York, NY: Teacher's College
Press

Wineburg, S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts. Philadelphia, PA:
Temple University Press.

Podcast from Ford's Theater

Eric Langhorst is an 8th grade American History teacher in Liberty, Missouri and runs the Speaking of History podcast and blog. Eric has some great resources on his website for using Web 2.0 technologies into the teaching of History.

In February, Eric recorded the presentation of a National Park Service Ranger at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC and provided it as a podcast for you to download. What a great way for you to have your students listen to this lecture and reflect on the event that occurred there in April, 185.

In addition to that Mike Lynaugh's photography website has some great modern day photographs not only of Ford's Theater, but also of the entire John Wilkes Booth Escape Route.

Use the photographs, the NPS site and podcast in combination to allow your students to experience the events of April 14, 1865.

Until next time...

Lincoln Museum Podcast

Eric Langhorst is an 8th Grade History teacher from Illinois and is the host of the Speaking of History podcast.

Eric recently made a trip to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and recorded a podcast of his thoughts on the museum.

You can view pictures from his trip and listen to his podcast on the visit on his Speaking of History Blog.

He also recorded a podcast about some of the historic locations in Springfield, Illinois related to Abraham Lincoln that you can listen to HERE.

Be sure to check out all of the links Eric has included in his show notes. I'll try to cover some of them in upcoming blog posts.

Until next time...

Abraham Lincoln the Inventor?

While doing some research on Abe Lincoln I came across this interesting article from the March 1924 edition of Popular Mechanics.

The article discusses a model of a device for helping to lift vessels over a shoal. The article also has some interesting illustrations. I'm not going to vouch for the validity of the article, but I thought it was interesting and worth sharing.

Popular Mechanics -- March 1924

You can also view Lincoln's only patent: Buoying Vessels over Shoals

The Death of John Wilkes Booth

April 26th marks the day that John Wilkes Booth was shot in the neck and killed by a Union Calvary soldier while hiding in a barn on the farm of Richard Garrett near Bowling Green, Virginia.

Photo of the Garrett farm from http://www.nps.gov/archive/foth/escapjwb.htm

Since April 14th, Booth had spent many days feeling south into Virginia. According to many, Booth had broken his leg when he jumped from the balcony onto the stage after shooting the President. Dr. Samuel Mudd had helped Booth on April 15th by setting his injured leg and allowing him to rest on his couch. Booth then continued his flight south, crossed the Potomac River and eventually ended up on the Garrett farm.

As you can see from this poster, Booth, along with his conspirators was a wanted man and was being hunted down for his crime.

Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division - http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g05341

The following is a map of Booth's Escape route from the Ford's Theater National Historic Site website:




For more on the Booth Escape Route, I suggest the following:

Civil War Studies Website has some good photos from a tour with noted historian Ed Bearss.

and

Civil War Traveler website has some good information and a brochure that is available for you to download and review with your students.

For more information on the Booth escape and capture I suggest the following:

The Death of John Wilkes Booth from the Eyewitness To History website and

The Life and Plot of John Wilkes Booth website by RJ Norton. This site also has some good information on the final hours of Booth and details of the autopsy of Booth's body.

On on the Lincoln Assassination

Special thanks to Dennis Lawrence of the Gettysburg Discussion Group for pointing out the following from Speaking about Lincoln and The Lincoln Log for April 14
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Friday, April 14, 1865.

Capt. Robert Lincoln arrives in Washington from scene of Gen. R. E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Va., in time for 8 A.M. breakfast with President. Helm, Mary, 259; Francis F. Browne, The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Thompson, 1886), 701-2.

During morning Lincoln confers at length with Cong. Colfax (Ind.), who is preparing to visit West Coast. Willard H. Smith, Schuyler Colfax: The Changing Fortunes of a Political Idol (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Collections, 1952), 207.

Interviews former Sen. Hale (N.H.), newly appointed minister to Spain, and goes for short drive with Gen. Grant, in town for cabinet meeting. Receives many members of Congress who call to congratulate him on successful conclusion of war. Francis F. Browne, The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Thompson, 1886), 701-2.

Interviews William A. Howard, Detroit lawyer. James A. Bishop, The Day Lincoln was Shot (New York: Harper, 1955), 115.

Writes Gen. Van Alen: "I thank you for the assurance you give me that I shall be supported by conservative men like yourself, in the efforts I may make to restore the Union, so as to make it, to use your language, a Union of hearts and hands as well as of States."

Visits cipher room of War Dept., tells Gen. Thomas T. Eckert of plans to attend theater, and invites him to come along. 7.

About 10 A.M. Gov. Swann (Md:) and Sen. Creswell (Md.) present memorandum concerning Maryland appointments.

At 11 A.M. cabinet meets.

Grant reports to cabinet on surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox, and Sec. Stanton presents draft of plan for reestablishing authority in Confederate States.

