The Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's Address, given November 19, 1863 on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

The written text of the address is on the left.                  The transcript of the recorded version is on the
                                                                                       right, with the differences in bold and underline.
 

Fourscore 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.      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 have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.      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 consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it will never forget what they did here.      It is for this the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, 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.

Fourscore 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. We are now engaged in this great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.      We have come to dedicate a portion of  that field as a -- as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that  that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this today.      But, in some larger sense, we can dedicate - we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor  power to add or detract. The world will        little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it will never forget what they did here.      It is for we the living, rather, to dedicate ourselves here to the unfinished which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task    remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. We here must highly resolve that these dead shall not    have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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