For America's 250th anniversary, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Pennsylvania, four months after the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. The brief speech reflected on the Civil War and connected the nation's founding ideals with the struggle to preserve the Union.
The address is famous for its concise structure and its emphasis on equality, popular government, and national renewal. Lincoln was not the main speaker; Edward Everett delivered a much longer oration before Lincoln's remarks.
Five manuscript versions associated with Lincoln survive, and scholars commonly refer to the best-known as the Bliss copy. The speech is often confused with the Emancipation Proclamation, which Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, as a wartime measure against slavery in the rebelling states.