Wall of Oratory History: Chronology Abraham Lincoln´s by liz marelis Pedrol

Biography

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 02:49:08 UTC

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

16th President of the United States

Early Life:

- Born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky

- Self-educated, mostly through reading books

- Worked as a store clerk, surveyor, and lawyer

Politics:

- Entered politics in 1832, serving in the Illinois state legislature

- Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1838

- Became the 16th President of the United States in 1860

Context of his speeches

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 02:54:17 UTC

Civil War:
The escalating conflict over slavery and states' rights was the most dominant theme. Speeches like the Gettysburg Address and the "House Divided" speech explicitly addressed the crisis and the need to preserve the Union.
Slavery and equality:
Lincoln often connected the struggle to the Declaration of Independence, framing it as a test of the nation's commitment to human equality and freedom.

Famous quote or excerpt

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 03:00:59 UTC

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 03:06:24 UTC

On the nation's division: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
On perseverance: "I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
On responsibility: "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
On democracy
On truth: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 03:28:31 UTC

Major Accomplishments:

- Led the country through the Civil War (1861-1865)

- Issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), freeing slaves in Confederate territory

- Signed the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery throughout the United States

- Strengthened the federal government and modernized the economy

Assassination:

- Assassinated on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

lpedrol145 — 2025-10-23 03:30:21 UTC

Democracy:
His speeches frequently explored the principles of self-government and the idea that the Civil War was a crucial test for the future of democracy itself.
Legal and political background:
As a former lawyer, Lincoln's speeches were often grounded in clear reasoning and legal precedent, as seen in his Cooper Union Address, which delved into the intentions of the Constitution's framers.

Their contribution to oratory evolution

2025-10-23 23:48:54 UTC

Lincoln transformed political oratory by making it simpler, clearer, and more emotional, using words everyone could understand. Before him, speeches were very long and filled with complicated phrases.

Lincoln changed that: he spoke with honesty, moral force, and direct language, which made people relate.

Example of Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech

2025-10-24 00:03:01 UTC

Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech is the Gettysburg address delivered on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War. In it, Lincoln honored the soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg and reaffirmed the ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy upon which the nation was founded.

In short, he emphasized that the sacrifice of the fallen should ensure that "government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

In his Gettysburg Address, he used only a few words (272 in total), but he managed to express profound ideas about liberty, equality, and democracy, demonstrating that a good orator does not need to speak a lot, but rather say the essentials with emotion and truth.

2025-10-24 00:03:26 UTC