The Words that Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)

As usual, when Garry Wills takes a closer look, American myths get debunked.

In “Lincolh at Gettysburg” we learn that our most eloquent president did not scratch out his Gettysburg address on an envelope on the train ride to the battlefield but (of course) labored over it for some time. That it was received well at the North and was not disparaged or belittled. That Edward Everett’s centerpiece address, though long, was not windy or tedious and was welcomed also as summation of the conflict up to that time.

Those points, however, are not the thrust of Wills’s book, which was written in 1992 but has more punch now than it did 25 years ago, if only for this summation of Lincoln’s argument against Stephen Douglas in the quarrel about slavery:

“Government by the people cannot exist where those who believe in equality are asked to sacrifice that belief (and its expression) in the name of social concord.”

Still less, we might think, when the sacrifice is being demanded in the name of social discord, as today.

However, as trenchant as that page is, it is not the main thrust of Wills’s argument, which is that Lincoln, with a three-minute statement of aims and beliefs, “altered the document (the Constitution) from within by appeal from its letter to the spirit, subtly changing the recalcitrant stuff of that legal compromise, bringing it to its own indictment.”

It was not easily done.

Today, liberals often criticize Trumpeters for waving the “treason flag.” This is entirely correct but it is not a claim that Lincoln was able to countenance. His goal, in war, was preservation of the Union, not abolition or any other good. Politically, he had a delicate task: to keep the four slave states that had not seceded from leaving the Union.

Therefore, Lincoln, formerly the lawyer for the nation’s biggest corporation (the Illinois Central Railroad (now owned by Canadians, how’s them apples?), argued that states had no legal capacity to secede. Therefore, the Confederate States of America had only a fictive existence, and, consequently, its adherents, even if in rebellion against the national government, had not given allegiance to another state and so could not be traitors.

This argument is bogus in every respect but, we may think, was an act of great political wisdom. Or, we may equally as well think, by allowing the white supremacists (who really were traitors in their own hearts) back into communion with the Union as equals, Lincoln’s policy, as expressed in the post-Reconstruction years, did end up sacrificing equality in the name of social concord — among whites. Blacks, browns and yellows did not experience much concord.

Wills writes, too optimistically:

“Lincoln does not argue law or history . . . He makes history. He does not come to present a theory, but to impose a symbol . . . No other words could have done it. . . . In his brief time before the crowd at Gettysburg he wove a spell that has not, yet, been broken.”

It struck me as an academic showoff -- "look how smart I am!" It starts out well, setting the scene at the Gettysburg and introducing the other prominent speaker, Edward Everett. It then devolves into a boring attempt to relate the contents of Lincoln's address to ancient Greek and Roman oratory. I had no trouble putting it down.

"Lincoln at Gettysburg" --Gary Wills correctly places Lincoln and his speech at Gettysburg. Lincoln was NOT the featured speaker, Edward Everett, President of Harvard and eminent scholar of the day, was the featured speaker. Wills writes about the growth of formal cemeteries, the growth and development of 'Federalist Architecture". and the growth of 'classical studies'.

More than one person has noted the similarity between Lincoln's speech and Pericles' funeral oration as recorded by Thucydides. Wills expands on this to add Everett's text, as well as Pericles' and Gorgias' funeral orations. He discuses Lincoln's speech being as formal and rigorous liturgically as that of Pericles and Gorgias.

Wills explains the existence of the various drafts of the speech--at least five. He reminds us that this was NOT composed off the top of his head on the back of an envelope on the train ride to Gettysburg. He reminds that this speech was carefully drafted over several hours before he left. What he fails to mention, or underestimates, is the classical mentality that Lincoln imbued--he did not have to study these liturgical tropes--they were already planted deep within him, so the writing would have been automatic and not a study or rehearsed response.

The British Ambassador during Lincoln's administration saw the contradiction between Jefferson's "All men are created equal..." and the American institution of Slavery. The Abolitionists saw this contradiction--Lincoln saw the contradiction. Lincoln's speech spoke to the necessary war to end that contradiction. Every school child learns both the Jefferson trope--All men are created equal--and the Lincoln trope as a result of that war--'a new birth of freedom' (implied to create the reality of 'all men are created equal')--and the American student understands the resolution because of the short liturgical exposition in Lincoln's speech. An idea that could have been lost in a speech the length of Everett's becomes underlined, highlighted in Lincoln's brief speech.

The beginning of the book was wonderful, giving the reader information that isn't usually seen on the History Channel or in other books about Lincoln. About 15% into the book, the author takes a Left turn to complain about some modern day, well- known "Republicans" who probably don't like Lincoln because of his policies! WHAT????? Why list their alleged views when I'm trying to learn about an historical hero who greatly influenced USA history? That was a complete turn off for me! Don't waste your money or your time on this book.

Garry Wills' "Lincoln at Gettysburg" is quite a great little book about quite a great little speech. But, do not forget that it is an argument. It is a very good argument and rests on a great many facts and interesting connections, and I learned a tremendous amount and would recommend this work to anyone interested in Lincoln. But, that does not mean I accept all of Wills' conclusions and, indeed, I think very often these are Wills' ideas that he is presenting as Lincoln's.

That was, for me, best demonstrated by the lengths Wills goes to argue for the primacy of the Declaration of Independence and its place in American history and Lincoln's thought. This argument seems a stretch. Dating the Union's birth to 1776 seems rather uncontroversial, and does not necessarily imply all Wills wants Lincoln to imply about the Declaration. Indeed, I wish Wills had included a copy of the Declaration here, not just the Preamble, but the entire laundry list of wrongs by King George III. Wills then blows up the Preamble to the moment when the Union emerged fully formed from the primordial goo, and he ignores or denigrates any counterargument or historical fact that might suggest the Union was a much more delicate, fragmented, and gradual process than Wills would have us believe. Coupled with this Wills turns a blind eye to the Constitution, and Constitutional framework Lincoln worked within, and the Constitutional changes Lincoln and his successors made to help create a more perfect Union. Wills uses this book to make the case that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address changed America and restored the Declaration. No doubt the Address was a good speech, but it was a good speech within the context of a war and legislative actions and four score and seven years of prior and many years of subsequent history. Wills overlooks that because it doesn't suit his argument about the power of rhetoric and the importance of this one speech. Without the battlefield victories of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, and the later 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, this would be a forgotten speech. Perhaps its greatness came after the fact, once the Union was preserved.

Today, Union is taken for granted, and that may be why Wills discounts the importance of the Union in favor of the ideas presented in the Preamble. To do this he goes to some great lengths, I think discounting the statements of Lincoln and others about the importance of the Union, and purposefully reading that interpretation of the Union out of the Gettysburg Address. I think others have the better argument on the front, arguing for the primacy of Union. Indeed, Wills at times almost presents Lincoln as a lunatic, clinging to some weird idea that there was no war because America could not be at war with itself (I'm overselling my point here, but if you read the section I think you'll see that the better argument is that Lincoln operated under the legal fiction that the Constitution was still in force for political/practical/military reasons and that he used the rhetoric he did for political purposes, rather than, as Wills presents it, out of some belief that the Preamble created the Union and Lincoln always operated under the Preamble).

That is not to say the Address wasn't an excellent distillation of Lincoln's views on the War, and Wills quite superbly shows the craftsmanship of the speech itself, puts in into the context of other speeches that day, and puts it into the context of history's great funeral orations and current American thought. This is all vivid and interesting material, although again, Wills I think goes a bridge too far. Showing how the Address aligns with speeches from ancient Greece is interesting, but that doesn't, on it's own, mean Lincoln consciously adopted those forms or consciously was asserting larger transcendental ideas about life.

One last side note, interestingly, Wills seemed to get quite personal with his arguments, calling out those he disagrees with by name and not merely arguing against them, but rather suggesting they are fools. I don't know what personal rancor there may have been in these intellectual circles at the time, but frankly, Wills comes off as rather petty when he does this. You can argue against someone without suggesting that person is a fool, and that is probably the wiser route to take when you cherry pick a few quotes without context and do not give the other party the chance to respond. That said, as I noted, this book is an argument, not a work of straight history.

So, this is a great book well worth reading, and will make you look at the Gettysburg Address in a whole new way. But, that doesn't mean it will make you look at the Gettysburg Address in the right way. This is Wills' argument, Wills' view of the Address and American history and what this country is about. Sometimes he's right and sometimes he's wrong.