President tells several cabinet members about his recurring dream of ship "moving with great rapidity toward a dark and indefinite shore," that presages Union victories.

Cabinet meeting lasts from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. Informal discussion relative to what should be done about President Davis and other leaders of Confederacy.

Between 2 and 3 P.M. President lunches with Mrs. Lincoln in private parlor. Francis F. Browne,

Edward D. Neill, White House employee, sees President about signed commission.

Lincoln interviews Vice President Johnson at 3 P.M. Mrs. Nancy Bushrod, Negro woman, pushes by guards and sees President regarding husband's pay.

Cong. Samuel Shellabarger (Ohio) calls on President at approximately 4 P.M. to discuss appointments. J

Asst. Sec. Dana reports to President at 4:30 P.M. that Jacob Thompson, Confederate agent in Canada, is now in U.S. making ready to sail for Europe. Should he be allowed to leave country? President is willing for him to leave.

Sec. Hugh McCulloch makes friendly call on President.

Around 5 P.M. Cong. Edward H. Rollins (N.H.) calls on President to get petition endorsed.

In late afternoon President and Mrs. Lincoln go for drive. They stop at Navy Yard to view three monitors, damaged in Fort Fisher, N.C., engagement. President talks of time when they can return to Illinois and live quietly.

Between 6 and 7 P.M. President and Mrs. Lincoln return from drive and find Gov. Richard J. Oglesby (Ill.) with other Illinois friends at White House. Reads four chapters of Petroleum V. Nasby's book [

After supper President interviews Cong. Colfax (Ind.) relative to special session of Congress and order of Gen. Weitzel. Former Cong. Cornelius Cole (Calif.) accompanies Colfax. .

At 8 P.M. former Cong. Ashmun (Mass.) sees President regarding cotton claim against government. President gives him appointment as follows: "Allow Mr. Ashmun &friend to come in at 9 A.M. to-morrow." [Ashmun considered this Lincoln's last autograph.]

President exchanges few words with former Cong. Arnold (Ill.) while getting in carriage to go to theater.

At approximately 8:30 P.M. President and Mrs. Lincoln, accompanied by Clara Harris and Maj. Henry R. Rathbone, enter Ford's Theatre for performance of "Our American Cousin" featuring Laura Keene.

[Exact time of assassination is not agreed upon. After extensive research Otto Eisenschiml wrote:] "It is therefore safe to say that Booth fired his shot at or close to 13 minutes past 10 P.M."

Shortly afterward President, completely insensible, is moved across street to house of William Petersen, 453 10th St. NW., and placed upon bed in small room at rear of hall on ground floor. Mrs. Lincoln stays near her husband. Robert Lincoln and John Hay come from White House. Dr. Stone tells Robert there is no hope. Family and others whose official or private relations to President give them right to be present begin their long night wait for death to overtake him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"That a man so gentle, so kind, so free from every particle of malice or unkindness, every act of whose life has been so marked by benevolence and good will, should become the victim of a cold-blooded assassination, shocked the public heart beyond expression."
--New York Times, April 16, 1865

"Everything which made Abraham Lincoln the loved and honored man he was, it is in the power of the humblest American boy to imitate."
--New York Times, April 19, 1865

"None of us knew then -- how could we have known? -- how deeply God's wisdom had touched and inspired that devout and patient soul. At the moment few people praised or trusted him."
--Julia Ward Howe in "Reminiscences 1819-1899"

"Never did a President enter upon office with less means at his command, outside his own strength of heart and steadiness of understanding, for inspiring confidence in the people, and so winning it for himself, than Mr. Lincoln."
--James Russell Lowell in the January 1864 North American Review

"... to those of us who came in contact with the man himself there was vouchsafed a revelation of personal power transcending any similiar experience which we might know."
--John Eaton in "Grant, Lincoln and the Freedmen"

After a moment's inspection, Mr. Lincoln left with you a sort of impression of vague and deep sadness. It is not too much to say that it was rare to converse with him a while without feeling something poignant."
-- Marquis de Chambrun in "Personal Recollections of Mr. Lincoln"


"Of all the men I ever met, he seemed to possess more of the elements of greatness, combined with goodness, than any other."
--William Sherman in "Memoirs of General William T. Sherman"

"He no longer stands for what is best in American life and genius, but for what is best in humanity. He belongs to the world, not alone to us."
--Noah Brooks in New York Times, Feb. 12, 1898


"At the only interview I had with him, he shook my hand paternally at parting, and said, 'Don't be troubled. I guess we shall get through.' We have got through it, at least the fighting, and still I cannot believe it."
--Letter from Curtis in "George William Curtis"

"I left for home with a strong conviction, which never left me, that he was the right man in the right place, and the longer he lived the stronger that conviction grew."
--S.J. Kirkwood in the January 1891 Iowa Historical Record

"If ever there was a diamond in the rough, or good fruit enclosed in shabby husk, it was Abraham Lincoln."
--Erasmus D. Keyes in "Fifty Years' Observations of Men and Events"

The Assassination of President Lincoln

On April 14, 1863, President and Mrs. Lincoln were attending a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Washington's Ford's Theater. As the Lincolns and their guests, Major Rathbone and his fiancee Clara Harris, watched the play John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot the president in the head.

