The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows

Book Description

The words Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg comprise perhaps the most famous speech in history. It has been quoted by popes, presidents, prime ministers, and revolutionaries around the world. From "Four score and seven years ago..." to "government of the people, by the people, for the people," Lincoln's words echo in the American conscience. Many books have been written about the Gettysburg Address and yet, as Lincoln scholar Gabor Boritt shows, there is much that we don't know about the speech. In The Gettysburg Gospel he reconstructs what really happened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863. Boritt tears away a century of myths, lies, and legends to give us a clear understanding of the greatest American's greatest speech.

In the aftermath of the bloodiest battle ever fought in North America, the little town of Gettysburg was engulfed in the worst man-made disaster in U.S. history: close to 21,000 wounded; very few doctors; heroic women coping in houses, barns, and churches turned into hospitals; dead horses and mules rotting in farmyards and fields; and at least 7,000 dead soldiers who had to be dug up, identified, and reburied. This was where Lincoln had to come to explain why the horror of war must continue.

Planning America's first national cemetery revitalized the traumatized people of Gettysburg, but the dedication ceremonies overwhelmed the town. Lincoln was not certain until the last moment whether he could come. But he knew the significance of the occasion and wrote his remarks with care -- the first speech since his inauguration that he prepared before delivering it. A careful analysis of the Address and the public reaction to it form the center of this book. Boritt shows how Lincoln responded to the politics of the time and also clarifies which text he spoke from and how and when he wrote the various versions. Few people initially recognized the importance of the speech; it was frequently and, at times, hilariously misreported. But over the years the speech would grow into American scripture. It would acquire new and broader meanings. It would be better understood, but also misunderstood and misinterpreted to suit beliefs very different from Lincoln's.

The Gettysburg Gospel is based on years of scholarship as well as a deep understanding of Lincoln and of Gettysburg itself. It draws on vital documents essential to appreciating Lincoln's great speech and its evolution into American gospel. This is an indispensable book for anyone interested in the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, or American history.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, But It Felt Slanted.......2007-09-14

I found this an interesting, but possibly flawed book.

The history and detail was fascinating, as was the examination (and inclusion!) of Everett's speech, of which I'd heard, but had never read. The description of Gettysburg immediately after the battle, and in the days surrounding the dedication ceremony was truly a window into another era.

However, as the book continued, and the instances of "Good, God fearing Republicans, struggling to save the country" and "Bad, pro-slavery/appeasement-minded Democrats not caring about the Union" mounted, I felt I was reading a political text that was slanted to support the current national situation, and not a dispassionate historical examination of the events of a century and a half gone. Other reviewers have mentioned this occurance as an interetsing coincidence. Even though I'm a Republican, I was jarred by the tone.

As a result, my enjoyment of the book was lessened, as was my trust of the text and the author's use selected references.

An interesting book, but too interpretive for my tastes. Read it, but have a pinch of salt ready.

Strange title for a good read.......2007-07-11

It truly is amazing that so many words and books can be written about a speech that is but 272 words long. Gabor Boritt's book is an enjoyable and easy read on Lincoln's most famous speech.
Much of the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the terrible Gettysburg battle with the author painting a vivid picture of the terrible scene which must have greeted the eye on July 4th.
It is interesting that the famous address did not get immediate general approval. Boritt shows that the speech was almost forgotten until the 1880's.
As with most Lincoln supporters, the author attempts to show that the speech was not written on the train to Gettysburg and that Lincoln gave the speech considerable thought. The truth is no one knows, but a good argument can be made for the proposition that Lincoln must have given it little thought prior to the event. Who in their right mind is going to travel from Washington to Gettysburg and DECIDE to present an address of only 272 words. The words came from the heart and from years of experience and empathy. Just as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was somewhat spontaneous (although a very similar speech was presented at Cobo Hall, Detroit some weeks previously), there is strong circumstantial evidence that Lincoln put this speech together at short notice.
I have no idea why the book is sub-titled "The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows," but Boritt does provide a number of slightly different versions of the speech in the appendix. Most of the differences are minor to put it mildly. The author's description of how the speech initially got little response but grew to be appreciated over time to be a work of genius is well developed.
Paradoxically, the most enjoyable section of the book is the full text of Edward Everett's speech which I read fully for the first time. You can appreciate why Everett was seen as a great orator because of his ability to paint pictures with words although his two hour address can hardly be described as uplifting. Almost all of the speech was taken up with a chronological history of the events at Gettysburg (spoken from memory) and the aging orator failed to properly commend and eulogize the thousands who had given their life on the adjacent battlefield.
The book has copious appendices, bibliography, notes which provide a rich resource for serious students of Lincoln and Gettysburg. Overall, an enjoyable not too studious read on the topic.