I was immensely disappointed in this book. I thought I would learn something about Lincoln, his thoughts and opinions before, during and after the battle, and about how he developed his famous speech. Instead, it's a turgid book of political philosophy centered on the Civil War era. This is a political science textbook, not a interesting history book. If you are a political philosophy scholar, you'll love it; if you are an ordinary lover of history, you won't. You'll fall asleep.

Fascinating in depth study of the ceremony at Gettysburg honoring the dead. In depth analysis of President Lincoln's 2 and half minute speech and also an in depth analysis of Edward Everett's extremely long introduction (2-4 hour!). Edward Everett, while not well known now, was very famous in his day. His speech went into the rebellions of England and other European countries that influenced the thinking of both the North and the South. What most Americans do not know now, but did then were the rebellions in England and the Colonies in the 1600's and the 1700's that led the South to feel justified and gave instruction to the North on how to deal with the South post-war. Everett's speech is little known as it was quite long, quite academic and very philosophical. Lincoln's is simple in words, short and easy for school children to memorize. What is not known too well, is the influence of famous Greek speeches for similar reasons, mainly Pericles speech honoring the burial of the fallen troops of 10 tribes, plus the 11th made up of the unknowns after the battles to block the Persians.

I liked this a great deal because of the research, the thoughts that came from reading this and how well it was written.

This year my "Reading Challenge" is to re-read 10 books to see how they hold up to my memory. There is quite a bit in this book that I forgot over 15 years.

If you asked me last week, I'd have told you it was about the use of rhetorical devices and how this style of oratory harkens back to the Greek tradition. I would not have remembered nor told you it shows how Lincoln recast the meaning of the war and fixed the Declaration of Independence as subordinate to Constitution (as noted in the title); nor would I have remembered how Wills shows the influence of the transcendentalists on Lincoln's thinking; nor would I have remembered much about the choice of venue.

Wills defines the founding generation's preference for Roman (a republic, fearful of the masses) imagery to the late nineteenth century's preference for Greek (a democracy with more suffrage) imagery. He shows the development of Lincoln's mood and thought through previous speeches and bits of Lincoln's poetry and a discussion of the (later) second Inaugural Address. There is quite a bit on the 19th century American experience of death (using the word "Victorian" only as an adjective for authors) and the cemetery movement.

I remembered that by not naming a person, the battlefield being dedicated or the battle fought there, "the North" or "the South" or any place, or even the Declaration of Independence which the oratory is about, he makes the piece timeless. By using nouns instead of referent pronouns he creates stirring images. By using of balance he makes it poetic. I did not remember how the war was recast in that "the great task before us" is not emancipation, but the perpetuation of self-government.

It's funny how the memory works. There are a few poems that Lincoln wrote and I did not remember any of them. Most of them are forgettable, but the poem on pp. 92-93 where Lincoln lays out his beliefs on race should not have been.

The contrast with oratory of its day is shown in the Appendix III in the speech delivered that same day by Pennsylvania Governor Everett. Also in Appendix III is an example of the Greek funeral oratory from which the style is derived.

Were I to have rated this book last week, I'd have given it 5 stars. While it is an important book and Wills brings a lot together, today I see it as a 4 star book. While the book is short and it is not pithy. The pieces on psychobiography and the section on the transcendental influence ramble.

Wills analyzes the text and context of Lincoln's great speech at Gettysburg in November 1863. With respect to context, he rebuts the idea that Everett's 2-hour keynote address that day was a disaster or that Lincoln's speech was somehow shockingly short. In this day before electronic media, long-winded oratory that carried the listener away was an art form, and Everett gave the people exactly what they wanted. Lincoln's job was to give a short benediction, and his remarks were entirely appropriate. Both speakers succeeded in delivering exactly what was expected of him.

But Lincoln's speech became historically significant because it capped his attempt, going back to his 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas, to define the Constitution as creating a national government committed to equal rights that could validly enact laws prohibiting slavery outside of the South. Moreover, he construed the Constitution in the light of the Declaration of Independence and in the light of the Founder's intent to put even Southern slavery onto the path of ultimate extinction.

Lincoln's genius was to make this subtle legal argument in terms that registered emotionally with all Americans and that declared a rediscovered national purpose to create a national government of the people, by the people, and for the people dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. And he does so without the resorting to the easy expedient of demonizing the South. He even manages to give an important address about ridding the nation of the cancer of slavery without ever mentioning the term. Rather, he keeps hitting on the fundamental ideal of the Declaration of Independence, thereby making his critics seem petty and legalistic in wanting to craft all sorts of exceptions to Jefferson's ideal.

To Wills' credit, he does not lose all objectivity about Lincoln, acknowledging the heavy debt Lincoln owed to Webster as well as to the intellectual movements of the day.

Wills also examines the text of the speech, noting the staccato monosyllabic cadences (like the telegraph of the day)and plain yet poetic language that would replace the effusions of speakers like Everett. He reformats some of the speech as stanzas to demonstrate its poetic nature.

Wills cites critics of the day as complaining that Lincoln was hijacking the purpose of the war (to restore the union) with the ideal that all men are created equal. But Lincoln saw that the nation could not survive without rediscovering its core national purpose. Whether in the short run (via the Emancipation Proclamation or the postwar 13th Amendement) or in the long run (via prewar attempts to patch together the union in the hope that a contained slavery would inevitably wither away), Lincoln knew that the nation had to get rid of slavery. Lincoln stated the case so poetically, so simply, and so irrefutably that he succeeded in his mission.

The book should be read in conjunction with Professor Faust's later argument ("This Republic of Suffering") that the nation was ready for Lincoln's message as a necessary means of reconciling itself to the horrific river of death that was the Civil War. Also, and Willis does mention this, the book should be read in conjunction with the message Lincoln delivered 2 years later in the Second Inaugural Address. This later speech finished the job started at Gettysburg and stands as Lincoln's finest speech.

There are times in every nation's history that serve as turning points, and the 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery is one of America's, largely due to the influence of Abraham Lincoln's 256 word speech. Garry Wills puts paid to the notion that Lincoln dashed something off on the train ride to Gettysburg, painstakingly tracing the cultural, literary, historic, and philosophical underpinnings to one of the world's oratory masterpieces. Wills also analyzes the surviving five drafts of the speech that were written in the President's own hand, concluding that the one given to Alexander Bliss is most likely the one from which Lincoln spoke. He also attempts to pinpoint the location of the dias within the cemetery, which was not, as the Park Service contended, at the site of the Soldiers' Monument.

Readers searching for information about Lincoln's activities on that fateful day will find little of interest in this slim volume, but for those interested in the best known address in American history, Lincoln at Gettysburg fills the bill.

In "Lincoln at Gettysburg", author Garry Wills explores the most famous speech in American history- Lincoln's Gettysburg Address done on November 19, 1863 after the battle that changed the course of the war. Wills takes each line- every word- and gives the reader insights into how this great speech was crafted. Most people who have heard this speech- or read it in history class- do not know the depth which is present in these words.

Birth... death... and rebirth are all encapsulated in the Gettysburg Address. Wills gives meaning to each phrase...and explores the roots of the famous words which most history buffs know by heart, but don't fully understand. Anyone who truly wants to understand the thoughts going through the mind of Abraham Lincoln leading up to this famous speech should read this book...and by doing so- will have a greater understanding and appreciation of American history.

-Gene Pisasale
Author, "Lafayette's Gold- The Lost Brandywine Treasure" and
"Vineyard Days"

Each Fourth of July somewhere in this country, people try to get signatures on a petition that lists grievances against the government. Most people refuse to sign but there are those who recognize the words of the Declaration of Independence and gladly sign their names. Of course, once you get through the famous opening declaration, most Americans would not know the specific charges leveled by Jefferson and the Continental Congress against King George III. But Garry Willis' study of "Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America" examines the 272 word speech that made the opening words of the Declaration part of the American consciousness. Prior to November of 1863 most Americans did not accept the principle that "all men are created equal." After Lincoln finished his speech at Gettysburg, the nation's commitment to that ideal was signed in the blood of the Civil War dead.
At 266 pages (plus notes and index) Willis' book is as concise as Lincoln's speech. Most of the analysis deals with the origins of the speech, looking at both its classical antecedents and the specific rhetorical situation of the dedication ceremony for the cemetery on the field at Gettysburg. But Willis also deals with how Lincoln's words have resonated from that time forward. The greatest speech in American history remains Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream," but without the Gettysburg Address the time of the Civil Rights movement and the place of the Lincoln Memorial, wherein Lincoln's speech is carved, would never have come about.
For teachers of either American history or rhetoric, this book contains much more than you would ever need to know and much more than you could ever impart to your students. But the importance of this speech is made crystal clear and that is what our students need to know, to understand, and to remember.

