synapse collapse

In 1776, our nation was founded on this continent in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal.

Now, we are testing whether this nation will endure, fighting a civil war. We have gathered today to dedicate a portion of this great battlefield—this final resting place—to those who gave their lives, so that our nation may persist. But we can not dedicate this ground today, or any other day. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have already done so.

The world will not remember what is said here today, but we must never forget why this war was fought here. So it is we the living who will be dedicated here, today, to the unfinished work which those soldiers who fought here have so nobly advanced. From these honored dead, we will renew our devotion to the cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion. These dead shall not have died in vain: this nation shall have a new birth of freedom for all, and democratic government shall not perish from the earth.