Lincoln and the Gettysburg Gospel is a Gem of Exegetical Clarification of the greatest political speech in world history........2007-05-31

The Gettysburg Address was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863. The battle had been fought in July but now a National Cemetery was to dedicated honoring the Union dead who had died that the United States might live.
What a day it was ! A beautiful autumn crisp with the promise of a warm sky sailing serenly over the sight of the bloodiest batlle in American history. A day when the renowned orator Edward Everett spoke for over two hours drawing analogies between Gettysburg and those men who died to preserve Athenian democracy. Everett gave a detailed account of the battle emphasizing the legitimacy of the Union effort. He also spoke with insight on the superiority of the federal government to which the individual states pledged their loyalty.
And then...after the bands and the songs, the prayers and the cheers were silent the sixteenth President of the United States rose to speak. He had a mild form of smallpox; had lost his son Willie to death in the White House and had a son Tad who was ill back home in Washington DC.
Lincoln spoke his 272 words concluding with his immortal words, "''that the goverment of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln drew on a lifetime of study to produce this masterpiece. The Declaration of Independence; the oratory of Webster and Clay, Shakespeare and the Bible all played a role in his crafting of the speech. If the Emancipation Proclamation was prose genius then the Gettysburg Address is poetry sublime in its assertion of indivdual freedom and the right of human beings to breathe free air.
The speech was neglected, for the most part, by contemporary press accounts. Only in the 1880s when the movement to reconcile NOrth and South picked up steam did it take on an importance in the American heart that has never been usurped, The GA inspired black fighters for Civil Rights as the twentieth century led to a cry for racial equality in our nation. Men like Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela in South Africa were inspired by Lincoln's words.
Boritt's book is divided into several sections. The first two hundred pages deal with the account of the night and the day Lincoln spent in Gettysburg in 1863. We learn of the horrific battlefield casualties and see closeup the preparations made and the carrying out of the ceremony on November 19th. Other sections deal with the five authentic copies of the Gettysburg Address; the complete text of Edward Everett's two hour oration that day; an extensive bibliography and notes. Professor Boritt also shows us pictures of the drafts as written in longhand by Lincoln.
The book is also a fascinating look into how the Gettysburg Address achieved mythic fame since it was first uttered on that November day. In a moving final chapter we read the address in the context of a 9-11 obervance of the attack on the World Trade Center.
As long as our United States lives we all pray that the Gettysburg Address will be there to inspire us to work for equality and justice for all of our citizens regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
Boritt is one of the best scholars on the life of Lincoln and the Civil War era. Anyone who teaches the Civil War in the classroom should make use of this outstanding work of scholarship and love.

More Focus Please!.......2007-04-15

Boritt's 'Gettysburg Gospel' is one of the very few Civil War books that I could not get into. Stylistically, this book is way too haphazard and unorganized to be considered one of the best books in the Lincoln cannon. Boritt falls into the trap that Garry Wills fell into in his "Lincoln at Gettysburg." The two authors try to be over-elegant and verbose because their book itself is about one of the greatest triumphs of the English language rather then a singular event. Boritt (and Wills for that matter) would be better to just write in a plain, inelegant fashion without the grossly excessive verbiage which permeates this book. Wills, in all fairness, can get away with it, but the more academic Boritt has a difficult time indeed. For example, Boritt writes early on in describing the dead on the battlefield: "Others even pulled bodies from shallow graves. A weapon is worth a great deal. Who cares who the dead man was? Who was it? Dead." This kind of useless prose brings the momentum of this book down time and time again.

For Civil War enthusiasts themselves, many already knew that Everett went on for a very long time before Lincoln delivered his address. One of the things that surprised me was the lack of analysis of the address itself. That disappointed me because the book was subtitled as: `The Lincoln Speech Nobody Knows." In order to get a fresh analysis that Wills does not offer in his book, the reader will have to turn to the appendix to get the several versions of the address. Overall, more focus and less sentimentality would have made for a leaner, more coherent account of the making of the address and it's meaning through the last 140 years.

Read Wills Instead.......2007-04-08

The main text of this book is a loose, often disjointed accumulation of facts surrounding the dedication of the cemetery. That portion of the book is mostly filler since only a small portion deals with the Address. If that were the whole book, I would give it 2 stars. However, the Appendices, including Everett's full address, all versions of Lincoln's Address, and the scientific evaluations of the relative accuracies of the versions, are very enlightening. Read Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg for a much more insightful book on the speech itself. Skip the text in this one and go directly to the Appendices.

