First Draft of
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Nicolay Copy," Gettysburg Address,
1863
Page 2
Holograph manuscript
Manuscript Division (2.5)
Gift of Hay family, 1916
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Seen here is the earliest known of the five drafts
of what may be the most famous American speech. Delivered by President
Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, at the dedication
of a memorial cemetery on November 19, 1863, it is now familiarly
known as "The Gettysburg Address." Drawing inspiration from his
favorite historical document, the Declaration of Independence,
Lincoln equated the catastrophic suffering caused by the Civil
War with the efforts of the American people to live up to the
proposition that "all men are created equal." This document is
presumed to be the only working, or pre-delivery, draft and is
commonly identified as the "Nicolay Copy" because it was once
owned by John George Nicolay, Lincoln's private secretary. The
first page of this copy is on White House (then Executive Mansion)
stationery, lending strong support to the theory that it was drafted
in Washington, D.C. But the second page is on what has been loosely
described as foolscap, suggesting that Lincoln was not fully satisfied
with the final paragraph of the Address and rewrote that passage
in Gettysburg on November 18 while staying at the home of Judge
David Wills.
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