Garry Willis' 1992 "Lincoln at Gettysburg" won the Pulitzer Prize and a number of other literary awards for its exhaustive and creative examination of Lincoln's seminal Gettysburg Address. Willis' theme is that Lincoln's address profoundly changed the intellectual basis of the dialogue within the United States over freedom and slavery. One need not fully agree with Willis' assessment of the impact of Lincoln's speech to appreciate the fine scholarship and literary style of his book.

Willis' book approaches the Gettysburg Address as an historical event, as an exemplar of political speechmaking of the period, and as an example of the political genius of Abraham Lincoln. Willis' breakdown of the speech itself identifies its intellectual antecedents, the meaning of its various portions, and why it has endured as a powerful statement of the American purpose. In a nice postscript, Willis describes the "other" Gettysburg Address, the oration by Edward Everett that was meant by organizers to be the principal speech at the event.

This book is highly recommended to students of the political and intellectual history of the Civil War. It may be less interesting to the casual reader or student of the military art.

Garry Wills is a very learned and intelligent man whose views on politics are very different than mine. Frankly, I have come to enjoy his writing less and less over the years as he has become more strident and even shrill in his criticisms of our country and conservative religious faith. However, this is a book I enjoyed very much and encourage everyone to read.

Wills provides a good history of the address Lincoln gave at Gettysburg. He provides a great context for our understanding of what was said that day. One of the especially helpful things the author does is contrast Lincoln's brief address with the larger and more conventional (for their time) speech by the acclaimed orator, Edward Everett.

Along with the terrific history, the author makes an argument that what Lincoln says in the address makes a statement for the future of the Union that is radically different than what the founders had set down. He notes that Lincoln took actions and stated beliefs and purposes that were nothing less than a complete reinterpretation of America and how this address summarizes this view, however briefly. Its genius is in the way it evokes the founding and fuses it with a vision that had never existed before nor had it been forged in the fire of public debate. It was Lincoln's genius to bring the nation with him into this new vision.

Whether or not you agree with Wills, you will benefit from the great history and context he provides. I especially enjoyed reading the speech by Edward Everett and the understanding it gave me of nineteenth century oratory. Lincoln himself was capable of long and even extemporaneous speechmaking. Just think on the Lincoln - Douglass debates and you will have all the evidence you need. Yet, the genius in this little speech has come to be recognized with the passage of time and it is one of the treasures of our national patrimony.

Garry Wills has done it again.

His analytical skills are so incisive and commonsensical that you wonder how anyone could interpret the world differently. "Gettysburg" reveals his talents anew. From his exposition of the 19th century urban cemeteries movement, to Americans' fascination with all things Greek to his analysis of Lincoln's personal and public views of slavery, Wills satisfied my hunger for information while leaving me panting for more. Wills demolishes a number of persistent myths about Gettysburg. No, Lincoln did not write his address at the last minute on the back of an envelope; he had vast respect for the spoken word and there is ample evidence that he prepared his address thoroughly long before the Gettysburg dedication. Wills's description of the grisly, wretched work of burying and reburying battlefield casualties is a necessary counterbalance to the tales of soldierly courage and strategy that are the sum of other histories. Even the appendices are fascinating. Wills includes the text of the 2-hour oration of Edward Everett, the dedication's main speaker, whose work has often been diminished in relation to Lincoln's 3-minute speech. Reading Everett's long but excellent speech followed by Lincoln's short "remarks" has the effect of putting you at the scene.

Most importantly, Wills explains how Lincoln's address subtly but unalterably reinterpreted our country's founding documents. After Gettysburg, the idea that "all men are created equal" became a cornerstone of the American Dream, sowing seeds that sprung up in the many civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries.

A remarkable and important book!

This marvelous book by Garry Wills's proves that you can know something without really knowing it. Nearly every American has, at some point, been asked to memorize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and those who haven't have at least been exposed to it. The brilliance of Wills's book is that upon finishing it, you read Lincoln's remarks as if you had only discovered them for the first time.
Part of the book is devoted to some mild debunking, for instance, that his remarks were not well received at the time. But the emphasis of the book is on placing the Address in context, the literary context, the intellectual context, the political context, and the historical context. He contrasts it with other examples of funeral orations, beginning with the Greeks and the revival of Greek forms in the decades preceding the Civil War but after the founding of the US, at which time Roman forms of learning were paramount. The intellectual context is that of American Transcendentalism, and Wills shows the degree to which Lincoln was indebted to leading Transcendentalists such as Theodore Parker for many of the ideas in the Address. The historical context is, of course, a civil war that is being waged over the fate of the nation. The political context is Lincoln's radical elevation of the notion of equality as not merely a major mark of the American experiment, but the central concept underlying the formation of our nation.
The book contains many superb appendices, including a discussion of the various surviving texts, a complete transcript of Edward Everett's speech delivered on the same day, and a discussion of the precise location upon which the address was delivered.
As always with Garry Wills, I am struck with the breadth of his learning and his passion for ideas. Wills never, ever writes as a mere drudge, but always as an enthusiast. Another great book by a great scholar.

Garry Wills is a very learned and intelligent man whose views on politics are very different than mine. Frankly, I have come to enjoy his writing less and less over the years as he has become more strident and even shrill in his criticisms of our country and conservative religious faith. However, this is a book I enjoyed very much and encourage everyone to read.

Wills provides a good history of the address Lincoln gave at Gettysburg. He provides a great context for our understanding of what was said that day. One of the especially helpful things the author does is contrast Lincoln's brief address with the larger and more conventional (for their time) speech by the acclaimed orator, Edward Everett.

Along with the terrific history, the author makes an argument that what Lincoln says in the address makes a statement for the future of the Union that is radically different than what the founders had set down. He notes that Lincoln took actions and stated beliefs and purposes that were nothing less than a complete reinterpretation of America and how this address summarizes this view, however briefly. Its genius is in the way it evokes the founding and fuses it with a vision that had never existed before nor had it been forged in the fire of public debate. It was Lincoln's genius to bring the nation with him into this new vision.

Whether or not you agree with Wills, you will benefit from the great history and context he provides. I especially enjoyed reading the speech by Edward Everett and the understanding it gave me of nineteenth century oratory. Lincoln himself was capable of long and even extemporaneous speechmaking. Just think on the Lincoln - Douglass debates and you will have all the evidence you need. Yet, the genius in this little speech has come to be recognized with the passage of time and it is one of the treasures of our national patrimony.

Garry Wills has done it again.

His analytical skills are so incisive and commonsensical that you wonder how anyone could interpret the world differently. "Gettysburg" reveals his talents anew. From his exposition of the 19th century urban cemeteries movement, to Americans' fascination with all things Greek to his analysis of Lincoln's personal and public views of slavery, Wills satisfied my hunger for information while leaving me panting for more. Wills demolishes a number of persistent myths about Gettysburg. No, Lincoln did not write his address at the last minute on the back of an envelope; he had vast respect for the spoken word and there is ample evidence that he prepared his address thoroughly long before the Gettysburg dedication. Wills's description of the grisly, wretched work of burying and reburying battlefield casualties is a necessary counterbalance to the tales of soldierly courage and strategy that are the sum of other histories. Even the appendices are fascinating. Wills includes the text of the 2-hour oration of Edward Everett, the dedication's main speaker, whose work has often been diminished in relation to Lincoln's 3-minute speech. Reading Everett's long but excellent speech followed by Lincoln's short "remarks" has the effect of putting you at the scene.

Most importantly, Wills explains how Lincoln's address subtly but unalterably reinterpreted our country's founding documents. After Gettysburg, the idea that "all men are created equal" became a cornerstone of the American Dream, sowing seeds that sprung up in the many civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries.

A remarkable and important book!

