Summary Of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: One And Seven Years Later
Fourscore and Seventy Years Later…
One of my favorite examples of written word is President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and as a bonus feature, it underscores several of the qualities of leadership that we are concerned with in this course. In defense of it being exemplary, consider that it has stood the test of time over the last 150 years as one of the most famous speeches in our nation’s history. Even today it captivates the heart, and can transport us to that battleground so key in the agonizing struggle to split or preserve our democracy. How is this accomplished in a brief, 10-sentence composition of a mere 263 words, delivered in about 2 minutes?
Several elements of the speech make it compelling. Lincoln knew his audience, the American people, that is, those committed to safeguarding that the United States of America has a future, by preserving the tenets upon which it was founded. It is important for a leader to understand those he leads: how to win them over, how to motivate them, how to unify them in their common goal. …show more content…
In applying that understanding, he uses the word “we” repeatedly, reminding his audience that they all are joined in the difficult and important task before them, surviving “a great civil war”, the ultimate test of the infant nation.
He stresses that the work begun is yet unfinished, and inspires them to be devoted to accomplishing its completion. This demonstrates two of the leadership frames: the structural frame by way of the tasks that “us, the living” have remaining, and the symbolic frame of leadership, by way of the inspiration to continue on their great journey. An interesting point that Lincoln makes is that no matter what we do, it is beyond our power to add to or detract from what our forebears have done. We can only control what we do now. That is pretty compelling stuff to hear in the face of ongoing
conflict.
At the same time, he reminds them of the story that is uniquely American, the courage required in having dared to create a nation like none that existed before, where men are created equal, and of the courage required not to give up on that dream. And, in those three brief paragraphs, he reminds us even today of the great idea that joins us, the awful testing of the great idea, and the remedy that remains constant, which is simply to be dedicated to seeing it through a successful continuance. Because it is utterly important, after all, that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lincoln-gettysburg-address-speech-text/
One of my favorite examples of written word is President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and as a bonus feature, it underscores several of the qualities of leadership that we are concerned with in this course. In defense of it being exemplary, consider that it has stood the test of time over the last 150 years as one of the most famous speeches in our nation’s history. Even today it captivates the heart, and can transport us to that battleground so key in the agonizing struggle to split or preserve our democracy. How is this accomplished in a brief, 10-sentence composition of a mere 263 words, delivered in about 2 minutes?
Several elements of the speech make it compelling. Lincoln knew his audience, the American people, that is, those committed to safeguarding that the United States of America has a future, by preserving the tenets upon which it was founded. It is important for a leader to understand those he leads: how to win them over, how to motivate them, how to unify them in their common goal. …show more content…
In applying that understanding, he uses the word “we” repeatedly, reminding his audience that they all are joined in the difficult and important task before them, surviving “a great civil war”, the ultimate test of the infant nation.
He stresses that the work begun is yet unfinished, and inspires them to be devoted to accomplishing its completion. This demonstrates two of the leadership frames: the structural frame by way of the tasks that “us, the living” have remaining, and the symbolic frame of leadership, by way of the inspiration to continue on their great journey. An interesting point that Lincoln makes is that no matter what we do, it is beyond our power to add to or detract from what our forebears have done. We can only control what we do now. That is pretty compelling stuff to hear in the face of ongoing
conflict.
At the same time, he reminds them of the story that is uniquely American, the courage required in having dared to create a nation like none that existed before, where men are created equal, and of the courage required not to give up on that dream. And, in those three brief paragraphs, he reminds us even today of the great idea that joins us, the awful testing of the great idea, and the remedy that remains constant, which is simply to be dedicated to seeing it through a successful continuance. Because it is utterly important, after all, that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lincoln-gettysburg-address-speech-text/