Since I just finished "Lincoln at Gettysburg" (Garry Wills), I felt inspired to post something about it. First, a quiz.
- T/F It was composed on a train on an envelope.

- How many words are in it?

- How many times was Lincoln interrupted by applause?

- T/F Lincoln was the featured speaker at the ceremony.

- How many people witnessed the "address"?

- The Gettysburg address mentions only a)"slavery" b) "the Union" c) "Gettysburg" d) "civil war" e) "emancipation"

- T/F The original text is lost. (end of quiz--ans. below)

Evidently, Lincoln wanted to make a point. Yes, he was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. He succeeded. But more than that, he pointedly gave the whole nation (North and South) "a new birth of freedom" (author's quote)--by tracing its first birth to the Declaration of Independence (which called all men equal) rather than to the Constitution (which tolerated slavery). The book digs into the deeper meaning of Lincoln address. Its amazingly profound.

Answers: F (Lincoln worked long and hard in preparation);
272 words (although his speech altered the written words.);
Interrupted 5 times; F (Edward Everett spoke for 2 hours!);
15,000 est.; d) ; True (we think)