Contrary to Lincoln's own words "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here...," the Gettysburg Address still retains the power to influence our understanding of what equality means.

Robert E. Lee had moved his Confederate forces north in June 1863, in a bid to win a dramatic victory and reverse the South's declining fortunes.

On July 1-3, Lee's forces fought the Union army under the command of George C. Meade, and before the fighting ended, the two sides suffered more than 45,000 casualties. Lee, having lost more than a third of his men, retreated, and the Battle of Gettysburg is considered a turning point in the American Civil War.

Because of the high number of human dead, over 7,000, and the large number of animals needing to be buried, Pennsylvania purchased 17 acres to serve as a dignified burial place for the dead. David Wills, who organized the dedication of the cemetery, invited Edward Everett, a distinguished orator and successful politician to deliver the comments for the ceremony. The President of Harvard was asked to speak as well. President Lincoln, also invited, was to make a "few appropriate remarks" and his role in the event was considered secondary.

Everett spoke for over two hours, Lincoln for barely two minutes. In that time Lincoln's words transformed the meaning of the Constitution. For those who thought that equality was the embodiment of just the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln brought the concept of equality into the Constitution, "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

His comments received a variety of responses. In a letter to Lincoln the next day, Everett praised the President for his eloquently concise speech saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." The Chicago Sun Times considered it, "silly, flat and dishwatery utterances."

Of the five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Library of Congress has two. President Lincoln gave one of these to each of his two private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. The Nicolay copy is often called the "first draft" because it is believed to be the earliest copy that exists. The other three copies were made by Lincoln for charitable purposes well after November 19, 1863

The photo of Lincoln was taken by Alexander Gardner, November 8, 1863, just eleven days before Lincoln's historic address.

The Address was published by M.T. Sheahan, Boston, Mass. c1909

Frame : Brown with Gold Trim, Size 10 1/2 x 22 3/4

Price: $100.00

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Product #: FR0078