LAD # 15: The Gettysburg Address

Lincoln delivered his powerful Gettysburg Address on November 19th 1863.  He began with the famous line "fourscore and seven years ago" speaking of founding the nation on the basis of liberty and that all men were created equal.  He went on to explain that the outcome of the civil war will show whether a nation based on these principles can survive.  He commemorates all the soldiers that have died in the war, fighting for trying to keep the nation together.  Lincoln declares that the words said on that day should not be remembered as much as the actions of the heroic soldiers that have died there.  He believes that it is everyone's duty to continue the work that the soldiers had started on preserving the union.  He does not want to let these men die in vain, and wants to make sure that the country remains together.