I thought I would share some resources on the assassination to help you cover this important topic in our history.

The Library of Congress:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alrintr.html

The Ford's Theater National Historic Site
http://www.nps.gov/archive/foth/index2.htm

Photos related to the assassination:
http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/lincoln_assassination.htm

Read about the trail of the conspirators at:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/lincolnconspiracy.html

On of my favorite books on this is:
American Brutus by Michael Kaufman

Two Quick Links

I came across the following two links and thought I would share:

The Historic New York Times website now has copies of the newspapers from 1860-1865 online for your viewing pleasure. They also have a short video on the newspapers for you to watch.

The next one is from the HarpWeek website and has over 400 political cartoons on the Lincoln presidency. Check out the Abraham Lincoln Cartoons and let me know what you think.

A Thanksgiving Proclamation

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it is a holiday steeped in tradition. I wonder how many of you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who, on October 3, 1863, proclaimed “the last Thursday of November” as Thanksgiving Day. Another interesting bit of information is that a lady by the name of Sara J. Hale, the Editress of the “Ladys Book”, wrote a letter to President Lincoln on September 28, 1863 and asked him proclaim that day in November as a National Thanksgiving Day. I have included a copy of Lincoln's proclamation at the end of this post.

Of course, George Washington also recommended a day of public Thanksgiving in 1789.

In addition, I thought it would be interesting to show the following Alfred Waud sketch from the Library of Congress. This is a sketch of a Union camp on Thanksgiving in 1861. If you look closely you can see a soldier carrying a turkey and a dog waiting for him to drop a scrap. There are pots cooking over fires, and hungry men awaiting at a table on the right hand side. The TIFF version of the photo can be found HERE.



So, while you are watching the parade and eating your turkey, pause and say thanks to the soldiers not only of today but of the Civil War era, for without them, what we have to be thankful for might be vastly different.

A Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed,

Done at the city of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State

References:
The history place - Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from The History Place Web site: http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm

The Gettysburg Address

“The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” This simple sentence was spoken on November 19, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln when he gave the now famous Gettysburg Address and it reminds us of how important it is that we take every opportunity to teach our students about the American Civil War. So, as we approach the 143^rd anniversary marking the day of this famous speech, let’s see how we can use technology to learn more about these famous words. There are five known copies of the Gettysburg Address. There is the Nicolay and Hay versions currently held at the Library of Congress, the Edward Everett copy located at the Illinois State Historical Library, the Bancroft version is housed at Cornell University and finally the Bliss copy is on display in the Lincoln Room of the White House (Library of Congress, 2005).

Lincoln was invited to provide “a few appropriate remarks” at the dedication of the new Soldier’s National Cemetery by Gettysburg attorney David Wills (Wills, 1992). In all, some 3,500 Union soldiers would be transferred from shallow graves on the battlefield to this new cemetery by Samuel Weaver (Heiser, 2001). You can read Mr. Wills invitation to President Lincoln on the Library of Congress website.

But President Lincoln was not the featured speaker of the ceremony. That honor belonged to Edward Everett one of the best known orators of the time. Mr. Everett spoke for over two hours and you can read his speech online thanks to the Douglas Archives of American Public Address.

The following photographs were taken during the dedication ceremony and perhaps during the actual time of Lincoln’s speech (Frassanito, 1975). The detailed of the photograph was researched by Josephine Cobb and shows the President among the many people on the platform (Frassanito, 1975).

You can listen to an eyewitness account of the speech by William V. Rathvon. Mr Rathvon was nine years old as he watched President Lincoln’s speech. This recording was found by Quest for Sound curator Jay Allison is is located at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1045619

And what would be any discussion about the Gettysburg Address without actually hearing those famous words. There are several MP3 files available of the Address being read by famous individuals, but my personal favorite is the one done by Jeff Daniels who played Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in the movies Gettysburg and Gods and Generals.

The Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863

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.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate;we can not consecrate;we can not hallow;this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to 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.

References:

Heiser, J (2001, May). Soldier's national cemetary at gettysburg. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from Gettysburg National Military Park Web http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gncem.htm

Frassanito, W. J. (1975). Gettysburg: A journey in time. New York: Macmillan.

Library of Congress, (2005). The Gettysburg Address. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from Library of Congress Web site: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/Wills, G (1992). Lincoln at gettysburg: The words that remade america. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Photo Credits:

Lincoln’s Speech, “The Gettysburg Address.” The Library of Congress. November 13, 2006 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gaphot.html>