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America

Average customer rating:

Paper I did for Grad class
Profound. Insightful. Relevant. Powerful.
Old Abe Lincoln gave a talk...
The Unabridged Audio Version - A bit long but still good
Abraham Lincoln's Memorable Speech

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America
Garry Wills
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows

ASIN: 0671867423

Amazon.com

A former professor of Greek at Yale University, Wills painstakingly deconstructs Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and discovers heavy influence from the early Greeks (Pericles) and the 19th century Transcendentalists (Edward Everett). The author also probes Lincoln's decision to rely more on the Declaration of Independence than the U.S. Constitution, a decision Wills says represented a "revolution in thought." He speaks effusively of the 272-word address: "All modern political prose descends from [it]. The Address does what all great art accomplishes. [I]t tease[s] us out of thought." Wills' book won the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.

Book Description

The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead, he gave the whole nation "a new birth of freedom" in the space of a mere 272 words. His entire life and previous training, and his deep political experience went into this, his revolutionary masterpiece.

By examining both the address and Lincoln in their historical moment and cultural frame, Wills breathes new life into words we thought we knew, and reveals much about a president so mythologized but often misunderstood. Wills shows how Lincoln came to change the world and to effect an intellectual revolution, how his words had to and did complete the work of the guns, and how Lincoln wove a spell that has not yet been broken.

Customer Reviews:

Paper I did for Grad class.......2007-09-13

In his book, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Garry Wills sets about debunking the myths, legends, and rumors concerning Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." Wills seeks to show that because of the Gettysburg Address " . . . the Civil War is what Lincoln wanted it to mean." (pg. 38) Wills helps the reader understand what events, speeches, and speakers had impacted Lincoln in the past, which ultimately influenced Lincoln's selection of words for the speech itself. Wills notes that the speech had influences from such diverse sources as Daniel Webster, Thomas Jefferson, as well as Greek figures such as Pericles. The book also describes the rural cemetery movement that was beginning to rise at the time of the speech, which was influential in the design of the Gettysburg Cemetery. The book also answers many of the critics of Lincoln, who argue the speech and the Emancipation Proclamation were weak, and illustrate Lincoln's propensity of clever evasions and key silences concerning key issues. Willis also notes how the style of the address was the forerunner of a new way of communicating, a way fit for the machine age.
One of the first topics Wills addresses is the myth that the man who spoke before Lincoln, Edward Everett, impositioned the audience with a two-hour long speech that bored the listeners. Wills notes long speeches were common, and expected for the day. He gives reference to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, which illustrate that Lincoln himself was capable and comfortable speaking at length before groups of people. Willis also emphasizes that Everett was the invited speaker for the dedication, and Lincoln had been asked simply to give some remarks. Wills also demystifies the story that Lincoln wrote the address on a napkin, or while sitting on the stand during Everett's speech. Wills notes Lincoln composed he speeches thoughtfully, to simply jot one down quickly would be out of character. (pg. 28)
Wills notes the Greek revival that was occurring in America at this time, and the influence it had on Everett and Lincoln. Everett had been a leading proponent of the Greek Style, influencing many through his speeches, as well as the time he spent teaching at Harvard. Wills notes Everett had inspired many of the Transcendentalists, including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson stated that the Gettysburg Address would not " . . . easily be surpassed by words on nay recorded occasion." (pg. 47) Wills notes that Everett could be given credit, as much as anyone else, in creating the conditions for Lincoln's address, and his classicism was as much a forerunner to Lincoln as his foil. (pg. 47)
Understanding exactly what Lincoln meant in the speech is one of Wills' primary goals. To help the reader understand, Wills dissects many of the passages from the address, and then gives the reader insight into Lincoln's personality. One of the key phrases of the speech concerns the fathers of the country. Wills notes that Lincoln never seems to have been interested in George Washington. To Lincoln, the founding fathers were those who were the authors of the Declaration of Independence, particularly Thomas Jefferson, whom Lincoln considered the most distinguished politician in America's history.
Wills shows how Lincoln used the Gettysburg Address to refresh the memories of Americans the ideals the founding fathers placed in the Declaration of Independence, and the self-evident truth that `all men are created equal.' Wills notes how Lincoln's earlier speeches illustrate his ideas on slavery, which was the complete opposite of equality. Lincoln also used the Declaration to stress that the nation was founded in unity, and should stay unified. Wills states, "For him, the fathers are always the begetters of the national idea. The founders of the nation founded it on that." (pg. 86) Wills also notes how Lincoln and Daniel Webster felt the Declaration of Independence was closer to being the founding document of the United States than was the Constitution. (pg. 130) The ideals stated in the Declaration were more pure than the Constitution, which was based on compromises. Wills adds excerpts from Lincoln's speeches, which illustrate how the Constitution was to make a more `perfect union,' but not define the union itself.
To most Americans, the consensus opinion of the Gettysburg Address is to place it among the greatest speeches ever given, if not the greatest. Wills shows how Lincoln derived much of the address from his accumulated experiences. Some historians, particularly Richard Hofstadter, see the address as another instance where Lincoln avoided the issues and sought to placate the nation with weak rhetoric. Hofstadter does not criticize the address in the book, however it is noted that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation issued earlier that year was completely neglected in the address. Hofstadter says the Emancipation Proclamation " . . . had all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading. It contained no indictment of slavery, but simply based emancipation on `military necessity'. " (pg. 137)
Hofstadter further accuses Lincoln of being of two minds, which changed depending on the demographic of his audience. Hofstadter illustrates this by contrasting Lincoln's speeches he gave in Southern Illinois, versus speeches he gave in Northern Illinois. Hofstadter said Lincoln possibly believed whatever he uttered at the time he delivered it. He states, " Possibly his mind too was a house divided against itself." (pg. 92) Wills contends Hofstadter is pursuing false issues regarding Lincoln's speeches. Wills argues that it was not a matter of his position on the issues, but rather Lincoln chose when to "tickle the racism of his audience" (pg. 93)
One of the more interesting issues Wills concentrates on is the style of the address itself. Lincoln was noted to prefer succinctness and brevity to long overdrawn prose. Wills illustrates this in Lincoln's dispatches with General Grant. Grant was known for his dispatches that related the facts in the fewest words possible. Lincoln learned to be brief as well because of his telegraphs to Grant and other generals. Lincoln developed a reluctance to waste words and omitting coupling words. Lincoln also arranged the address so key words were repeated, so that each paragraph was bound to the preceding and following paragraphs. Wills states, "He was a Transcendentalist without the fuzziness. He spoke a modern language because he was dealing with a scientific age for which abstract words are appropriate." (pg. 174) Wills believes Lincoln was not addressing an agrarian future, but a mechanical future, in which economical speech that meshed like the gears of a machine was needed.
Willis tackles a subject that many Americans learned at an early age, but likely never thought about the deep meanings behind the short speech. Wills includes criticism of recent leaders and politicians such as Ronald Reagan, Robert Bork, and Ed Meese. Whatever his opinions regarding these men and their ideas, it seemed out of place with the rest of the book, and unfortunately dates what could be a timeless analysis of the Gettysburg Address. Despite the minor flaws, the book offers great insight and reflection upon an event in history that to many has lost its significance.