This marvelous book by Garry Wills's proves that you can know something without really knowing it. Nearly every American has, at some point, been asked to memorize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and those who haven't have at least been exposed to it. The brilliance of Wills's book is that upon finishing it, you read Lincoln's remarks as if you had only discovered them for the first time.
Part of the book is devoted to some mild debunking, for instance, that his remarks were not well received at the time. But the emphasis of the book is on placing the Address in context, the literary context, the intellectual context, the political context, and the historical context. He contrasts it with other examples of funeral orations, beginning with the Greeks and the revival of Greek forms in the decades preceding the Civil War but after the founding of the US, at which time Roman forms of learning were paramount. The intellectual context is that of American Transcendentalism, and Wills shows the degree to which Lincoln was indebted to leading Transcendentalists such as Theodore Parker for many of the ideas in the Address. The historical context is, of course, a civil war that is being waged over the fate of the nation. The political context is Lincoln's radical elevation of the notion of equality as not merely a major mark of the American experiment, but the central concept underlying the formation of our nation.
The book contains many superb appendices, including a discussion of the various surviving texts, a complete transcript of Edward Everett's speech delivered on the same day, and a discussion of the precise location upon which the address was delivered.
As always with Garry Wills, I am struck with the breadth of his learning and his passion for ideas. Wills never, ever writes as a mere drudge, but always as an enthusiast. Another great book by a great scholar.

"Lincoln at Gettysburg" describes the intellectual foundation which led to Lincoln's famous speech. The book is organized into five chapters in which Wills contends that the prevalent political and social thought, the unique times, and Lincoln's self-education in speech and writing culminated in his revolutionary speech.

Wills' primary argument is that the Gettysburg Address marked a demarcation in American political thought; that one can think of two Americas, one before and one after the speech. In the former, you would refer to the United States as a plural and in the latter as a singular. He also elevated freedom and equality to this nation's primary values of this nation, redefining and reinterpreting the values of the Founders.

I thought Wills best description was of Lincoln's "Revolution in Style," in which he recounted Lincoln's development as a writer and speaker, and how he was able to speak and write to inspire and to lead. For another example of Lincoln's clarity and poetry in writing, look at Lincoln's letter to Horace Greeley, the New York Tribune Editor.

Garry Wills analyzes one of the most significant presidential addresses in American history. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG: THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA is an important study about Abraham Lincoln's commemorative and memoriam for those who lost their lives at the battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 during the US Civil War. It is also a historical and literary achievement that has been recited or referenced by US presidents after Lincoln as well as military and literary writers from General Eisenhower and Mark Twain, and students. Another important aspect of the Gettysburg Address is that it helped create a "symbol and people's political identity" (51).

Wills dissects the speech and shows parallels to classical, philosophical, and historical studies: Roman Republic and Greek Revivalism, and transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Gettysburg Address resonates the historic past that was revisited during the early nineteenth century, and in Lincoln's case, the heroicism of the Athens War and Peloponnesian War.

For many who remember the speech from studying US history at the primary and secondary level, this book is indeed, is a great supplement to reading and understanding the 272-word essay. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG is also recommended reading for the history buff that may want to know the story about America's most significant speeches that has had an effect on American society.

Reading some of the reviews, it is clear some people are voicing their agreement with the Civil War and its outcome, a United States of America, forever, rather than give their opinion of Wills' work. Yet no one can seriously question that the content of the book is great - easy to read, educational with out being booring and thought provoking in today's world. You do not need to be a Civil War boor to enjoy this book. After finishing the book, I was faced the the truth that our generation (myself included) is truely unaware and uneducated in the classics.
Just as tens of thousands of Southerners died not to keep slaves (most soldiers had none), but for their belief in a states' right to remove itself from the Union, go it's own way without the North or anyone else telling it what to do (exactly what George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and those Sons of Liberty in Boston had done only "four score and seven years" before [and which is why the "rebel flag" has little to do with race or prejudice]), tens of thousands of Northerners died to keep a united country - not to free slaves. Yet, after all the death and destruction and personal loss, which seemed to climax or reach a "high water mark" on those 3 days in July, 1863, Lincoln understood - and here Wills really excells, that the War had a much bigger meaning than simply deciding a political question. He raised the stakes at Gettysburg and perhaps that move is what ultimately decided the question.
Besided the background and history, ALL Americans, North and South should read the book with the end of Lincoln's speech in mind: "that government, of the people, by the a people and fore the people, shall not perish from this earth." Had so many not died for that concept, H.L. Menkin probably would not have had the right to write and say what he did. Had the South won its right to independence would member states of the CSA withdraw when an impass was reached? Would we have 2, 5 perhaps 50 seperate countries today, ala the USSR and its Republics? How would WWI & WWII have been different? With two countries, the USA/CSA - perhaps one might have remained on the sidelines or perhaps a CSA would have supported the racist views of Nazi Germany? Clearly world history would have been very different in ways no one could begin to know and perhaps the government we enjoy today (warts and all) would not exist as it does. Those who wish it were different can take heart by considering the current national political scene: G.W.Bush (Texas); A. Gore (Tenn.); B.& H Clinton (Ark.), etc., etc., etc...

I read this book twenty years ago and recently pulled it off the shelf again in honor of the speech's sesquicentennial.

Wills places Lincoln's address in context politically, legally, literarily, and historically. He further dissects the historical context by showing how the speech was a product of the romantic movement, the transcendental movement, and the Greek revival. It's a remarkable book that ought to be read by anyone interested in Lincoln.

The only reason I give it four stars rather than five is that I thought Wills could have spoken more about the odd position Lincoln put himself in by emphasizing the Declaration over the Constitution, and by speaking of equality when the enfranchisement of blacks was not (at that time) on the table. The founders were not thinking of blacks when they said that all men were created equal, and everyone knew that. And Lincoln's position -- that blacks deserved to be equal at least in terms of having their own freedom -- could easily have been exploited by his opponents as a slippery slope leading to black enfranchisement and black-white intermarriage, which Lincoln explicitly opposed in his earlier Charleston address. Did any of his enemies exploit this? And couldn't he have rallied Northern feelings following the battle of Gettysburg with greater logic and less risk? I would have liked it if Wills had gone into this a bit more.

Still, what Wills has given us is something to treasure.

The book ''Lincoln at Gettysburg'' by Garry Wills deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for its examination of the Gettysburg Address, which many people consider the greatest speech in American history (though I must admit I find Lincoln's second inaugural address more powerful).

This not a history book, per se, though it does provide the details necessary to set up the address. Instead, Wills examines the text of the address, with an eye toward the sources of Lincoln's inspiration and background.

This is well worth reading if you are interested in Lincoln or the Gettysburg Address.

For more in-depth book reviews I've done, search for goldenrulecomics on hubpages.com.

In his book, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Wills creates a picture of Lincoln that illustrates the truly significant nature of the president in American history. By breaking apart the Gettysburg address and examining not just the words of the address but also the historical context, Wills provides a picture that shows how significant Lincoln was to American history.

In his analysis of the address, Wills does something that I found to be very significant and that is to answer the charges of historians in the vein of Richard Hofstadter head on. Hofstadter points out that the Emancipation Proclomation really did very little, given which slaves it actually freed, Wills answers this charge directly, which provides a great defense of Lincoln in the end.

Even though in some cases Wills does get a little too detail oriented, his analysis of the text of the address, the analysis of the historical context, not just of the war, but of the social structure of American of society as well, and his defense of Lincoln all make this book well worth your time. It provides the brush strokes for the portrait of Lincoln that is frequently painted in our classrooms.

Ever since I heard Gore Vidal praise Lincoln's abilities as a writer, I wanted to read more of what that master politician had written. The perfect opportunity came along with this book, which is a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg address set in historical context. Wills offers not only Lincoln through his own words, but a vivid window into a past era.
From it, Lincoln emerges as a political genius, who invented an entirely new kind of public discourse with the G address. Instead of following the current fashion of long addresses, which to his credit Wills does not ridicule, Lincoln write a short piece that would be picked up and repeated verbatim and in the process initiate the healing of the nation. As part of the context, Wills explains the meaning and history of cemetaries, which is far more interesting than I imagined possible. But that is part of Wills' remarkable art: he unearths these things and shows us how they fit together. And hs writing style: sheer beauty and clarity.

The Battle of Gettysburg, a pivotal event in the Civil War, raged from July 1 to July 3, 1863. It was the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere and ended the Confederacy's second invasion of the North. Following the battle, the community of Gettysburg was thick with dead and wounded men. The Governor of Pennsylvania authorized the purchase of a cemetery for the reburial of the Union dead. The cemetery was dedicated in a ceremony on November 19, 1863. Edward Everett, a distinguished orator of the day, delivered a speech lasting over two hours. President Abraham Lincoln also accepted an invitation to deliver short remarks. His remarks of 272 became known as the Gettysburg Address. They constitute a seminal statement, and restatement of the American vision.

Garry Wills' study "Lincoln at Gettysburg" deserves the accolades it has received if for no other reason than it gave many readers the opportunity to read and think about the Gettysburg Address. This is a speech that is dulled and lost in childhood. It needs to be approached and rethought as an adult to get an understanding of the depth of Lincoln's message.

Wills sees the Gettysburg Address as recasting and remaking the American democratic experience. The speech expressly brings the hearer and reader back to the Declaration of Independence with its self-evident truth that "All men are created equal." This truth, Lincoln turns into a "proposition" on which our country was founded. (The Constitution, adopted thirteen years after the Declaration, countenances slavery and includes no language about human equality.) In his spare prose, Lincoln says little directly about the nature of "equality". Wills discusses the address and masterfully places it in the context of Lincoln's earlier speeches to help the reader understand the development of Lincoln's ideas on slavery, the antithesis of human equality.

The Gettysburg Address also sounded the theme of the United States as a single undivided nation rather than a union or confederation of States. Wills shows how this theme too derives from the Declaration, when the people of the colonies rose up in unity to declare their Independence from Britain. Wills also reminds the reader of the sources of the idea of Nationhood in American history. He alludes to the Federalism of Chief Justice John Marshall and Justice Joseph Story. In particular, Wills discusses the Webster-Hayne debates. Lincoln greatly admired Webster as well as his fellow Whig, Henry Clay. Webster uttered the famous line "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable," which resonates through the Gettysburg Address.

Wills tries to show the influence on Lincoln's thought on the transcendentalism of Emerson and of Theodore Parker. I thought this one of the more challenging sections of the book. While the Declaration was born in the skepticism of British empiricism and of Deism, transcendentalism emphasized the ideal. The Declaration and the Address, and the American mission, Lincoln transformed into ideal to be struggled for and realized by the living to commemorate the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to attain it.

The book also includes an excellent treatment of rhetoric and speech, tracing Lincoln's address back to Thucydides and Georgias and ending with the observation that it marked the beginning of modern American prose.

Wills' book encourages the reader to think about the Gettysburg Address and the great nature of the American political experiment. (This review was edited and reposted on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017)

Robin Friedman

In this interesting and very readable book, Garry Wills provides a close reading of Lincoln's Gettysberg Address in order to place it in proper historic context. Wills reviews the circumstances of the occasion and the production of the speech, rebutting a number of common misconceptions. A close analysis of the rhetorical aspects of the Address demonstrate how the Address is rooted in 19th century American interest in Greek rhetoric, the Romantic revival, and Transcendentalism. Most important, Wills shows how the Address exemplifies Lincoln's vision of American society based on a vision of Liberty and Equality with the Declaration of Independence as the foundation document of the nation. This view, which had a long and distinguished history in the first half of the 19th century, became the intellectual underpinnings for the attack on Slavery. Wills may exaggerate when he says that the Address itself became a major vehicle for this transforming view of American political life. It is more likely that the Address is one of many elements that combined to expand the conception of liberty. On the other hand, Lincoln's immense prestige after the Civil War, which was bolstered tremendously by the power of this speech and his second Inaugural Address, acted as a guarantor of the views he advocated.

Garry Wills writes, "Hemingway claimed that modern American novels are the offspring of Huckleberry Finn. It is no exaggeration to say that all modern political prose descends from the Gettysburg Address."

Indeed, Edward Everett was given top billing that day and was to deliver a customary address of two or three hours. Lincoln's remarks were solicited almost as an afterthought. But Everett's day was over, a new era had begun, and America would never be the same. Political discourse would never be the same.

At Gettysburg, "Lincoln does not argue history or politics, he makes history...He came to change the world." As time has judged these words and valued this work, he did. He called up a new nation, reborn, and rededicated.

Wills takes a long, deep drink of the draft of this address. He circumspectly explores the culture, the politics, the popular culture, the context of the times. "Lincoln at Gettysburg" is a circumspect work in the hands of a masterful author, worthy of reading and re-reading. An important edition for every library.

Wills provides an excellent literary analysis of the famous address. He clearly debunks the old "back of the envelope" myth and shows that Lincoln did not treat the occassion lightly by not preparing his remarks properly. Instead, Wills demonstrates that Lincoln built on his knowledge of the Bible and classical literature to create a remarkable speech in the manner of Greek funerary oration. Wills gives us not only a historical context for the speech, but a literary one as well. For that he earns my praise.
The reason for 4 stars is that Wills sometimes forgets what Lincoln so clearly demonstrated - a simple clear sentence can work wonders. At times, Wills gets a bit carried away with his writing.
Last, to the reviewer who said that Lincoln was as bad a president as Clinton; and, to the one who thought he lead us on the road to socialism... Sheesh... what planet are you on? Clinton would love the comparison, and old guard Republicans should must be spinning in their graves.
Dean

The pen is mightier than the sword goes the famous saying. Few speeches examplifies this concept more than the Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln. This book by Garry Wills examines this all-important speech line by line, examines what Lincoln meant with each word, and what people in posteriety have taken it to mean. The contents of the speech are framed within previous literary texts such as the US Declaration of Indepence, the US Constitution, New England Transcendantelism, Classical Greek literature, etc...

The book also frames the speech within other speeches of that era. For example, Wills shows how Lincoln did not consistently advocate publicly for the abolition of slavery for a long time. During his presidential campaign, Lincoln would change his stance toward slavery depending on which state he was in. Even after the Civil War started, Lincoln did not abolish slavery. But as time passed, Lincoln slowly and steadily moved the nation towards the idea of all men being free. This movement culminated in the Gettysburg Address in which Lincoln fully and purposefully refuted all Southern claims of a literal reading of the Constitution, and replaced it with one central concept; all human beings deserve freedom.

All in all a great book. The reading level is accessible enough for high-schoolers but with enough depth to impress adults. I recommend it.

Lincoln at Gettysburg is a tour deforce, laying out the social and cultural significance of death and graveyards in mid-19th century America, the political landscape Lincoln was working within, and the perceived role of the Declaration of Independence in American governance, as of the Civil War.

Wills shows how, in the address, Lincoln used those trends to renew the vision of our nation as the grand experiment in self-determination and bring the Declaration's language of "all Men are created equal" to its current definitive role in our identity as Americans.

And, he pulls it off with engaging prose, and a fascinating narrative arc that gives us a clear sense of the era about which he is writing!

For longer than a century, the three minute speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln has stood as a model of the new oratory style; it has a precise construction; and it crystalizes the thinking, "that all men are created equal." Wills, after compiling a monumental amount of research and after sifting through enormous amounts of background materials, writes nothing short of a full exegesis of the speech, analyzing it against the culture in which it was created--the Greek revival oratory movement--and, of course, against the backdrop of the battlefield.
This exploration of the speech restores the conceptual glory to the speech as it should be. For too long, too many students of History and Forensics have glossed over the Address. Wills' book should restore it to the pedestal where it belongs.

