Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: Leading on the Right Side of History

History: On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln commemorated those who died at the Battle of Gettysburg and emphasized their significant role in the struggle to build an American nation "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Lincoln professed that those who rest now in the National Gettysburg Cemetery, gave their lives in order that our "nation might live" to see the day past its present misgivings and that we must never forget "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."

More to Explore: While visiting Gettysburg National Military Park, start your tour at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, where the park offers a bookstore and an extensive museum about Gettysburg and the Civil War. Inside, the fully restored Gettysburg Cyclorama dramatically depicts "Pickett’s Charge," and the film “A New Birth of Freedom,” narrated by award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, focuses on the significance of Gettysburg.

While at the museum, partake in the refreshment saloon that offers snacks, sandwiches and drinks in a Civil War atmosphere. Then head out to see the battlefield on a ranger-led program, with the Licensed Battlefield Guide service, or on your own with the self-guided audio tour. Also offered are battlefield tours on horseback by private vendors. The town of Gettysburg is replete with gift shops, museums and ghost tours of a Civil War theme.

Photo Credits:

1. "Print showing President Abraham Lincoln on stage giving his Gettysburg Address at the Soldiers National Cemetery."
2. "Photograph of the crowd attending Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863." Prints courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.