Gettysburg Address

1. According to the speech, what was the new nation dedicated to?

• the creation of a final resting place

• the proposition that all men are created equal

• a great civil war

• a new birth of freedom

2. In this speech, what is Abraham Lincoln trying to persuade people to do?

• to fight in a great civil war

• to dedicate a field to brave men who fought in Gettysburg

• to continue the work of the people who fought and died in Gettysburg

• to create two new nations dedicated to equality and liberty

3. Read this sentence from the text:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Based on this evidence, what conclusion can you draw about the cause "these honored dead" fought and died for?

• They fought and died for the government and nation to survive in freedom.

• They fought and died in order to be honored by the government.

• They fought and died to show their devotion to the people they loved.

• They fought and died to create a new nation with a new government.

4. Read these sentences from the text:

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."

Why might Lincoln have used the words "us" and "we" in this excerpt?

• to prove to his listeners that he is as sad about the many deaths as they are

• to suggest that he does not have more power than any of his listeners

• to make his listeners feel like they should have given their lives to the cause

• to create a sense of closeness and shared goals among the people listening

5. What is the main message of this speech?

• We cannot dedicate, consecrate, or hallow the ground at the Soliders' National Cemetery.

• We must honor the dead by ensuring that this nation endures and has a new birth of freedom.

• Our fathers brought forth a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

• We must dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives to the nation.

6. Read these sentences from the text:

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us."

Based on this evidence, what is the meaning of the word "dedicated" in this excerpt?

• unsure or uncertain of a task

• unsupportive of a task

• committed or devoted to a task

• lazy or indifferent about a task

7. Read these sentences from the text:

"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

To whom or what does the word "they" in the second sentence refer?

• the world

• the dead

• the brave men

• those with poor power

What was Lincoln’s primary purpose for delivering the Gettysburg Address? 

• to commemorate a great Union victory
• to dedicate a cemetery
• to launch his reelection campaign
• to consecrate the ground

What is the “unfinished work” to which Lincoln refers in line 16? 

• consecrating a cemetery
• abolishing slavery
• not dying in vain
• preservation of the nation

What does Lincoln mean when he says, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (lines 13–15)? 

• Actions are more important than words. 
• It is more important to talk about beliefs than to take action about those beliefs. 
• The consequences of commemoration will last far longer than the consequences of their heroism.
• The soldiers dedication to the Union should be honored with our words and the commemoration of the cemetery.