Lincoln's famous talk recalled at Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG - Thousands solemnly gathered Tuesday to honor a speech given 150 years ago that its author thought would not be long remembered.

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was praised for reinvigorating national ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice amid the Civil War, which had torn the country into pieces.

"President Lincoln sought to heal a nation's wounds by defining what a nation should be," said Gov. Corbett, calling Lincoln's words superb, his faith deep, and his genius profound. "Lincoln wrote his words on paper, but he also inscribed them in our hearts."

Echoing Lincoln, keynote speaker and Civil War historian James McPherson said the president spoke in November 1863 at a time when it looked like the nation "might indeed perish from the earth."

"The Battle of Gettysburg became the hinge of fate on which turned the destiny of that nation and its new birth of freedom," McPherson said.

In the July 1863 battle, considered the turning point of the war, Union forces fought back a Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania. Lincoln's speech was delivered at the dedication of a national cemetery for the battle's casualties.

In the short oration, Lincoln spoke of how democracy rested upon "the proposition that all men are created equal," a politically risky statement at the time. Slavery and the doctrine of states' rights would not hold in the "more perfect union" of Lincoln's vision.

"In 272 words he put together what everyone was thinking, what everyone should know," said park historian John Heiser. (Because of varying transcriptions, scholars generally put the text at 268 to 272 words.)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia administered the oath of allegiance to a group of 16 immigrants.

Among many reenactors on the grounds were at least two Lincolns, including Jim Getty, who recited the address.

Part of the event was a speech delivered by Upper Dublin High School junior Lauren Pyfer, who won a contest to write a contemporary version of the address at the same short length.

She urged those in the crowd to do their part to "nurture and preserve the rights of humanity, equality, and freedom across all nations."

"It is impossible for one country to close its doors to other countries and still thrive," Pyfer said.