The Gettysburg Address Gettysburg Address:
Speech given by Abraham Lincoln after the Battle of Gettysburg Dedicated the Gettysburg
battlefield as a cemetery for those killed
One of the most quoted speeches of all time
271 words that saved Lincoln from losing the 1864 presidential election
The Gettysburg Address "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation:
conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that 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. "
Sherman’s March to the Sea General William T. Sherman led his army
through Tennessee and into Georgia before burning the city of Atlanta and continuing to the Atlantic Ocean Total War: Anyone and everyone (including
civilians) is a target Tore up railroads Destroyed crops Burned and looted towns 19,000 slaves fled their plantations and followed
Sherman’s army
Presidential Election of 1864 With victory in sight,
Lincoln won reelection Ran as the “National
Union Party” instead of Republican Party with the hope of uniting the North
Vice President: Andrew Johnson (a Democrat)
Ran against George B. McClellan
Yes, the General George McClellan
Grant goes after Richmond, Virginia Richmond, Virginia
Final piece of the Anaconda Plan
“Whatever happens, we will not retreat”
The Union captures Richmond
Surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia April 9, 1865 General Grant and
General Lee meet The South surrenders
and is given much needed food and safe passage home
Amnesty: Southerners are forgiven/pardoned for their rebellion against the U.S.
Losses North
360,000 killed 275,000 wounded
South 260,000 killed 100,000 wounded 40% of livestock was
killed 50% of farm machinery
destroyed Prior to the war, the
South accounted for 30% of the nation’s wealth, but now only 12%
Lincoln’s Plans for Reconstruction “With malice toward none; with charity for
all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish, a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.”
The 13th and 14th Amendments The Thirteenth Amendment: Slavery is
forever banned in the United States of America.
The Fourteenth Amendment: All people born or naturalized in the United States are considered American citizens and cannot have their life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness taken from them. By law, African Americans are considered
equal.
Five Days After the Surrender Abraham Lincoln attended “My American
Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre During the play, Mrs. Lincoln whispered, “What
will Miss Harris think of my hanging onto you so?” and Lincoln answered, “She won’t think anything about it.”
Those were Lincoln’s last words Confederate sympathizer (Copperhead) John
Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head
Plot to kill Secretary of State William Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson failed
About nine hours later, Abraham Lincoln passed away