In his book, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Garry Wills sets about debunking the myths, legends, and rumors concerning Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." Wills seeks to show that because of the Gettysburg Address " . . . the Civil War is what Lincoln wanted it to mean." (pg. 38) Wills helps the reader understand what events, speeches, and speakers had impacted Lincoln in the past, which ultimately influenced Lincoln's selection of words for the speech itself. Wills notes that the speech had influences from such diverse sources as Daniel Webster, Thomas Jefferson, as well as Greek figures such as Pericles. The book also describes the rural cemetery movement that was beginning to rise at the time of the speech, which was influential in the design of the Gettysburg Cemetery. The book also answers many of the critics of Lincoln, who argue the speech and the Emancipation Proclamation were weak, and illustrate Lincoln's propensity of clever evasions and key silences concerning key issues. Willis also notes how the style of the address was the forerunner of a new way of communicating, a way fit for the machine age.
One of the first topics Wills addresses is the myth that the man who spoke before Lincoln, Edward Everett, impositioned the audience with a two-hour long speech that bored the listeners. Wills notes long speeches were common, and expected for the day. He gives reference to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, which illustrate that Lincoln himself was capable and comfortable speaking at length before groups of people. Willis also emphasizes that Everett was the invited speaker for the dedication, and Lincoln had been asked simply to give some remarks. Wills also demystifies the story that Lincoln wrote the address on a napkin, or while sitting on the stand during Everett's speech. Wills notes Lincoln composed he speeches thoughtfully, to simply jot one down quickly would be out of character. (pg. 28)
Wills notes the Greek revival that was occurring in America at this time, and the influence it had on Everett and Lincoln. Everett had been a leading proponent of the Greek Style, influencing many through his speeches, as well as the time he spent teaching at Harvard. Wills notes Everett had inspired many of the Transcendentalists, including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson stated that the Gettysburg Address would not " . . . easily be surpassed by words on nay recorded occasion." (pg. 47) Wills notes that Everett could be given credit, as much as anyone else, in creating the conditions for Lincoln's address, and his classicism was as much a forerunner to Lincoln as his foil. (pg. 47)
Understanding exactly what Lincoln meant in the speech is one of Wills' primary goals. To help the reader understand, Wills dissects many of the passages from the address, and then gives the reader insight into Lincoln's personality. One of the key phrases of the speech concerns the fathers of the country. Wills notes that Lincoln never seems to have been interested in George Washington. To Lincoln, the founding fathers were those who were the authors of the Declaration of Independence, particularly Thomas Jefferson, whom Lincoln considered the most distinguished politician in America's history.
Wills shows how Lincoln used the Gettysburg Address to refresh the memories of Americans the ideals the founding fathers placed in the Declaration of Independence, and the self-evident truth that `all men are created equal.' Wills notes how Lincoln's earlier speeches illustrate his ideas on slavery, which was the complete opposite of equality. Lincoln also used the Declaration to stress that the nation was founded in unity, and should stay unified. Wills states, "For him, the fathers are always the begetters of the national idea. The founders of the nation founded it on that." (pg. 86) Wills also notes how Lincoln and Daniel Webster felt the Declaration of Independence was closer to being the founding document of the United States than was the Constitution. (pg. 130) The ideals stated in the Declaration were more pure than the Constitution, which was based on compromises. Wills adds excerpts from Lincoln's speeches, which illustrate how the Constitution was to make a more `perfect union,' but not define the union itself.
To most Americans, the consensus opinion of the Gettysburg Address is to place it among the greatest speeches ever given, if not the greatest. Wills shows how Lincoln derived much of the address from his accumulated experiences. Some historians, particularly Richard Hofstadter, see the address as another instance where Lincoln avoided the issues and sought to placate the nation with weak rhetoric. Hofstadter does not criticize the address in the book, however it is noted that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation issued earlier that year was completely neglected in the address. Hofstadter says the Emancipation Proclamation " . . . had all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading. It contained no indictment of slavery, but simply based emancipation on `military necessity'. " (pg. 137)
Hofstadter further accuses Lincoln of being of two minds, which changed depending on the demographic of his audience. Hofstadter illustrates this by contrasting Lincoln's speeches he gave in Southern Illinois, versus speeches he gave in Northern Illinois. Hofstadter said Lincoln possibly believed whatever he uttered at the time he delivered it. He states, " Possibly his mind too was a house divided against itself." (pg. 92) Wills contends Hofstadter is pursuing false issues regarding Lincoln's speeches. Wills argues that it was not a matter of his position on the issues, but rather Lincoln chose when to "tickle the racism of his audience" (pg. 93)
One of the more interesting issues Wills concentrates on is the style of the address itself. Lincoln was noted to prefer succinctness and brevity to long overdrawn prose. Wills illustrates this in Lincoln's dispatches with General Grant. Grant was known for his dispatches that related the facts in the fewest words possible. Lincoln learned to be brief as well because of his telegraphs to Grant and other generals. Lincoln developed a reluctance to waste words and omitting coupling words. Lincoln also arranged the address so key words were repeated, so that each paragraph was bound to the preceding and following paragraphs. Wills states, "He was a Transcendentalist without the fuzziness. He spoke a modern language because he was dealing with a scientific age for which abstract words are appropriate." (pg. 174) Wills believes Lincoln was not addressing an agrarian future, but a mechanical future, in which economical speech that meshed like the gears of a machine was needed.
Willis tackles a subject that many Americans learned at an early age, but likely never thought about the deep meanings behind the short speech. Wills includes criticism of recent leaders and politicians such as Ronald Reagan, Robert Bork, and Ed Meese. Whatever his opinions regarding these men and their ideas, it seemed out of place with the rest of the book, and unfortunately dates what could be a timeless analysis of the Gettysburg Address. Despite the minor flaws, the book offers great insight and reflection upon an event in history that to many has lost its significance.

The subtitle of this book suggests that Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg changed America. The author argues, reasonably persuasively, the Lincoln was consciously using the speech to rally people to his view of the nature of the American experiment in democracy. While this book is somewhat dry and academic in its treatment of the material, it does place the Gettysburg Address in the context of the speech making styles of the time, and shows how Lincoln not only changed how people thought of the United States, but also how they made political speeches.

While most people today would probably take Lincoln's views on the nature of the Union that binds the states together, at the time of his speech, this was not only not universally accepted, but it was the very issue that Lincoln saw at the root of the Civil War. This book helps place Lincoln's most famous speech into the context of the politics, the war and the social climate of its time. The result is a deeper appreciation for the importance and impact of this short speech.

This is a well-written book, with moments of eloquence. In the end, though, it is uneven and unsatisfying--and mistitled. The centerpiece is, indeed, the Gettysburg Address, but Wills spends most of his time exploring the cultural background to the speech (e.g. the Greek revival, nineteenth-century cemeteries, Transcendentalism) and discussing Lincoln's other speeches. All this is fine, and often interesting, but the book might more appropriately have been titled, "Lincoln: The Man Whose Words Remade America."
When he treats the cultural aspects of the period and the speech, Wills it at his best. His discussion of Greek rhetoric is truly fascinating. During the early 1800s, the United States experienced a Greek revival, in which intellectual thought moved from the Roman-republic fixation of the Founders to the ancient Greek democratic tradition. Edward Everett, a gigantic figure of the time and the main speaker at Gettysburg, led this transformation, part of which injected elements of Greek rhetoric into the culture. This showed up most prominently in the form of Greek funeral orations (such as the famous one of Pericles), a style that Lincoln adopted in his address. Also interesting is Wills' chapter on the culture of death: how cemeteries became detached from churches and moved into rural areas, how they were viewed as places of reflection and education, how even children were encouraged to participate in this culture.
However, when Wills moves beyond this generally straightforward telling of history into argument, the book grows considerably weaker. Arguing against James McPherson is a dangerous thing to do, and Wills does it twice, declaring that McPherson is wrong to suggest that Lincoln came to view the South, in some manner, as a foreign power and that his position evolved to embrace unconditional surrender and total war. Not that McPherson is infallible (indeed, I'm not entirely convinced on the former point), but Wills' arguments are entirely unconvincing. Moreover, Wills apparently has some ideological axes to grind against the conservative movement he left some years ago. Twice does Wills mention the twentieth century. Both times he attacks "states' rights" or "original intent" conservatives. Criticism is heaped upon Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, and Edwin Meese, and special animus is reserved for Willmoore Kendall. None of these individuals is beyond criticism, but doing so in this book seems out of place and disrupts the narrative flow.
Wills' thesis that Lincoln effected a revolution in American political thought is a sound though not at all original one. To my mind, this book's merit lies in the first half of the book, where Wills delves into the culture of the early 1800s and places the Gettysburg Address within that milieu. The rest of the book, however, proves valuable only as a starting point for controversy, which is not entirely bad.

I love Garry Wills work. Wills gives the text of the Gettyburg address a close reading within the context of nineteenth century rhetorical theory and comes up with an argument that bolsters the argument which generations of Americans implicitly sympathetic to post-civil war southerners tried to deny--that slavery was, in fact, the central issue of the war. Lincoln makes a philosophical and ideological leap in his address of tying our national purpose firmly and directly to the Declaration and its principals of equality. In the process he thoroughly modernizes rhetorical principals to fit the newly emerging age of mass media. Edward Everett, the renowned Harvard President and scholar, looks backward to Pericles and the longtstanding traditions of oratory in fashinoning the two-hour keynote address at Gettysburg--a practice which was not unfamiliar to his audience. Lincoln followed with an unusual brevity, a style which, as it happens, could be transmitted by wire and published in newspapers afterward. (In some senses, it was the beginnings of the rhetoric of the soundbite.) Linclon like most politicians, particularly one running for reelection the following year, could not afford to get too far in front of his constitutents, but in this speech, Lincoln takes a bold step forward on the issue of the war and its effect of defining a national mission. His earlier pronouncements on race as well as on slavery in the non-seceding states were always cautious, Here, however, even if slavery is not mentioned directly, makes his message absolutely clear. Some of the press in attendance understood well and many criticized him for it (cf. Sandburg's summary of press responses to the address). Wills conveys clearly how revolutionary a piece the address was, both politically and as an advance in practical rhetoric.

