Schorr 1

Kayla Schorr
Dr. Swift/Rebecca Alt
COMM401, 0103
Nov. 29, 2017

The Gettysburg Address: A Successful Call to Action

Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” has garnered a reputation of speaking about

new ideas of freedom for the United States. His background, political agenda, and past speeches

prove Lincoln’s true dedication to combatting slavery. At the same time, Lincoln appeals to his

primary audience because of his allegiance to his country and his will to improve the state of the

union. Historians, scholars, and students alike can understand the success of the “Gettysburg

Address” through both its textual and contextual appeals. While Lincoln’s background as an

abolitionist and triumphant politician built the foundation of this iconic speech, Lincoln’s

brevity, definitive structure, and call to action affirmed that this speech would revolutionize

America. In the “Gettysburg Address,” Lincoln inspires the American people to redefine

freedom within the nation by simultaneously personifying a nationalist and an abolitionist.

Primarily, Lincoln’s background as an opponent to slavery provided significant exigency

for his delivery of the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln came from a family that did not support

slavery. The Lincoln family “belonged to a Baptist denomination that broke from the parent

church on the slavery issue” (McPherson, n.p.). Lincoln was not born into a wealthy family, and

his parents never owned slaves (Schafer, n.p.). Lincoln’s father always expected him to

contribute to the family by working with axes and plows to maintain the grounds of their

property (McPherson, n.p.). Lincoln believed he deserved compensation for this work, despite

his family’s low wages. In his teenage years, Lincoln and a friend traveled by flatboat to New

Orleans, where he witnessed the largest slave operation in the United States (Rodriguez, n.p.).

This commercial system “shocked him with the sight of men and women being bought and sold
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in the slave markets” (McPherson, n.p.). These early experiences molded Lincoln’s identity as an

abolitionist.

Throughout Lincoln’s political career, he made several decisions that would indirectly

guide the nation in the direction of abolishing slavery. Lincoln’s response to the Kansas-

Nebraska Act, his “House Divided” speech, and his “Inaugural Address” all contributed to

Lincoln’s future persona of an abolitionist during the “Gettysburg Address.” The Kansas-

Nebraska Act “opened fresh wounds” between the North and South, since the South wanted to

claim uncolonized land and spread slavery, while the North had opposing ideas (“The Kansas-

Nebraska Act,” n.p.). This act inspired Lincoln to dedicate his career to uniting the union, and in

doing so, abolishing slavery (Monroe, n.p.).

A few years later during Lincoln’s senatorial campaign, he delivered his renowned

“House Divided” speech, which would also build the classic abolitionist persona he exuded

during the “Gettysburg Address.” In this speech, Lincoln presented his ideas about uniting the

North and South (Basler, n.p.). Lincoln believed the nation could “not endure, permanently half

slave and half free” (Lincoln, n.p.). Lincoln’s primary purpose of the speech was not necessarily

to abolish slavery, but to express his fear of a nation with conflicting values. He hoped that the

nation “will cease to be divided,” and in doing so, abolishing slavery could be the following task

(Lincoln, n.p.). Lincoln’s abolitionist attitude continued during his “Inaugural Address.” At this

point, Lincoln had “learned the perils of saying too much, after Southerners interpreted his words

as those of a closet abolitionist and responded accordingly” (Brands, 58). In his Inaugural

Address, Lincoln wanted to appeal to both the North and South. If he had said definitively that

he wanted to abolish slavery, the southerners would revolt and secede. Instead, Lincoln used this

opportunity to express his concerns about southern secession. He informed America that

“secession is the essence of anarchy” and that the nation can not successfully operate in that
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manner (Lincoln, n.p.) With this speech, Lincoln tried to win over the South so that they would

not secede, claim uncolonized land, and spread more slavery. Lincoln’s reaction to the Kansas-

Nebraska Act, in addition to his “House Divided” speech and “Inaugural Address” proved

Lincoln’s anti-slavery visions, which solidified the presence of an abolitionist persona in the

“Gettysburg Address.”

