○  GettysburgAddress  ○

   fourscoreandsevenyearsago,ourfathersbroughtforthuponthiscontinentanewnation,conceivedinliberty,anddedicatedtothepropositionthatallmenarecreatedequal.now,weareengagedinagreatcivilwar,testingwhetherthatnation,oranynationsoconceivedandsodedicated,canlongendure.wearemetonagreatbattlefieldofthatwar.wehavecometodedicateaportionofthatfieldasafinalresting-placeforthosewhogavetheirlivesthatnationmightlive.itisaltogetherfittingandproperthatweshoulddothis.but,inalargersee,wecaotdedicate,wecaotcoecrate,wecaothallowthisground.thebravemen,livinganddead,whostruggledhere,havecoecrateditfaraboveourpowertoaddordetract.theworldwilllittlenotenorlongrememberwhatwesayhere,butitcanneverforgetwhattheydidhere.itisforus,theliving,rathertobededicatedtothegreattaskremainingbeforeuthatfromthesehonoreddead,wetakeincreaseddevotiontothatcauseforwhichtheygavethelastfullmeasureofdevotiothatthisnation,undergod,shallhaveanewbirthoffreedom;andthatgovernmentofthepeoplebythepeopleandforthepeopleshallnotperishfromtheearth."
   abrahamlincoln