nation conceived
in liberty … under God
all created equal
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate we can not consecrate we can not hallow, this ground The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln’s remarks were made at the dedication of the National Cemetery on the Battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863, 160 years ago today.
This text, known as the Nicolay Copy is named for John G. Nicolay, President Lincoln’s personal secretary, this is considered the “first draft” of the speech, begun in Washington on White house stationery. The second page is writen on different paper stock, indicating it was finished in Gettysburg before the cemetery dedication began. Lincoln gave this draft to Nicolay, who went to Gettysburg with Lincoln and witnessed the speech. The Library of Congress owns this manuscript.
There are five handwritten copies of the text of the speech.
Two are noted as drafts and are named after Mr. Lincoln’s secretaries, the Nicolay Draft Copy and John Hay Draft Copy.
There is a great scene in history when then Secretary of State John Hay handed his copy to President Theodore Roosevelt who took the paper and forgot what he was holding and went to make several strong points, punctuating the air with the paper in his fist as he made his points, all the while his Secretary of State was trying to retrieve it.
Also interesting to note that when Mr. Roosevelt was sworn in as President, having had three years filling out the term of murdered William McKinley, he wore a ring that was lent by Mr. Hay.
The ring was fashioned to hold a lock of Mr. Lincoln’s hair.
But I digress.
Neither draft has the words ‘under God‘ after the words, that the Nation … in the last line.
Tradition has it that the night before the speech, Secretary of State William Seward talked Mr. Lincoln into adding the words at that spot.
The night before the big day, it was Secretary Seward who said, “… We shall therefore be united, only one country, having one hope, one ambition, and one destiny … this government of ours – the freest, the best, the wisest and the happiest in the world – must be, and so far as we are concerned practically will be, immortal.”
There are three more copies of the text, all in Lincoln’s handwriting, all written later in response for a copy of his remarks and all three have the sentence as, that the nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Interesting to be able to say that in the newspaper coverage of the day, the New York Times gave front page coverage to the events in Gettysburg that November afternoon and gave the full text of Mr. Lincoln’s short short remarks.
And in that text, are the words, Under God.
No Haiku For You 