PARTISAN POLITICS OVER THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS When the two armies commanded by Union General George Meade and Confederate General Robert E. Lee clashed on July 1, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, most of the townspeople took refuge in their cellars. For three days all around them roared a battle so intense that the North American continent has not seen anything like it again. It was a miracle that only one local resident was killed during the entire encounter, a young woman struck by a stray bullet while baking bread in her kitchen. In the battles bloody aftermath, Gettysburg residents tended the wounded and dying, shipped out the dead and rebuilt shattered barns and bullet-pierced homes. In November of that year, they extended hospitality to thousands more, the people who came to witness the dedication of the new soldiers cemetery on the battlefield and get a glimpse of their president, Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln was the special guest of David Wills, a local lawyer. Wills had invited Lincoln to give concluding remarks at the dedication ceremony, following the principal address by Edward Everett, a nationally prominent speaker at that time (whose speech lasted over two hours). Wills helped arrange the cemetery and its dedication on November 19, 1863, on land purchased by Pennsylvania to honor the Union dead. Despite popular stories, historians agree that Lincoln did not whip up his remarks on the back of an envelope while enroute from Washington. His effort was the product of a lifetime of reading and writing from a man known for study and deep reflection. He wrote at least half or more of it on White House stationery before he departed on his trip, and apparently applied finishing touches in his room at the Wills house in Gettysburg. Lincoln, ever a painstaking writer, also knew that words from his presidential pen would be highly scrutinized. When Lincoln rose to speak, he faced from 10,000 to 20,000 people gathered around Cemetery Hill, the site of heavy Confederate bombardment during the battle. His delivery was interrupted five times by applause and greeted with long continued applause at its conclusion. Outside of Gettysburg, the speech received mixed reviews from newspapers of the day, which were even more highly partisan than they are today. Northern papers both praised and attacked it, while Southern papers predictably denounced it. Various versions of the speechs text were carried by newspapers. The presidents speech is now considered a triumph of American oratory, although even President Lincoln at the time didn’t think much of it himself, stating in the text of the speech itself, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here …”. When praised the following day on his speech by the principle orator Edward Everett, Lincoln graciously replied, In our respective parts yesterday, you could not have been excused to make a short address, nor I a long one. I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure. During the Civil War, the Patriot & Union was a Democratic newspaper that was staunchly opposed to Lincoln. The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, about 35 miles northeast of Gettysburg, has now retracted a dismissive editorial penned by its Civil War-era predecessor, then called The Harrisburg Patriot & Union, at the time the speech was given. It took 150 years, but the Pennsylvania newspaper said Thursday it should have recognized the greatness of President Lincolns Gettysburg Address at the time it was delivered. The retraction, which is written in the style of Lincolns now-familiar language, said the newspapers November 1863 coverage described the speech as silly remarks that deserved a veil of oblivion and the paper now says it regrets the error of not seeing its momentous importance, timeless eloquence and lasting significance. By todays words alone, we cannot exalt, we cannot hallow, we cannot venerate this sacred text, for a grateful nation long ago came to view those words with reverence, without guidance from this chagrined member of the mainstream media.” An event to commemorate and remember the 150th anniversary of the giving of that now famous speech, now considered by most as Lincolns most important and memorable, is scheduled for Tuesday in Gettysburg.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 17:23:59 +0000
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