READING 1 Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address

LINCOLN and the GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 6.1

From the time of the first English colonies1 in America, Africans were brought to America as slaves. Most of them worked on farms that produced sugar, cotton, and other crops2. Farmers in the South couldn’t have been as prosperous without slaves. But many Northerners were against slavery. One of those was Abraham Lincoln, the president who finally brought an end to slavery in the United States.

Today, many people consider Abraham Lincoln to be one of the greatest presidents of the United States. But before he became president, many had doubts about his abilities. Lincoln’s parents were poor and uneducated, and Lincoln had only 18 months of formal schooling. But he loved to read, and he educated himself.

Much to his opponents’ surprise, Lincoln won the presidential election in 1860. At that time, southern slave owners wanted to continue slavery, but Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery. What followed was the worst internal crisis in American history: the Civil War. Over half a million soldiers died in the conflict, the most of any war that the United States fought in.

On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln was invited to say a few words at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where a terrible battle had taken place. There were about 20,000 people there. Edward Everett, the main speaker, spoke first. His speech lasted two hours. Lincoln followed Everett with a two-minute speech. His speech was short, but those two minutes might have had more significance to U.S. history than any other two minutes. When he finished, everyone was silent. The audience may have been surprised that the speech was over. They must have thought that he hadn’t yet finished. Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Lincoln turned to Everett and said he was afraid his speech had been a failure and that he should have prepared it more carefully. Everett disagreed. He said the speech was perfect. He said the president had said more in two minutes than he, Everett, had said in two hours. This speech, known as the Gettysburg Address, is one of the greatest speeches in American history. Lincoln said that the country was dedicated to freedom and that “government of the people, by the people, for the people” had to continue.

The Civil War continued until April 9, 1865, when the North finally won, and slavery was brought to an end.

1 colony: a group of people who have moved to another area of land, but are still governed by their home country 2 crop: plant grown as food, especially grains, vegetables, or fruit

Tourists visiting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC