Primary Source #3: The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most important speeches in the history of the United States.  In it, Abraham Lincoln demonstrates his skill of making the war make sense to the American people, and he offers a justification of the profound sacrifices the War entailed.  And in doing so, Lincoln also offers us today thoughts on what principles the United States of America is founded.

For this assignment, you have three jobs to do, and two separate paragraphs to write (your assignment is not one essay, but two separate paragraphs):

• First, read the text of the Gettysburg Address, then watch the short video.  The file you will read below includes a short introduction.  The actual speech is at the bottom in bold print.  The video includes a reading of the same speech.
• Next, write one paragraph in which you rephrase the entire speech in your own words.  By doing this, you will be re-writing Lincoln’s speech in language that you would use.  You can have fun with this, but be sure each point Lincoln is trying to make is also in your version of the speech.  You do not need to write an introduction or conclusion, just re-write the speech in your own words (you can title it “The Gettysburg Address in My Own Words”).
• In the second (and completely separate) paragraph, discuss how this speech is in the tradition of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and even the preamble of the US Constitution discussed in the previous primary source assignments.  This time you will quote Lincoln’s words from speech to support your observations.

For this assignment, use the same format as previous assignments (arial font 11, double-spaced).  There is no length requirement for your version of the speech.  Some of your sentences will no doubt be shorter than Lincoln’s, some longer.  Write however much you need to create your personalized version of the Gettysburg Address.   The second, separate paragraph, should be between half a page and one full page.

This assignment contains a Microsoft Word document.

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