9781422287453

national cemetery established on the battlefield. The

president was not expected to be the major speaker of

the day so he only made a short speech. In fact, he spoke

for less than three minutes.

But in the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln told the audi-

ence that the signers of the Declaration of Independence

meant all men—whether they are white or black—are

created equal, and that all Americans deserve the rights

and freedoms that were put down in words on parch-

ment by Thomas Jefferson just 87 years before the battle

of Gettysburg.

He said: “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers

brought forth upon this continent a new nation: con-

ceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that

all men are created equal.”

“All Men Are Created Equal”

Text-Dependent Question

Approximately how many people were living in slavery in the United States when the

Civil War began in April 1861?

Research Project

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, formally abolished

slavery in the United States. Find out more about the history of this amendment

at this online Library of Congress exhibit—