On This Day: November 19th - Abraham Lincoln Gives The Gettysburg Address

On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address at a cemetery in the city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The address occurred during the American Civil War which was fought between the Confederacy and the Union of America. Abraham Lincoln gave the famous speech in order to reinforce why the Union had to keep fighting against the against the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln gave the speech in the city of Gettysburg because a few months earlier, one of the largest and one of the deadliest Civil War battles had occurred there. The battle at Gettysburg lasted for three days and over 45,000 soldiers were killed or injured during the deadly battle. The Union beat woe Confederacy in the Gettysburg battle and severely weakened General Robert E. Lee's power. Pennsylvania's governor appointed an attorney named David Wills to buy several acres of pasture in order to create a cemetery for Union soldiers that had died during the Battle of Gettysburg . Abraham Lincoln was asked to say a few words at the ceremony the for the cemetery and his Gettysburg Address would become a famous speech in American history . Abraham Lincoln's speech that day was short and powerful at the same time. Many people did not know how to take the speech after Abraham Lincoln gave it on this day. Many people felt the speech was too short and others just didn't like Abraham Lincoln. However, many historians argue that the Gettysburg Address did help the Union ultimately win the Civil War. The speech would be historically important after the Civil War came to an end.