Profound. Insightful. Relevant. Powerful........2007-02-27

Garry Wills writes, "Hemingway claimed that modern American novels are the offspring of Huckleberry Finn. It is no exaggeration to say that all modern political prose descends from the Gettysburg Address."

Indeed, Edward Everett was given top billing that day and was to deliver a customary address of two or three hours. Lincoln's remarks were solicited almost as an afterthought. But Everett's day was over, a new era had begun, and America would never be the same. Political discourse would never be the same.

At Gettysburg, "Lincoln does not argue history or politics, he makes history...He came to change the world." As time has judged these words and valued this work, he did. He called up a new nation, reborn, and rededicated.

Wills takes a long, deep drink of the draft of this address. He circumspectly explores the culture, the politics, the popular culture, the context of the times. "Lincoln at Gettysburg" is a circumspect work in the hands of a masterful author, worthy of reading and re-reading. An important edition for every library.

Old Abe Lincoln gave a talk..........2006-09-21

in 1863, using fewer than 300 words. Garry Wills uses a lot more to explain to us why that brief speech has become immortal. The speech confirms that Lincoln was perhaps uniquely gifted to be a President, in spite of an inadequate formal education, an often unhappy personal life, and a public persona which sometimes repelled the rich and pompous. For anyone interested in the Civil War era, this is a must-read.

The Unabridged Audio Version - A bit long but still good.......2006-06-28

I listened to the audio cassette version read by the author. It is about six hour long. Normally I love audiobooks, but with this one I felt the paper version might be preferable because I could skim the overly-detailed parts and slow down on the sections that I really wanted to digest. I plan to get a paper version of this book because there are parts on Lincoln's choice of words and design of sentences that I want to reread.

Wills gave more detail than I personally wanted on the influence of Ancient Greece on 19th century America - an interesting topic but he went on and on about it. There was also slightly more than I needed to hear on 19th century cemetery design, although this was also interesting at first.

