Analysis on the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln (Essay Sample)

Analysis on the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
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Analysis on the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
Many countries of the world got their independence through civil wars that were meant to liberate citizens from colonialism. For the case of the U.S., it led to the writing of speech by President Abraham Lincoln regarding how the civil war took place on the battle field of Gettysburg. However, this paper seeks to provide detailed analysis and explanation concerning the very public address that president Lincoln passed across in November, 1863.
To begin with, the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln occurred on 17th of November, 1863 in Pennsylvania. Indeed, the event was meant to commemorate on both the dead and living soldiers who had fought a battle for liberty (Bond & Smith, 2013). The speech specially composes of 272 words that were carefully chosen by the president in context. Besides, President Lincoln began the public address by mentioning the number of years that had passed since the fight. For example, he declared that his forefathers had brought liberty fourscore and seven years ago. To provide explanation on this, the phrase, fourscore means twenty times four. In this case, he substantially meant that it had elapsed eighty seven years since the deadly ordeal. Further, the president elaborated on how the forefathers had exclusively devoted themselves towards the fight for equality among human races (Bond & Smith, 2013). On the other hand, the speech sought to test whether the nation conceived, under the ultimate dedicated, could long enough endure future problems or not.
Moreover, President Lincoln preceded on to mention the importance of that great day and how they could ascribe a portion of the field as a final resting zone for the dead soldiers. To Lincoln, it was essentially significant that the fallen soldiers received a proper consecration and hallowing of the ground. By consecration and hallow, he meant that the nation needed to dedicate its trust towards the forefathers as a way of vowing and appreciating what it inherited from them. As a challenge to the citizens of the U.S., the president further remarked that forefathers had already made the battle field pure as compared to what the current generation could achieve. This is evidence in the statement, “…we cannot consecrate…this ground. The brave men, living and dead have consecrated it far above our poor power...” (Bond & Smith, 2013). Additionally, he stated that the entire world should remember actively what the forefathers did and rather forget about what he said. However, I view this as an irony since most nations would remember more about his speech than deeds and actions of the forefathers.
Furthermore, he encouraged the spirit of devotion as all American citizens fully dedicate their effort towards the advancement of what the ancestors had left them with. For instance, the public address records, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion… they here gave the last full measure of devotion” (Reagan, 2013). From the statement, President Lincoln meant that every citizen was required to devote additional effort in ensuring the purpose for which the soldiers had fallen is championed further. Appar...