Answer:
One of the greatest speeches in history started with a simple letter that was written to President Lincoln. In this letter the President was asked to attend and speak at a ceremony in Gettysburg honoring the Union soldiers that were killed in battle. Lincoln accepted the invite which was sort of a big deal considering that only on rare occasions did he leave DC at all. This shows that Lincoln viewed the memorial and the opportunity to speak with a great deal of importance and regard. The night before the Gettysburg Address Lincoln spoke and thanked the citizens for inviting him to the commencement. He sort of made a joke to the effect of how important it was that he not say anything foolish for the simple fact of who he was and the position he held as president. The local papers had a field day with his statement saying the President could not even take a funeral seriously. This more than likely fueled the fire for the "Lincoln Haters" setting a preconceived notion on their expectations of the president's speech. The Richmond Examiner quote "Kings are usually made to speak in the magniloquent language supposed to be suited to their elevated position. On the present occasion, Lincoln acted the clown" made the newspaper look like clowns. It is a fact that Lincoln did not use magniloquent words in his speech. His haters always tried to find ways to remind people that Lincoln did not have a formal education. What's ironic is that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was honestly a beautiful expression of poetry that was easily understood by all people. The speech offered rhetoric that was quite refined and his word repetition was obviously intentional. Lincoln could have easily used the words “Eighty-seven" instead of “Four score and seven". This choice of words was simple yet elegant and poetic and he was attempting to reach people's humanity in this simple and poetic way. He used simplicity and repetition to stress certain words that he felt were significant for example," we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground". This found common ground among the majority of people which brought a sense of unity and a true understanding of the gravity of the devastation he was speaking on. He wanted everyone to remember what was sacrificed and using large and complex language would have done the exact opposite. How can the common person remember something that they barely understand or recognize. The war did not singly involve the highly educated, noble and refined individual. The war involved everyone including the uneducated and poor. With the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln presented a superb speech that was felt and understood by all, and a clown he was anything but.
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