OTD - Lincoln Promises "A New Birth of Freedom"

162 years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a masterpiece of American rhetoric in his Gettysburg Address, which served as a pivotal reinterpretation of the nation's founding principles, shifting the focus from a collection of states to a unified nation dedicated to equality.

From Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

Eight score and two years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln stepped onto a stage to speak at Gettysburg National Military Park . Two minutes later, he stepped down. The speech was so short that an onlooking photographer barely had time to set up his camera. He only captured a blurry image of Lincoln resuming his seat.

Though Lincoln didn’t realize it, those two minutes contained the most famous 272 words of his life. Lincoln’s speech was short enough that newspapers around the country were able to print it in full. It eloquently summed up the importance of democratic government and acknowledged the costs of a war to preserve it.

Lincoln’s speech claimed that “the world will little note nor long remember what we say here.” But for generations afterward, schoolchildren would memorize and recite Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

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Photos from the Library of Congress