There were too many bodies. There were stacked coffins waiting to be filled on the day that President Lincoln delivered his presidential remarks to dedicate the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg (Wills). The Battle of Gettysburg, spanning July 1-3, 1863, is considered the turning point in the American Civil War because it placed the Confederacy on the defensive. It had the greatest number of casualties from both sides at 46,000-51,000 men (GettysburgPA.gov). After two years of civil war and no satisfactory victory visible in the near future, the Union citizens and soldiers were beginning to drag their feet—even their most recent victory was bittersweet with high casualties and no resounding victory for the Union. The Union army was demoralized and disheartened, and they didn’t know if what they were fighting for was even worth it. On the global stage, the great American Experiment was crumbling, not even one century old. The Union decided to lick their wounds, establishing the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg and inviting orator Edward Everett and other distinguished guests to its opening ceremony on November 19, 1863 (Wills). President Lincoln’s Dedicatory Remarks, just under 272 words and two minutes long, had a timeless impact on how the United States of America would be formed (American Battlefield Trust). With his use of language in The Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln redefined the American ideal by eulogizing the dead and exhorting the living.
President Lincoln made his address to motivate his country during a crucial period in the American Experiment. Changing focus to freedom for Americans—not just White Americans or Black Americans—but Americans, citizens of the country that dared to promote liberty for all. In world context or even taking all of history into account, President Lincoln intended for The Gettysburg Address to inspire said Americans. The Civil War and the bloody Battle of Gettysburg wasn’t pointless, it was a catalyst to create something greater in continuation of the all-American ideals, including democracy. The closest approximation of President Lincoln’s iconic snippet “of the people, by the people, for the people” is a Democratic government (Lincoln, para 3). During the 18th and 19th century, a democracy was understood to be a structure of government modeled on the Enlightenment and Athenian society. Both of the above systems were focused on the landed and titled white male, however, which President Lincoln implies in his Gettysburg Address. In the phrase “of the people, by the people, for the people”, the first two sections address composition, or who the government will be made up of (Lincoln, para 3). Of course, the government needs a purpose, which is made visible the last section of The Gettysburg Address. President Lincoln is defining democracy here, as a citizen-focused institution, that is at risk. The question of the possibility of a nation “perish[ing] from the earth” is leading the audience of The Gettysburg Address to read between the lines (Lincoln, para 3; brackets added). Is President Lincoln referring to the nation—borders, square acres, citizens, government—or to the underlying ideals? Similarly, did President Lincoln fear a premature and unsatisfactory end to the American Civil War would disrupt the United States of America, or the American Experiment—the example of an Enlightened, functioning society? Lincoln’s fear stated in The Gettysburg Address regarding his country’s posterity was well-founded—a nation can “perish from the earth”. One needs only look at history to see entire civilizations perish from the earth, become obsolete and diffuse out of all memory. If the Civil War had ended with a schism between Union and Confederacy, the idea of the United States of America would have become just another petty uprising that turned on itself, destroying future advancements of republics and democracies for a solid amount of time. The nation might have survived—although if the States split, what would have stopped them from splitting again, and then again? President Lincoln attempted to instill a devotion to both the United States of America and the American Experiment with The Gettysburg Address.
President Lincoln conveys the idea of a higher purpose through two main methods, his use of religious language and dramatic shifts in tone. This piece goes through several tonal shifts: first it’s somber, then militant and righteous, then convinced and motivated, and lastly very hopeful. The solemnity in the first paragraph is conveyed through the somber vocabulary, such as “our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal (Lincoln, para 1; emphasis added). The second paragraph focuses on the military aspect of the occasion, using short sentences and phrasing like “We are met on a great battle-field of that war” (Lincoln, para 2). The third paragraph, the longest at 169 words, moves through the motivational appeal to lend a greater impact to the last, hopeful sentence. “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln, para 3; emphasis added). The mood swings follow those of the rhetoric, following the narrative of sad life, then death, then happy life, thereby appealing to the Christian and the American—which in the 17th century was practically synonymous. President Lincoln continues to use overtly religious language in reference to the portion of battlefield converted into the Soldier’s National Cemetery. A “resting place”, particularly a “final resting place” refers to a burial ground (Merriam-Webster). It’s used mainly in religious context, such as holy ground, or a Christian graveyard. A “final resting place” also carries connotation of death as a sleep to be awoken from, again with religious or Biblical overtones. President Lincoln’s use of the phrase “final resting place” is meant to evoke comfort and confidence. President Lincoln also uses religious vocabulary such as “dedicate”, “consecrate”, and “hallow” in reference to the portion of battlefield converted into the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg (Lincoln, para 3). Coming from Latin and Germanic origin, all three verbs are variations of the basic idea “to make holy”. “Consecrate” in particular has a Catholic Christian connotation; while meaning dedicated to a sacred, or holy, or Godly purpose, in the context of the Consecration during the Sacrifice of the Mass, the bread and wine transubstantiates, or changes substance, into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (CCC, 1376). Here, President Lincoln is drawing a direct comparison from a graveyard to the soldiers’ everlasting souls for his primarily Christian audience, or shall we say changing the substance of their sacrifice to direct his audience to a higher call. This is prominent in the phrase “…one nation, under God…” (Lincoln, para 3). With this statement, President Lincoln presses the need for union of North and South and shows the immediate need by referencing God. The souls of the soldiers won’t wait, and they won’t tolerate failure.