Critics may argue that Lincoln does not personify an abolitionist in the “Gettysburg

Address,” because this short speech truly only addresses the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg and

Lincoln’s hopes for a restored nation. The speech does not even include the word “slavery”

within the text (Wells, 148). While I understand this concern, I believe that the text is not the

only factor that contributes to a speech’s meaning. Lincoln’s historical background as an

opponent to slavery provides exigence for the speech, and by understanding Lincoln’s tendency

to try to appeal to all audiences, audiences of the “Gettysburg Address” can understand that

combatting slavery was one Lincoln’s unspoken goals of this speech.

While the context of Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” contributes to the abolitionist

identity he personifies during the speech, the text of Lincoln’s speech speaks to his nationalistic

identity. With his references to the American founding fathers, commemoration of fallen

soldiers, and new ideas of freedom for the nation, Lincoln truly embodies a proud American.

Lincoln begins his speech with an allusion to the Declaration of Independence, when he says

“our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to

the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, np.) Not only does Lincoln shed light on

the founding of the nation, but he employs American ideals to further express his patriotism

(Jefferson, np). According to New Political Science:

“The Address as an icon has come to symbolize, to stand as a word-for-word definition

of, what it means to be an American in the highest sense. It has burdened us to think
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ourselves an exceptional people, uniquely charged to lead in the reformation of the

world” (Roelofs, 405).

In this way, Lincoln spearheads a movement to improve the state of the union, which coincides

with the American value of invoking change and pursuing one’s beliefs.

Before his call to action, Lincoln nobly recognizes the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg and

pays respect to their efforts to restore the nation. Specifically, he aims to “dedicate a portion of

that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live”

(Lincoln, np). Lincoln not only recognizes the tragedy at Gettysburg, but ensures that the soldiers

had a purpose, and their efforts will have a lasting effect on the welfare of the nation. Lincoln’s

respectful recognition of fallen soldiers contributes to his identity as an American authority who

only hopes to push his nation through this harrowing struggle.

Additionally, Lincoln’s common theme of rebirth after destruction paints him as a

nationalist who recognizes that greatness can emerge out of profound adversity. The Battle of

Gettysburg was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. Clearly, Lincoln saw this

as a tragedy and a loss; however, he wanted to convey a resilient message to his people. Lincoln

“suggests that despite the massive destruction it has caused, the war affords the American people

a chance to reaffirm their values and reestablish the United States” (Gard, n.p.). Lincoln sought a

“new birth of freedom,” one that prohibited slavery in his nation (Lincoln, n.p.). Instead of

dwelling on the losses that resulted from the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln looked toward the

American people to improve the situation at hand. He urges them, as their leader, to be

“dedicated to the great task remaining before [them]” and to carry out the mission that the fallen

soldiers could no longer achieve (Lincoln, n.p.). Lincoln believed that the nation would endure

“through the ultimate sacrifice of life itself” (Browne, n.p.). Because Lincoln was able to look
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past calamity into a bright and successful future, he embodies the hopefulness and resilience that

characterize an American leader.

Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” has received significant critical acclaim, and for great

reason. When analyzing both the text and context of the “Gettysburg Address,” audiences can

clearly understand Lincoln’s morals, both as an opponent to slavery and a president of a nation.

While it is apparent that Lincoln wants to pay respect to those who fought to their deaths in

hopes to restore the nation, he presents an even larger moral agenda. Lincoln aimed to ensure

that those who fell at Gettysburg must not “[die] in vain,” and that democracy and unity would

prevail (Lincoln, np). In its simplicity, the “Gettysburg Address” is an ethical speech.

In essence, Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” painted him as both an abolitionist

and a nationalist. While Lincoln’s abolitionist persona is mainly routed in the speech’s context,

his patriotic persona is apparent through the speech’s text. In the years prior to Lincoln’s delivery

of the “Gettysburg Address,” he made valiant efforts to halt slavery in the United States. Though

speaking out against slavery does not seem like Lincoln’s primary purpose of his address, his

previous political endeavors coupled with his slight reference to the lack of equality in the nation

proves his abolitionist attitude during the speech. Lincoln’s American and nationalistic persona,

however, is much more present throughout the text of the “Gettysburg Address.” At such a

somber moment during the Civil War, Lincoln acted as the optimist America needed, and the

leader they had elected. Lincoln effectively expressed his concerns with American inequality,

and voiced his vision for a future of democracy. In such a short speech, Abraham Lincoln was

able to effect change by appealing to audiences through his abolitionist and nationalist identities.
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