This work is a fascinating compendium and sideline to any study of the Civil War in general and the outcome of battle of Gettysburg in particular, with some background on the full event behind Lincoln's celebrated address: a very short speech by Lincoln followed the very long oration by Everett, one of the most famous orators of his day, and a scholar steeped in the classics of rhetoric. The ironic symmetry of the moment, as Lincoln caps a two hour speech, with a few paragraphs piercing to the heart of the matter at hand, has a rugged elegance and seems to confer on the scene a Demosthenean grandeur.
The book includes the full text of Everett's oration beside the various versions of the Lincoln's address.

"All men are created equal."

Instead of the Constitution, Lincoln found his inspiration from the Declaration of Independence. He spoke of the United States as a nation--with a moral commonality--and not simply as a confederation of states governed by laws that don't "specifically" prohibit slavery.

In his 1992 book, Garry Wills, an enthusiastic fan of our 16th president, explores how Lincoln turned America's vision of itself from "what we are" to "what our forefathers wanted us to be."

Some passages of interest to look for:

* Lincoln's reticence to escalate war rhetoric and demonize the South.

* Social context. Some ideas--theories and assumptions we know as wrong and racist today--were considered "liberal" positions during the time of the Civil War. And, like any time, liberal positions carry with them some political risk.

* The Charleston Speech, its humor and lampooning of Douglas, and its political success.

These are by no means the most important aspects of this fantastic treatise, but they are a few of the interesting colors in the fabric of the time and place that made Lincoln's brief remarks at Gettysburg resonate in our national consciousness. Lincoln illuminates the difference between following a legalistic path, and pursuing what is morally right. Wills hits this point dead on.

This is a brilliant book.

This book, a slim, well-composed study of the language of the Gettysburg Address -a language emblazoned into modern memory as it was taught by rote in grammars- is a joy for enthusiasts of history, literature, and most any other field of interest. As with other books by Wills because of the topicality it is atypical yet well-represented in its approach. The eloquent musicality of Lincoln's prose, in part influenced by Shakespeare, Cicero and Biblical text, surpasses, seemingly, the verbosity and dictum of forefathers Adams, Jefferson and rival Stephen Douglas, achieving a sort of quiet rapture with detractor and admirer alike. Wills' critical examination takes the reader from understanding Lincoln from within these broader references to something greater- the melding of language to the larger heroics of its literal and figurative representation (something like comnparing an anthem to a ballad) and allows the reader to discern exactly why these words transcend the obvious, striking a chord (not necessarily mystic) with its audience. Strongly recommend.

Far from the idiocy of dry, historical recitation devoid of meaningful context, Wills' work compares quite favorably with the writing of greats like Richard Hofstadter; Wills understands the broad currents of history involved in the events of the Civil War and makes clear that Lincoln does too, showing the 16th President's reliance upon them, and the centuries-long tradition of great leaders eulogizing their Honored Dead in producing the Address. This simultaneously elevates Lincoln in our intellectual esteem; no merely talented "Man of the Soil" he; and renders him more heroic for the thoughtful, careful way in which he set about composing it.

Wills does an excellent job managing the conflict inherent in modern scholarship: balancing the length needed to lay-out legitimate ideas, with the pacing expected by a modern audience more used to watching documentaries than to reading them. "Lincoln at Gettysburgh" is gripping, fascinating, sympathetic, and informative all in one shot: a really great book.

"The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."
Although I give Wills' book only three stars, my review will not be as harsh as the above quote which the Chicago Tribune published soon after Lincoln's address in 1863.
Wills writes a invaluable piece of literature about the Gettysburg Address and very much deserved the Pulitzer Award; however, I forewarn prospective readers on the book that this is less history and more a critique on the Address itself.
Wills painstakingly dissects Lincoln's speech line by line and even word by word. He examines the influence of the Greek Revival in the speech and compares sections of it to classic Greek writings. Wills also discusses the importance of God and death being referred to in the Address and also covers transcendentalism.
"Lincoln at Gettysburg" is a genuine appreciation of Lincoln's "few appropriate remarks," but the history element, which I was seeking, wasn't all there. But I don't believe Wills ever intended this to be a historical review so before buying the book, know what you are looking for. If you want a history of the speech, what events led up to the Address and the reaction of the American people to it, I'd look elsewhere. However, anyone interested in speech classes, oratory skills or a literary examination of the Gettysburg Address and its influences, Wills' book will be the most complete and concise work on the subject and is the answer you have been looking for.
- A thumbs up to Wills for including Edward Everett's two-hour speech in the back of his book. While most of us have heard that Lincoln was not the featured speaker and spoke for only two minutes after Everett's saga on Nov. 19, it is not widely known what was said prior to Lincoln's closing. Wills includes in the Appendix Everett's entire speech and gives us little doubt why Everett wrote to Lincoln the next day, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."

Author Garry Wills is unequivocal in his admiration for Abraham Lincoln and his brief speech, which became arguably the most famous oration of American history. In this fascinating book, he places the Gettysburg Address in context, explaining the political philosophy that inspired it, the literary precedents that gave it form, and the social/historical milieu that influenced the individuals who were present. There are many interesting tidbits here, including the culture of death that existed in the 19th century and the way it influenced the evolution of cemeteries, the influence of classical Greek oratory on the structure of the address, and Lincoln's careful attention to the written word.

While this book provides the background to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, from the Civil War itself to Lincoln's earlier thought to the Transcendental Movement, Wills never seems to support his primary thesis: that with the Address Lincoln redefined America with the speech, changing the United States from being an "are" to an "is." Though he makes this contention repeatedly, he provides little evidence for it. And I kept expecting a line-by-line analysis of the speech, which never comes.
Still, the background information is interesting, and Wills does correct some misconceptions, such as the belief that the Address was unexpectedly short, in contrast with William Webster's three-hour speech. In fact, Lincoln was simply giving a dedication, which was expected to be short, and Webster's speech, in the custom of the day, was likewise expected to be long.
So a worthwhile book but take it with a grain of salt (and admittedly I am no expert on history--except the history of science--so it may be just my misunderstanding rather than the book itself).

I loved Wills' book, not for its historical brilliance, but rather for its literary insights. At the time I read it, I was preparing to teach the AP Language and Composition course which focuses on Greek/Latin rhetoric -- this book goes well beyond the level required for AP English. I challenge any literary reader not to be wowed by Wills' analysis of Lincoln's speech. Although I didn't assign it in my AP class, it would be perfect because of the line by line dissection of this memorable speech.

I actually ordered this book by accident. I had decided that I didn't want the book, because a 300 page, 80,000 word analysis of a 272 word speech seemed ridiculous to me. I pictured in my mind a historical root-word analysis of the Gettysburg Address and it made me shudder. Somehow, I clicked to buy anyway and I'm very glad that I did.
The book is about the Civil War, and the reasons Lincoln thought that it needed to be fought. It is not your typical Civil War novel with an analysis of this battle and then the next battle. Instead it tries to answer the question, why battle at all? Lincoln is a much more complex individual than I had ever though and his reasons for his actions (as well as his humility and sympathy for others) may surprise you.
This is a well-written, brief book and I recommend it to anyone interested in U.S. history.

Garry Wills has written a marvelous and meanigful book that adds luster and new life to a speech that most of us heard and did not fully appreciate in school. He suggests that the few words marked a transition in American thought that not many recognized at the time. Taking the ideas back to their intellectual and emotional bases, he emphasises in part just how different the world view was when the speech was given. Language and ideas have chnaged so profoundly that we may not understand that we do not understand. Wonderful!

