The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was read to a crowd on November 19, 1863, addressing the nation and redefining the meaning as well as the purpose of the war while at the same time honoring all the men that died. The entire speech consisted of 272 words and took approximately three minutes to deliver. Abe wasn't the only person giving a speech though. Edward Everett went before him, reading a two hour speech. There is more than one of this important speech, in fact, there are several. Lincoln made five copies, making sure he likes the speech. He even made changes to it as he was reading it. Abe thought it was going to be a flat failure, but ended up being one of the most popular speeches in all of history!