Wills does a good job of showing how Lincoln reframed the views that Americans held of the nation's origins. He illustrates how history can be revised by a single person if that person is a genius like Lincoln who recognizes a great opportunity. If you have any doubts about Lincoln's skills as a writer and orator, this book should dispell them.

Abraham Lincoln's Memorable Speech.......2006-06-15

Garry Wills analyzes one of the most significant presidential addresses in American history. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG: THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA is an important study about Abraham Lincoln's commemorative and memoriam for those who lost their lives at the battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 during the US Civil War. It is also a historical and literary achievement that has been recited or referenced by US presidents after Lincoln as well as military and literary writers from General Eisenhower and Mark Twain, and students. Another important aspect of the Gettysburg Address is that it helped create a "symbol and people's political identity" (51).

Wills dissects the speech and shows parallels to classical, philosophical, and historical studies: Roman Republic and Greek Revivalism, and transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Gettysburg Address resonates the historic past that was revisited during the early nineteenth century, and in Lincoln's case, the heroicism of the Athens War and Peloponnesian War.

For many who remember the speech from studying US history at the primary and secondary level, this book is indeed, is a great supplement to reading and understanding the 272-word essay. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG is also recommended reading for the history buff that may want to know the story about America's most significant speeches that has had an effect on American society.

Average customer rating:

The great American speech

Illustrated Gettysburg Address, The
Sam Fink
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

The Constitution of the United States of America
Declaration Of Independence

ASIN: 0679430172
Release Date: 1994-10-25

Customer Reviews:

The great American speech .......2005-01-31

Lincoln at Gettysburg in the midst of the Great Civil War dividing the nation, and causing the loss of so many American lives redefines the goal of that nation, and promises it a new birth of freedom. In it he sets forth the ideal that will bind the nations wounds, and bring it together again in pursuit of that freedom and justice that is its founding goal. Lincoln at Gettysburg redefines America to itself , for the duration of that war and for the generations to come. He tells a people the essence of what it is in solemn deep and heartfelt tones that will reverberate not only in the hearts and minds of his own countrymen but throughout the world as a whole .
Lincoln at Gettysburg is the American soul in liberty being told to mankind who may be inspired too to at last come to the day when government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth.

Average customer rating:

WELL EXECUTED WORK - THIS ONE IS A KEEPER
The soul of America is in this speech
Stark woodcuts communicate nobility and tragedy.
What a CROCK!!
The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The words of President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address are as relevant and meaningful today as they were in 1863. This magnificent book is a stunning exploration of some of the most powerful words ever spoken in American history.

Customer Reviews:

WELL EXECUTED WORK - THIS ONE IS A KEEPER.......2006-11-21

I loved the art work in this particular work and felt it captured the essence of Lincoln's speach perfectly. I certainly am not going to do a critique on the speach itself, I really don't feel I have the right to do so. But I do feel the author/artist, through his black and white woodcut techinques added much to this famous work. It is certainly a book I am glad I added to my library. I have also found the kids at school seem to have a great appreciation for it also. Highly recommend this one.

The soul of America is in this speech .......2005-01-31

What does Lincoln do at Gettysburg? Why are his words as moving today as they were when he uttered them?
I think that what he did is that he defined for America and Americans what it is, and what it means to be to itself. He did this in the most dignified and moving language imaginable with its deep Biblical cadences and its underlying tone of grief and dedication. He invokes the 'brave men living and dead'the heroic sacrifice of the war in order to urge a new dedication of freedom a new and higher realization of that fundamental human value which is so closely connected with the whole American enterprise. He defines not simply for those there, for those on that field the living and the dead, but for all American generations a ' new birth of freedom, so that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth "

Stark woodcuts communicate nobility and tragedy........2001-12-10

I read this book aloud to my children. The text is simply the Gettysburg address, broken into phrases with an illustration for each thought. Two-thirds of the way through the book, I found myself weeping. The combination of Lincoln's eloquence and the illustrations touched me. I would recommend using this book to introduce students of any age to Lincoln's famous speech and the history associated with it.

What a CROCK!!.......2001-07-07

This book perpetuates the out and out LIES surrounding the Gettysburg address.

This quote says it all...

"The Gettysburg speech was at once the shortest and the most famous oration in American history... the highest emotion reduced to a few poetical phrases. Lincoln himself never even remotely approached it. It is genuinely stupendous. But let us not forget that it is poetry, not logic; beauty, not sense. Think of the argument in it.

Put it into the cold words of everyday.

