What speech did Abraham Lincoln deliver at a Pennsylvania battlefield cemetery in 1863?

The Gettysburg Address was the speech Abraham Lincoln delivered at a Pennsylvania battlefield cemetery in 1863. He spoke on November 19 at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

Lincoln's remarks lasted only a few minutes and followed a much longer oration by Edward Everett. The address connected the Civil War to the founding principle of equality and called for a “new birth of freedom.”

The battle had taken place from July 1 to 3, 1863, producing about 51,000 estimated casualties. The cemetery dedication sought to honor Union dead, but Lincoln framed the occasion as a test of whether democratic government could endure.

Five manuscript versions survive, and scholars compare them when studying the exact wording. The famous phrase about government “of the people, by the people, for the people” appears near the conclusion.