The Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's 272-word battlefield speech — the shortest founding text in American history.
Origin
On November 19, 1863, four months after the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in which roughly 50,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing, Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of a cemetery on the battlefield. The main address that day was a two-hour oration by Edward Everett; Lincoln spoke for about two minutes. 'Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.' Five manuscript versions exist; they differ slightly.
Modern usage
Quoted at memorials, inaugurations, and constitutional debates. 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people' is the speech's most cited line and the founding formula for modern democratic rhetoric in English. The 'four score and seven' opening is also frequently parodied for any long-winded set-up.
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