The doctrine is simply this: that the Union soldiers who died at Gettysburg sacrificed their lives to the cause of self-determination -- that government of the people, by the people, for the people, should not perish from the earth.

It is difficult to imagine anything more untrue.

The Union soldiers in the battle actually fought *against* self-determination; it was the Confederates who fought for the right of their people to govern themselves."--

The Gettysburg Address.......2000-05-08

This is an incredible book. The Gettysburg Address was something I had to learn in school, but reading this book brings the speech to life.

Customer Reviews:

The story behind the greatest speech in American history.......2003-02-13

The Gettysburg Address is one of the two most famous speeches in American history, the other being Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech." But Lincoln's speech is the most important oration in our nation's history because before these 271 words were uttered at Gettysburg the United States did not really pay attention to the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and the idea that "all men are created equal." At the dedication of the National Cemetary at Gettysburg Lincoln declared that those who died did so in defense of that proposition. From that point on, all of the advances in civil rights in this country can be tied to the Gettysburg Address. When the nation was founded "men" meant free, adult, white, male, property owners. Consider today what is meant by "men" when we talk about equality in this country and you have an idea of what Lincoln set in motion. Without Lincoln's speech and the Union winning the Civil War, King would never have given his speech.

The only real shortcoming of "Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysbug Address" by Jean Fritz is that it fails to address the significance of the oration beyond the idea that it was a speech to remember. Fritz focuses on the story, both in general terms of the Civil War and the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg, and the specifics of the occasion for the speech, including the sickness of Lincoln's son Tad and the lengthy oration by Edward Everett. The complete text of the speech is provided at the back of the book, which is a Level 3 All Aboard Reading book aimed at grades 2-3. The illustrations are mostly watercolors by Charles Robinson although there are also some historic photographs of Lincoln and his son. The important thing is that here is a book that tells the story of a great American speech and at least introduces to young students the idea that words can make a difference in the history of a nation.

The true story of a great man and his famous speech.......2003-01-30

A Fun Book to Stimulate Interest in History.......2002-01-31

This is a fun book that should help your youngster develop an interest in American History. It is easy to read an has great illustratiions. You will not be disappointed with this purchase. Look for others by the same author.

This book of History solves any Mystery.......2001-01-30

This was a very good book. I think that it teaches you important history you needd to know.

A Great Way to Learn History.......2000-06-18

The book, Just a few Words Mr. Lincoln, is a vantastic way to teach your young children an important part of American History. This book teaches about the Gettysburg Address in a very appealing and simply way. It will motivate your child to dig deeper and want to learn more about Amercian history and our presidents.

A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War

Average customer rating:

Deep but boring
More Lincoln Fiction
Key work that clarifies the American purpose
Brilliant Book, Difficult Read
More Lincoln lies & myths

A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War
Harry Jaffa
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

A New Birth of Freedom is the culmination of over a half a century of study and reflection by one of America's foremost scholars of American politics, Harry V. Jaffa. This long-awaited sequel to Crisis of the House Divided, first published in 1959, continues Jaffa's piercing examination of the political thought of Abraham Lincoln and the themes of self-government, equality, and statesmanship. Whereas Crisis of the House Divided focused on the famous senate campaign debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, this volume expands and deepens Jaffa's analysis of American political thought, and gives special attention to Lincoln's refutation of the arguments of John C. Calhoun-the intellectual champion of the Confederacy.

Customer Reviews:

Deep but boring.......2006-12-22

I would love to say that A New Birth of Freedom is a delightful read, but I cannot. It is too boring to permit that conclusion. Jaffa seems to improvise from random, grandiose thoughts as they pop into his head, thoughts worth finding but ones you have to dig laboriously with a large spade to find. After a while, you just wear out. I admit that I could not divine enough concentration to finish reading this book. Do NOT, however, believe any statements you read in other reviews here about Jaffa's work being fiction. I suspect that critic (and there may be more to come) is a follower of Thomas J. DiLorenzo, a man who hates all things Lincolnian. Unfortunately, DiLorenzo writes with attention-capturing clarity that makes his pseudo-logical books highly accessible to the general public. I say "unfortunate" because, to paraphrase something Lincoln never said, DiLorenzo has used his writing skill to fool some of the people all of the time. Harry Jaffa does not try to fool anyone, but his writing will not fascinate them either. Having read the transcript of his debate with Thomas DiLorenzo, I know that Jaffa is capable of creating cogent, fascinating arguments, but he fails to do that in his writing or, by the time he does, your brain may be too exhausted to care.

