On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, just months after one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles. Speaking only 271 words after a two-hour oration by Edward Everett, Lincoln honored the tens of thousands who had fallen and called the nation to continue the “great task” of preserving a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” His brief but powerful message linked the sacrifices of Gettysburg to a “new birth of freedom” rooted in the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln’s words continue to remind us of our responsibility to defend liberty, cherish equality, and work together so that freedom endures in His Story today.

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