Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade AmericaThe power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead, he gave the whole nation "a new birth of freedom" in the space of a mere 272 words. His entire life and previous training, and his deep political experience went into this, his revolutionary masterpiece. By examining both the address and Lincoln in their historical moment and cultural frame, Wills breathes new life into words we thought we knew, and reveals much about a president so mythologized but often misunderstood. Wills shows how Lincoln came to change the world and to effect an intellectual revolution, how his words had to and did complete the work of the guns, and how Lincoln wove a spell that has not yet been broken. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 20
Page
... meaningful inflections. JohnHay, who had submitted to many of those Shakespeare readings, gave high marks to his boss'sperformance at Gettysburg. He put in hisdiary at the time that “the President, in a fine, free way, with.
... meaningful inflections. JohnHay, who had submitted to many of those Shakespeare readings, gave high marks to his boss'sperformance at Gettysburg. He put in hisdiary at the time that “the President, in a fine, free way, with.
Page
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Page
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Page
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Page
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Contents
Gettysburg and the Culture of Death | |
The Transcendental Declaration | |
Revolution in Thought | |
Revolution in Style | |
Epilogue | |
Appendices | |
Four Funeral Orations | |
Spoken Text | |
Photographs | |
Index to the Gettysburg Address | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Lincoln American army Athenian Athens Bancroft battle burial called Civil claim classical Cobbe edition Confederate Congress Constitution contrast copy corps Daniel Webster dead death Declaration of Independence dedication delivery text Demosthenes Douglas draft emancipation Emancipation Proclamation Emerson enemy Epitaphios equal Everett express fathers Funeral gave George George Bancroft Gettysburg Address Gorgias graves Greece Greek Greek Revival Harvard Herndon Herndon-Weik heroes honor human Hyperides Ibid idea ideal Illinois Invention of Athens James John Justice Kerameikos language liberty living Loraux Lysias Mark Twain Meade Menexenus military monument Mount Auburn nation nature Nicolay North oration patriotic Pericles platform political praise President proposition Rebel rebellion Revolution rhetoric Saunders sentence Seward Slave Power slavery soldiers South Southern speak speech Theodore Parker thing thought Thucydides Transcendentalism Transcendentalist troops Union United University Press Washington whole William words