Lincoln at Gettysburg

Last updated
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America
Lincoln at Gettysburg The Words That Remade America book cover.jpg
Cover of Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America; featured is Abraham Lincoln
Author Garry Wills
CountryUnited States
Subject Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
GenreNon-fiction
Published1992 Simon & Schuster

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America was written by Garry Wills, who was an adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University at the time that his book was published. The book, which became a best-seller during the 1990s, [1] argued that Lincoln's 272-word address, which was delivered during the dedication of the new national cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, was so powerful that it reshaped the United States by altering Americans' view of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Contents

Released by Simon & Schuster in 1992, Wills' book won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction [2] [3] and the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. [4]

Background

Wills' book used U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's notably short speech at Gettysburg as the basis for his examination of Lincoln's overall style of rhetoric while also making the case that Lincoln's address at Gettysburg had not been a hastily conceived speech "written on the back of an envelope" as has often been presented in historical accounts of the speech's writing, but that it was painstakingly crafted over a period of weeks. [5] [6] [7]

Wills compared Lincoln's speech to one delivered on the same day by Edward Everett, [8] focusing on the influences of the Greek revival in the United States and 19th century transcendentalist thought. Wills also argued that Lincoln's speech drew on his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, [9] adding that Lincoln considered the Declaration of Independence the first founding document, and looked to its emphasis on equality (changing Locke's phrase "Life, Liberty, and Property" to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness") in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. [10] According to Wills: [11]

"Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg worked several revolutions, beginning with one in literary style. Everett’s talk was given at the last point in history when such a performance could be appreciated without reservation....

The spare quality of Lincoln’s prose did not come naturally but was worked at. Lincoln not only read aloud, to think his way into sounds, but also wrote as a way of ordering his thought.... He loved the study of grammar, which some think the most arid of subjects. Some claimed to remember his gift for spelling, a view that our manuscripts disprove. Spelling as he had to learn it (separate from etymology) is more arbitrary than logical. It was the logical side of language—the principles of order as these reflect patterns of thought or the external world—that appealed to him.

He was also ... laboriously precise in his choice of words. He would have agreed with Mark Twain that the difference between the right word and the nearly right one is that between lightning and a lightning bug. He said, debating Douglas, that his foe confused a similarity of words with a similarity of things—as one might equate a horse chestnut with a chestnut horse....

The unwillingness to waste words shows up in the address’s telegraphic quality—the omission of coupling words, a technique rhetoricians call asyndeton. Triple phrases sound as to a drumbeat, with no 'and' or but' to slow their insistency....

The language itself is made strenuous, its musculature easily traced, so that even the grammar becomes a form of rhetoric. By repeating the antecedent as often as possible, instead of referring to it indirectly by pronouns like 'it' and 'they,' or by backward referential words like 'former' and 'latter,' Lincoln interlocks his sentences, making of them a constantly self-referential system. This linking up by explicit repetition amounts to a kind of hook-and-eye method for joining the parts of his address. The rhetorical devices are almost invisible, since they use no figurative language."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Address</span> 1863 speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated Confederate forces in the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War's deadliest battle. It remains one of the best known speeches in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William McDougall (politician, born 1822)</span> Canadian Father of Confederation

William McDougall was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and one of the Fathers of Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction</span> American award for nonfiction books

The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published during the preceding calendar year that is ineligible for any other Pulitzer Prize. The Prize has been awarded since 1962; beginning in 1980, one to three finalists have been announced alongside the winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg National Cemetery</span> Battlefield cemetery created following the Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the largest number of casualties of any Civil War battle but also was considered the war's turning point, leading ultimately to the Union victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Auburn Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Gregg Curtin</span> American lawyer and politician

Andrew Gregg Curtin was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 15th governor of Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, helped defend his state during the Gettysburg Campaign, and oversaw the creation of the National Cemetery and the ceremony in which Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln</span> Stage show currently at Disneyland

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Wills</span> American author, political philosopher and historian (born 1934)

Garry Wills is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln's House Divided Speech</span> 1858 speech by Abraham Lincoln

The House Divided Speech was an address given by senatorial candidate and future president of the United States Abraham Lincoln, on June 16, 1858, at what was then the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, after he had accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination as that state's US senator. The nomination of Lincoln was the final item of business at the convention, which then broke for dinner, meeting again at 8 pm. "The evening session was mainly devoted to speeches", but the only speaker was Lincoln, whose address closed the convention, save for resolutions of thanks to the city of Springfield and others. His address was immediately published in full by newspapers, as a pamphlet, and in the published proceedings of the convention. It was the launching point of his unsuccessful campaign for the senatorial seat held by Stephen A. Douglas; the campaign would climax with the Lincoln–Douglas debates. When Lincoln collected and published his debates with Douglas as part of his 1860 presidential campaign, he prefixed them with relevant prior speeches. The "House Divided" speech opens the volume.

