"The Gettysburg Address"

Question

by Abraham Lincoln

Gettysburg address delivered at Gettysburg Pa. Nov. 19th, 1863. [n. p. n. d.].

Gettysburg Address

Delivered at Gettysburg, Pa.

Nov. 19th 1863.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. “But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
Question

Use the passages to answer the question.

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Credit Line: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” April 16, 1963. The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr.

What is significant about the date each seminal document was written?
(1 point)

Answer 1

The dates of the two seminal documents, the Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863) and the Letter from Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963), are significant as they reflect pivotal moments in American history regarding civil rights and the struggle for equality.

1. Gettysburg Address (1863): This address was delivered during the American Civil War, a time when the nation was deeply divided over issues of slavery and states' rights. The date marks a moment when President Abraham Lincoln reaffirmed the principles of liberty and equality, emphasizing the need to ensure that the nation founded on these values could survive and thrive. It highlights the sacrifice of soldiers who fought for the preservation of the Union and the principles of democracy, making it a significant point in the struggle to define and uphold American democracy.

2. Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963): Written during the Civil Rights Movement, this letter was a response to criticism of nonviolent protests against racial segregation and injustice in the United States. The date underscores the ongoing struggle for civil rights, nearly a century after the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved individuals. Dr. King's letter articulates the moral imperative to fight against injustice and emphasizes the urgency of taking action for equality, reflecting the deep-seated social challenges that persisted in America.

Both documents serve as powerful reminders of the ongoing journey toward achieving true equality and justice in the nation, each at a significant and transformative time in American history.