More Lincoln Fiction.......2006-03-20

Harry Jaffas latest book on Lincoln is a work of fiction, confusion and silliness. Jaffa's cause is to defend Lincolns thought and actions in prosecuting his war on the South. This is a formidable task since the self-taught Lincoln would have flunked an elementary civics exam of his own day. The notions of state sovereignty, federalism, delegated powers, usurpation of powers etc. escaped him.
Lincoln justified his war on the South by advocating a preposterous fiction. The fiction was that a "union" was forged on July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress which created a new nation by declaring independence for the former British colonies. He claimed this "union" won independece for the former colonies, gave them the legal status they enjoyed and created them as states. He denied, therefore, that the states were ever sovereign (or really states at all!)or that they had any independence or liberty outside the union. He did this so he could equate secession with treason and wage war on his fellow Americans. His thinking was deeply flawed and would have been rejected by the Founding Fathers as well as his unjustified war.
The Declaration of Independence contradicts Lincoln and Jaffa. The members of the Continental Congress were representatives of the several colonies which decided individually to seek independence from Britain. Several states had already declared independence before July 4th and govern themselves. South Carolina March on 15, Rhode Island on May 4, Delaware on June 15, Virginia on June 29, New Jersey on July 2. The delegates at the Continental Congress had no authority from the people of their states to form a national government, and, as delegates, they could not tell their respective colonies or states what to do. The Declaration speaks of no new nation or national government. It speaks of thirteen independent states. The fact that these states "united" to fight the British does not diminish their status as independent states since weaker states often band together to fight the stronger nations. That these states were independent sovereigns is attested to in the 2nd Article of the Aticles of Confederation (which formed the United States of America as a CONFEDERACY!). It reads: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence..." The mythical "union" of Lincolns imagination which was over and above the states was unknown to the Founding Fathers since none of them recognized a higher political authority than that of a state. This is proved by the fact that only those states which ratified the constitution would belong to the union ( nine states being needed to bring into being the new union). So, the union was a creation of the states and at the service of the states, not as Lincoln's mendacious logic would have it. This is elementary American history and the attempt by Lincoln and Jaffa to obfuscate this fact reveals their ignorance or dishonesty. Jaffa tries to defend this obvious fiction by saying the individual state sovereignty refered to wasn't real since "none of the states had ever attempted individually to make war, conclude peace, or enter into alliances."(pg.256) This is false since the Articles of Confederation was just the sort of alliance the Declaration of Independence regarded as the right of any independent state. He tries again by saying that the states stood in the same relation to the federal government as counties to state government.(pg 205,256) This is silly since counties are subdivisions of a state not independent sovereigns. It was the states which created the federal gov't not the federal gov't creating states. He also makes the strange claim that Madison didn't say that the states which formed the Articles of Confederation were independent sovereigns (pg 190). Anyone who reads Federalist #39 and 40 will see this isn't true.
I don't believe Jaffa's book will be much help to those who want an accurate account of American history. Where he is not dishonest he is confused about his subject matter. He doesn't understand the correct notions of state sovereignty, federalism, or delegated powers. But who can be surprised about that..... neither did his mentor Lincoln!
When Jaffa ventures out on his own he makes up his own facts. Slavery is opposed to natural law! No, the great natural law philosophers don't think so. The Civil War was about the morality of slavery! No, it was about secession, and Lincoln said so. Lincoln believed in equality for blacks! No, he was a white supremicist who wanted the slaves freed so they could be shipped back to Africa. Secession is unconstitutional! No, the power to prevent secession was not delegated to the federal government, so the right to secede remained with the states. Lincoln was a great thinker in the same league as Socrates! No, he was a power hungry demagogue who didn't even understand American political thought. Lincoln ushered in a new birth of freedom! No,Lincoln destroyed the sovereignty of the states and enslaved their people to the decisions of federal officials. Thanks Abe!

Key work that clarifies the American purpose.......2004-08-06

"A New Birth of Freedom" is Professor Harry V. Jaffa's promised sequel to his "Crisis of the House Divided", written in 1958 to counter the prevailing but wrong headed notions of academics about the meaning of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

In "Crisis", Professor Jaffa sets forth the basis of the argument that in 1858 served to deny Senator Douglas the Presidency in 1860 by taking from him any moral standing by focusing the nation to confront the issue of slavery.

In "Birth", we see Abraham Lincoln's philosophy arrayed against that of Alexander Stephens, Jefferson Davis and ultimately, John C. Calhoun. We further see that Lincoln's belief that "All men are created equal" is the heir of Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, and Aristotle whereas Calhoun's theories rest uncertainly on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and are close cousins to Kant, Hegel, and Marx and the school of historical determinism and Darwinism.

