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A New Birth of Freedom:
"Short, short, short." This is how Lincoln described his remarks at the November 19, 1863 dedication of a military cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield. He wasn't the main speaker of the day. That honor was reserved to Edward Everett, a distinguished former Massachusetts governor, senator, and Harvard president.
On the night before his speech, Lincoln received word that his son, Rad, was recovering from a bout of typhoid fever. Reassured, the president listened along with a crowd of 5,000 as Everett spoke for over two hours. |