Oscar Benjamin Cintas y Rodriguez, was a prominent sugar and railroad magnate who served as Cuba's ambassador to the United States from 1932 until 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pericles's Funeral Oration</span> Speech during the Peloponnesian War

"Pericles's Funeral Oration" is a famous speech from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. The speech was supposed to have been delivered by Pericles, an eminent Athenian politician, at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War as a part of the annual public funeral for the war dead.

The 1993 Pulitzer Prizes were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious views of Abraham Lincoln</span>

Abraham Lincoln grew up in a highly religious Baptist family. He never joined any Church, and was a skeptic as a young man and sometimes ridiculed revivalists. He frequently referred to God and had a deep knowledge of the Bible, often quoting it. Lincoln attended Protestant church services with his wife and children. "Especially after the death of his young son Willie in 1862, Lincoln moved away from his earlier religious skepticism." Some argue that Lincoln was neither a Christian believer nor a secular freethinker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wills (Gettysburg)</span> American lawyer

David Wills was the principal figure in the establishment of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. As a result of his efforts, the Gettysburg Address was given by Abraham Lincoln. Wills was Lincoln's host while in Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address was completed in the large upstairs bedroom occupied by the President during his brief stay in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address</span> 1861 speech by Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address was delivered on Monday, March 4, 1861, as part of his taking of the oath of office for his first term as the sixteenth president of the United States. The speech, delivered at the United States Capitol, was primarily addressed to the people of the South and was intended to succinctly state Lincoln's intended policies and desires toward that section, where seven states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania</span> Unincorporated in Pennsylvania, United States

Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community, which is located in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys. The junction serves as a rest stop on the York County Heritage Rail Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldiers' National Monument</span> Gettysburg Battlefield memorial located at the central point of Gettysburg National Cemetery

The Soldiers' National Monument is a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which is located at the central point of Gettysburg National Cemetery. It honors the battle's soldiers and tells an allegory of "peace and plenty under freedom … following a heroic struggle." In addition to an inscription with the last 4 lines of the Gettysburg Address, the shaft with 4 buttresses has 5 statues:

A large statue representing the concept of Liberty surmounts the pedestal. Eighteen large bronze stars circling the pedestal below this statue represent the eighteen Union states with buried dead. A statue is located at each corner near the base. They represent War, History, Peace, and Plenty. War is represented by a statue of an American soldier who recounts the story of the battle to History. In turn, History records, with stylus and tablet, the achievements of the battle and the names of the honored dead. A statue of an American mechanic and his tools illustrates Peace. Plenty is a female figure with a sheaf of wheat and the fruits of the earth that typify peace and abundance as the soldier's crowning triumph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consecration of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg</span> November 19, 1863 historical event

The Consecration of the Soldiers' National Cemetery was the ceremony at which U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. In addition to the 15,000 spectators, attendees included six state governors: Andrew Gregg Curtin of Pennsylvania, Augustus Bradford of Maryland, Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, Horatio Seymour of New York, Joel Parker of New Jersey, and David Tod of Ohio. Reporters present included Joseph Gilbert, Charles Hale, John Russell Young ; and Cincinnati Commercial, New York Tribune, & The New York Times reporters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Lee Malcolm</span> American historian (born 1941)

Joyce Lee Malcolm is the Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment at George Mason University School of Law. She has been called "the leading historian on the history of English gun control and gun rights" by David Kopel.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Abraham Lincoln:

References

  1. Swanson, Stevenson. "NU's scholar of diversity wins prize for Lincoln book." Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1993, p. 7 (subscription required).
  2. "Pulitzer Prize Winners: General Non-Fiction" (web). pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  3. "'Truman,' 'Good Scent from Strange Mountain,' 'Millenium Approaches' win." Orlando, Florida: The Orlando Sentinel, April 14, 1993, p. 51 (subscription required).
  4. "All Past National Book Critics Circle Award Winners and Finalists". 1992 Awards. The National Book Critics Circle. Archived from the original (web) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  5. Mitgang, Herbert. "Books of the Times; Of the Gettysburg Address and a Second Revolution." New York, New York: The New York Times, July 1, 1992 (subscription required).
  6. Mackie, Sam A. "Words of peace in the midst of war." Orlando, Florida: The Orlando Sentinel, August 2, 1992, p. 110 (subscription required).
  7. Taylor, Holly. "Debunking the myths of Gettysburg." Austin, Texas: Austin American-Statesman, August 9, 1992, p. 58 (subscription required).
  8. Royster, Charles. "The speech that changed America." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, June 14, 1992, p. 255 (subscription required).
  9. Mackie, "Words of peace in the midst of war," The Orlando Sentinel, August 2 1992.
  10. Mitchell, Pama. "Scholar eyes Lincoln's reshaping of nation." Atlanta, Georgia: The Atlanta Constitution, July 19, 1992, p. 145 (subscription required).
  11. Wills, Garry. "The Words That Remade America: The significance of the Gettysburg Address." Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic, February 2012.