Professor Jaffa carefully explains the undergirding theory of the American experiment: that "All men are created equal" is the premise of the American Revolution and not just an empty slogan. That this should be necessary is a sad commentary on the large numbers of political scientists who find more common ground with Karl Marx than with Thomas Jefferson.

While "Birth" has a degree of redundancy with "Crisis", this can easily be overlooked as one was written over 40 years after the other.

Brilliant Book, Difficult Read.......2004-07-30

A brilliant book on Lincoln's political thought. Not an easy read, though. Jaffa carefully parses Lincoln's words and deeds with an analytical philosopher's thoroughness. The style is rather dense and meaty and makes for tough going at times, but the intellectual rewards are worth the effort. Jaffa's diptych (Crisis of House Divided, New Birth of Freedom) is the strongest argument yet made for Lincoln as leader.

More Lincoln lies & myths.......2004-07-27

This book is one of the biggest liberal lies concerning Lincoln that I have ever read. It is a waste of time & money. If anyone reads this trash than they should get "The Real Lincoln" by Thomas Dilorenzo. His book will give you a more truthful description of Lincoln, and the reason we have big government violating the Constitution to this very day. The only freedom gained from the Lincoln administration is the freedom of Federal Government to walk all over the rights of the states, and the people.

Average customer rating:

The Gettysburg Address

Manufacturer: Welcome Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1599620383
Release Date: 2007-09-04

Book Description

Originally published by Random House in a black-and-white edition in 1994, Sam Fink is returning to The Gettysburg Address to bring out this full-color edition, complete with original illustrations and hand-lettering. Taking the address phrase by phrase, Sam Fink has highlighted through his artwork the essence of Lincoln's words and spirit on that day in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. Lincoln's address is also accompanied by additional quotes concerning rights and liberty, which are set on facing pages and illustrated with Sam Fink's incredible artistry.

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A Day That Changed America: Gettysburg
Shelley Tanaka
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Wars | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0786819227

Book Description

It was the bloodiest battle ever fought on North American soil. In three days, more than 50,000 Confederate and Union soldiers were killed in the hills and fields surrounding Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Several months later, on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to help dedicate the cemetery where row upon row of graves marked the men lost in battle. His moving speech, which took only two minutes to recite, would inspire the nation and stay in the hearts and minds of Americans forever.

Precious Nonsense: The Gettysburg Address, Ben Jonson's Epitaphs on His Children, and Twelfth Night

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A dazzling experiment in literary analysis

Precious Nonsense: The Gettysburg Address, Ben Jonson's Epitaphs on His Children, and Twelfth Night
Stephen Booth
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Why do we value literature so? Many would say for the experience it brings us. But what is it about that experience that makes us treasure certain writings above others? Stephen Booth suggests that the greatest appeal of our most valued works may be that they are, in one way or another, nonsensical. He uses three disparate texts--the Gettysburg Address, Ben Jonson's epitaphs on his children, and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night--to demonstrate how poetics triumphs over logic in the invigorating mental activity that enriches our experience of reading. Booth presents his case in a book that is crisply playful while at the same time thoroughly analytical. He demonstrates the lapses in logic and the irrational connections in examples of very different types of literature, showing how they come close to incoherence yet maintain for the reader a reliable order and purpose. Ultimately, Booth argues, literature gives us the capacity to cope effortlessly with, and even to transcend, the complicated and demanding mental experiences it generates for us.
This book is in part a witty critique of the trends--old and new--of literary criticism, written by an accomplished and gifted scholar. But it is also a testimony to the power of the process of reading itself. Precious Nonsense is certain to bring pleasure to anyone interested in language and its beguiling possibilities.

Customer Reviews:

A dazzling experiment in literary analysis.......1999-01-08

Honesty requires a disclaimer. Booth is a friend and colleague. But I would react similarly if I didn't know the author. If there were six stars, I would award them to Precious Nonsense. Booth takes familiar texts that seem all too clear and obvious and makes us see a multitude of things going on beneath their surfaces. His discoveries are startling and sometimes you want to argue with him, but because he puts his cards on the table he makes argument possible. What he shows demonstrates the difference between great prose and verse and ordinary writing, and reveals the similarity between the operation of literary art and that of music. Booth is phenomenally sensitive and deeply learned, and he has a terrific memory. A bonus is his style: he , in making us see how much goes on in such art that we are never is clear, convesatonal, and often funny, This is a revolutionary book.

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The Long Road to Gettysburg
Jim Murphy
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0618051570

Book Description

A description of the Battle of Gettysburg as seen through the eyes of nineteen-year-old Confederate lieutenant John Dooley and seventeen-year-old Union soldier Thomas Galway.

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