Asked by coolman

What does “four score and seven years ago” mean?


in the gettysburg address

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
"Four score and seven years ago" means 87 years ago. A "score" is 20 years, so four score = 80, plus seven = 87.

In the Gettysburg Address (delivered November 19, 1863) Abraham Lincoln was referring back 87 years to 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed and the United States was founded. The phrasing is an older, biblical-sounding way to give solemn emphasis.