The point of employing such a religious tone is to both remember and reinvigorate. In these purposes, President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address had the same effect—was intended to have the same effect—as Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields, namely one of “passing-the-torch” from the dead to the living (McCrae). Although In Flanders Fields is World War I poetry and The Gettysburg Address is a presidential oration, both carry themes of remembrance and Cause with a capital “C”. Because so many dead have given their lives for such a noble cause, President Lincoln and LTC McCrae put forward, those left behind should carry forward with the task passed down, otherwise the dead will have no rest and the living have no right to the unconsecrated land. Argument-wise, President Lincoln uses a general if-then statement for his call-to-action. “[If] we take increased devotion to that cause…[then] these dead shall not have died in vain” (Lincoln, para 3; brackets added). If looking at the focal shifts, the obvious spike is at the beginning of the third paragraph, with the first two setting the scene for his proposition. President Lincoln starts with a basic statement about the United States’ purpose and how one could determine where the “in-court” and “out-of-court” issues are. “A new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, para 1). He moves to an issue to be judged: how do the deaths at Gettysburg fall under the liberty-conceived nation and its even playing field for all? Then President Lincoln simultaneously zooms in and takes a step back, declaring that the dead will not rest until their objective (see para 1) has been fulfilled (see para 2-3). By bringing it home to individual soldiers, President Lincoln compels his audience to see the big picture of why. Why did the soldiers die? For land? For meaningless laws that would soon be abolished anyway? President Lincoln insists they died for the liberty-conceived United States and for the equality of all. In other words, The Gettysburg Address uses soldiers’ deaths—and their eternal rest—as collateral in an “America Wants You!” speech. That exaggeration being said, the repetition of “death” and “dedication” as themes worked well to convey the need behind President Lincoln’s proposition.
To “give your life so that a nation may live” is an expression of patriotism—some label it extreme patriotism, or nationalism (Lincoln, para 2). In brief, it means to die for one’s country. In closer observation, however, the sentiment expressed in the phrase “give your life so that a nation may live” may not be founded on baseless sappiness. Belief in one’s ideals—in this case, one’s country’s ideals—is nothing to scoff at. Neither is the devotion and love in the form of protecting one’s fellow citizen, homeland, or loved ones. In his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln first addressed those gathered at the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. He also directed it towards the military and political leaders of the time. However, President Lincoln addressed the American people as a whole, as under the Declaration of Independence. President Lincoln calls on his audience—past, present, and future—to take up the cross, receive the torch, and pass the baton; Liberty is worth defending.
Analyst’s Note: The Gettysburg Address as referred to in the above essay are the Presidential Remarks delivered by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, not Edward Everett’s Gettysburg Address.
WORKS CITED
“Battle History.” GettysburgPA.gov, www.gettysburgpa.gov/history/slideshows/battle-history, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
Catholic Church. “The Seven Sacraments of the Church” Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Holy See, Version, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993, www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm. Accessed 3 Nov. 2020
Douds, Doug. “How Lincoln Changed the World in Two Minutes.” American Battlefield Trust, Prager University, 12 Feb. 2018, www.battlefields.org/learn/videos/how-lincoln-changed-world-two-minutes, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
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History.com Editors. “The Gettysburg Address.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 24 Aug. 2010, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/gettysburg-address, Accessed Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
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Maranzani, Barbara. “Seven Score and 10 Years Ago: The Gettysburg Address.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 25 Mar. 2013, www.history.com/news/seven-score-and-10-years-ago-the-gettysburg-address, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
McCrae, John. “In Flanders Fields.” In Flanders Fields and Other Poems, Poetry Foundation, 1919, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
“Resting Place.” Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resting%20place, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
Wenzl, Roy. “Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address Changed the American Psyche, KU Professor Says.” The Wichita Eagle, Publisher/Other Publisher, 18 Nov. 2013, www.kansas.com/news/article1127955.html, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
Wills, Gary. “The Words That Remade America.” The Civil War, The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/02/the-words-that-remade-america/308801/, Accessed 18 Nov. 2020
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