Library of Congress Teacher’s InstructionsLINCOLN AT GETTYSBURGBACKGROUND INFORMATION AND PRESENTATION SUGGESTIONS Present Lincoln within the context of his Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863 and, later that year, his visit to Gettysburg to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Your students will understand that Lincoln's legacy goes far beyond a black top hat. Dress one student as Lincoln in the coat, hat, and beard, while holding the copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address. Explain that any visitor to the classroom would instantly know that the student is portraying Lincoln, as his image has become “iconic”. But Lincoln remains iconic not because of how he looked, but because of what he achieved, said, and wrote. Reveal the station and explain that station activities will make those words come alive. The Emancipation Proclamation is a legal document and is written with legal words and phrases such as “to wit” and “aforesaid”, in contrast to the almost poetic language of Lincoln’s famous and enduring Gettysburg Address, which proclaims “a new birth of freedom” and that “government of the people, by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Your students should first understand the context of these documents– when and why they were issued. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the United States, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states, and it left out parts of the Confederacy that had already come under United States control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon United States Military victory. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of United States Troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the United States Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, over 180,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for freedom. The Battle of Gettysburg took place July 1 to July 3, 1863, over two years into the war and six months after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. At the end of the battle, the United States Army of the Potomac had successfully repelled the second invasion of the North by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Four and a half months later, President Lincoln came to Gettysburg to speak at the dedication of the cemetery for the United States soldiers who died at Gettyburg. At the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, more than 51,000 Confederate and United States soldiers were wounded, missing, or dead. Many of the dead were laid in makeshift graves along the battlefield. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin commissioned David Wills, an attorney, to purchase land for a proper burial site for the deceased United States soldiers. Wills acquired 17 acres for the cemetery, which was planned and designed by landscape architect William Saunders. The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. The main speaker for the event was Edward Everett, one of the nation’s best orators. President Lincoln was also invited to speak “as Chief Executive of the nation, formally [to] set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks.” At the ceremony, Everett spoke for more than two hours; Lincoln spoke for about two minutes. President Lincoln had given his brief speech a lot of thought. He saw meaning in the fact that the United States victory at Gettysburg coincided with the nation’s birthday; but rather than focus on the specific battle in his remarks, he wanted to present a broad statement about the larger significance of the war. He invoked the Declaration of Independence, and its principles of liberty and equality, and he spoke of “a new birth of freedom” for the nation. In his brief address, he continued to reshape the aims of the war—transforming it from a war for Union to a war for freedom. Although Lincoln expressed disappointment in the speech initially, it has come to be regarded as one of the most elegant and eloquent speeches in U.S. history.
OBJECTIVE Students will be able to explore the words of Abraham Lincoln through his greatest legal document and his greatest speech – the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. By comparing and contrasting these primary source documents, students will be able to move beyond the mere iconic imagery and reputation of our 16th president to a greater understanding of his challenges and accomplishments. VOCABULARY contraband, garrison, vessel, virtue, aforesaid, plantation, score, liberty, consecrate, hallow, detract, resolve MATERIALS FROM THE CIVIL WAR TRUNK -black frock coat -top hat -Lincoln beard -Emancipation Proclamation copy -Gettysburg Address copy -10 laminated sentences of Gettysburg Address -Lincoln Photobiography book MATERIALS FROM YOUR CLASSROOM Penny; five-dollar bill; and any map or photo with towns, schools, or streets named after Abraham Lincoln; Post-It notes and pens or pencils. |
Last updated: September 22, 2025