June 28-July 7, 2013

Gettysburg 150 – Reflections of History

Seven score and ten years ago, Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech during the American Civil War, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, to honor those who perished at the battle of Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania, in 1863. Now known as the Gettysburg Address, the famous speech took just a couple of minutes to be delivered, but it was eloquent. If you went to High School in the US, you probably remember the text by heart:
“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…”

The last words of this concise speech speak to the idea of “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This closing line will sound familiar to French students too, as these words were included in the 1958 French Constitution of the Ve République (from bonjourla).

Photograph of Gettysburg taken in 2007 – ©Olivier Pojzman. All rights reserved