Gettysburg Address

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The Gettysburg Address is a seminal speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War. It was given at the dedication of Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where the Battle of Gettysburg had taken place four months earlier. The speech honors the fallen soldiers and reaffirms the principles of equality and liberty upon which the United States was founded. Lincoln references the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing that the nation was "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." The speech is renowned for its powerful rhetorical devices, including anaphora and allusion, which underscore themes of sacrifice, democracy, and equality. Lincoln famously declared that the nation should have "a new birth of freedom" and that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Despite its brevity, the Gettysburg Address has become one of the most celebrated speeches in American history, transcending its original context to inspire generations with its message of unity and the pursuit of liberty.