The complete text of one of the most important speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln arrived at the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to remember not only the grim bloodshed that had just occurred there, but also to remember the American ideals that were being put to the ultimate test by the Civil War. A rousing appeal to the nation’s better angels, The Gettysburg Address remains an inspiring vision of the United States as a country “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Beginning with the birth of the nation, slavery divided and caused conflict for the United States of America, worsening during the country’s early decades as the practice became more economically vital. Finally, in 1861, the American Civil War erupted after the election of President Abraham Lincoln. Never acknowledging the South’s right to secede, Lincoln and the North fought the South through four long, bloody, destructive years; much longer than anyone thought the war would last. Inside you will read about... ✓ America in the Antebellum Era ✓ Secession and the First Shots ✓ Early Battles and the Turning Point: April 1861-July 1863 ✓ The United States and the Confederacy ✓ Women and Blacks in the War ✓ Military Events, 1863-1865: The War Ends ✓ Reconstruction ✓ The Legacy of the Civil War By 1865, more than 700,000 American soldiers and civilians were dead (including Lincoln himself), a race of people had been freed from bondage, and an entire country needed to rebuild. The Civil War is of such crucial importance to the history of the United States not just because of these factors, but also because its legacy still lives on.

American Civil War Beginning with the birth of the nation, slavery divided and caused conflict for the United States of America, worsening during the country's early decades as the practice became more economically vital. Finally, in 1861, the American Civil War erupted after the election of President Abraham Lincoln. Never acknowledging the South's right to secede, Lincoln and the North fought the South through four long, bloody, destructive years; much longer than anyone thought the war would last. Inside you will read about... - America in the Antebellum Era- Secession and the First Shots- Early Battles and the Turning Point: April 1861-July 1863- The United States and the Confederacy- Women and Blacks in the War- Military Events, 1863-1865: The War Ends- Reconstruction- The Legacy of the Civil WarBy 1865, more than 700,000 American soldiers and civilians were dead (including Lincoln himself), a race of people had been freed from bondage, and an entire country needed to rebuild. The Civil War is of such crucial importance to the history of the United States not just because of these factors, but also because its legacy still lives on.