Wills carefully recreates the world of Lincoln's time in retelling the story of America's greatest speech. In the course of painting the intellectual, social, political, and military canvas that forms the background for the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, he convincingly put forth his thesis: that the Gettysburg speech powerfully shaped the course of American history -- in ways that were much more profound than any piece of legislation, Supreme Court ruling, or other overt political act. Lincoln's speech not only defined what the Civil War was about, but also defined what the results of the war should be -- and because of the Gettysburg Address -- would be. The "better angels of our nature" must prevail not merely in re-uniting the disparate states, but in fact in redefining the American union and calling the nation to "a new birth of freedom".
Well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize, this is inspired exegesis of some of the most inspirational words in American history. It should be required reading for every citizen who casts a ballot.

The 272 of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are as significant today as they were six score and seventeen years ago. Garry Wills' explicates them and paints a picture that gives us the historical context of the President's speech. It was short enough for generations of people to remember, yet at the same time, long enough to have a great impact on the ways we think of America. Wills argues that through his speech Lincoln remade the American history in that Americans would interpret the Civil War, and the Constitution, through the kaleidoscope of the Declaration of Independence. It is an extraordinary argument that, with just two hundred seventy-two words, Lincoln changed the American history and forever altered the ways we interpret the American Revolution. With a rhetorical approach, Wills - like Lincoln - persuades his readers, through evidence and interpretation, to be convinced that at Gettysburg, Lincoln "revolutionized the Revolution, giving people a new past to live with that would change their future indefinitely."
Wills begins with a vivid description of the consequence of the three-day battle in early July 1863 that resulted in fifty thousand casualties. While Wills mentions that Edward Everett was the star of the ceremony in dedicating the Gettysburg, Lincoln - through a casual invitation - decided to make an appearance there. The casual invitation did not intend to offend the President, nor did he get offended. Of course, this was no accident. For Lincoln, Wills reasons, it was an opportunity. It was his chance to recuperate the political fences and elucidate the goals of the Civil War.
Wills persuasively points out that contrary to the popular myth that Lincoln wrote his speech on his way to Gettysburg on the train, Lincoln was a scholarly man and has always performed his work with shrewdness. The President did not do anything inadvertently and thus, "it is impossible to imagine him leaving his speech at Gettysburg to the last moment."
It is an intriguing matter that just when the readers think that Wills has delivered them with everything there is to know about the Gettysburg Address, the author merely begins to examine the national treasure for historical and cultural context. He argues that Lincoln's address "is made compact and compelling by its ability to draw on so many sources of verbal energy." Among these sources was classical rhetoric. The author illustrates the different ways both Everett and Lincoln used rhetoric to persuade their audience. He compares Lincoln's speech, especially, to Athenian funeral prose which often began with a praise for the dead, and closed with an advice for those who are alive. Lincoln modeled his speech on them to articulate his thoughts to his audience.
Wills entertains his readers by compelling them to be fascinated by Lincoln's use of language. In fact, he goes as far as dedicating an entire chapter to the revolution of the prose style in America that he argues is among the accomplishments of the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was fond of experimenting with words and their usage, and he spent a great deal of his time doing so. Using the changes the President made himself to his First Inaugural speech - that was prepared for him by William Seward - as his evidence, Wills explains that Lincoln acquired a rhythmic pace that made his sentences smooth and coherent. Ultimately, Lincoln embraced the ideals of rhetoric and used them efficiently to make his speeches more powerful.
The author goes a step further and provides his readers with an analysis of the Gettysburg Address. He records that the speech is outstanding and abstract. Unlike Everett's speech, where he provides details after details of the Civil War, Lincoln avoids them in his address. The President did not mention Gettysburg- the battlefield, or the Union- the defender of the Constitution, or the South- the runaway rebel that had just been captured; nor did he mention anything about slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, or the future of the freed slaves. This was no accident at all. President Lincoln avoided mentioning these issues in his speech because, for one thing, they were the most controversial issues of the time. He did so, according to Wills, to look "beyond the wars to `the great task remaining before us' as a nation trying to live up to the vision in which it was conceived." Lincoln wanted to put the war behind and move on to build a nation as foreseen by the forefathers of the republic. The Gettysburg Address focused more on the pivotal ideas for the nation and found a connection to the Declaration of Independence.
Throughout his book, Wills shows his readers that there exist a relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. According to Wills, Lincoln often referred to the Declaration of Independence when he argued that it was inconsistent to think that the American people could believe that all men had the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness but deny the very rights to black slaves. Lincoln was determined to not let this happen; and so, the Civil War was fought. Eloquently, Wills pens that Lincoln was able to remake America in his Gettysburg Address because he had spent a great deal of time relating the most sensitive issues of the era to the Declaration of Independence.
Lincoln, as Wills writes, viewed the Declaration of Independence as the basis of the American nation. Thus, it is deeply embedded within the Gettysburg Address. The pivotal argument of Wills writing is that in the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln turned the attention of the nation of nations, the United States of America, towards its founding document, the Declaration of Independence. The President, with only two hundred seventy-two words, remade America on the most important principle of this sacred document - that all men are created equal.

in 1863, using fewer than 300 words. Garry Wills uses a lot more to explain to us why that brief speech has become immortal. The speech confirms that Lincoln was perhaps uniquely gifted to be a President, in spite of an inadequate formal education, an often unhappy personal life, and a public persona which sometimes repelled the rich and pompous. For anyone interested in the Civil War era, this is a must-read.

Garry Wills is one of our best chroniclers of American culture, and he is particularly adept at offering insights that show the impact of historical events on current events. From his vision of Washington as the prototypical American to the fall of 'Nixon Agonistes,' he provides cogent arguments for why we are the way we are.
In this book, where he focuses on the simple and short speech given by Lincoln at the dedication of a war cemetery, Wills provides a clear and lucid analysis of both the style and content of the address. By taking the opportunity to place the reader deep in the historical context (uncomfortably deep, some may feel) he gives us the freedom to look outside our comfortable perspective at a seemingly familiar event; in the process, he reveals the heroism of the unlikely man who may well have been the greatest American statesman.

The author encapsulates the few days preceding the Address with attention to detail coupled with the scopeof the address. Together with Margaret Leech's "Reveille in Washington" prvides the lay reader with an outstanding view of the times and the man. Lincoln had every reason to skip the event (son's illness, Everett also to speak, anger of the families) and yet not only did he decide (1) to confront the issue, (2)clearly wrote his own remarks, and (3) wrote beyond the war to the greater issues. Wills captures all this with a book that is both articuate in detail with a solid view to the greater concerns (not surprisingly by a man up to the task by profession and interests.

I have never panned a book about Lincoln before, but there's a time and a place for everything it seems. This book is well researched, insightful, and in some places even illuminating, but it reads like a doleful college thesis, lacking a cohesive focus and existing without any tempo or cadence or rhythm whatsoever. Lincoln himself is not exactly the central figure, nor is the Gettysburg Address. For a while it seems Edward Everett is the focus, then the history of ancient cemeteries looms largest, with rambling discussions of Greek and Roman resting places and their evolution from urban to rural, etc. etc. etc. I suppose in all fairness, I should mention that Gettysburg, the place, is the subject. Do yourself a favor: visit the Memorial, skip the book.

Garry Wills is one of our best chroniclers of American culture, and he is particularly adept at offering insights that show the impact of historical events on current events. From his vision of Washington as the prototypical American to the fall of 'Nixon Agonistes,' he provides cogent arguments for why we are the way we are.
In this book, where he focuses on the simple and short speech given by Lincoln at the dedication of a war cemetery, Wills provides a clear and lucid analysis of both the style and content of the address. By taking the opportunity to place the reader deep in the historical context (uncomfortably deep, some may feel) he gives us the freedom to look outside our comfortable perspective at a seemingly familiar event; in the process, he reveals the heroism of the unlikely man who may well have been the greatest American statesman.

The author encapsulates the few days preceding the Address with attention to detail coupled with the scopeof the address. Together with Margaret Leech's "Reveille in Washington" prvides the lay reader with an outstanding view of the times and the man. Lincoln had every reason to skip the event (son's illness, Everett also to speak, anger of the families) and yet not only did he decide (1) to confront the issue, (2)clearly wrote his own remarks, and (3) wrote beyond the war to the greater issues. Wills captures all this with a book that is both articuate in detail with a solid view to the greater concerns (not surprisingly by a man up to the task by profession and interests.

I have never panned a book about Lincoln before, but there's a time and a place for everything it seems. This book is well researched, insightful, and in some places even illuminating, but it reads like a doleful college thesis, lacking a cohesive focus and existing without any tempo or cadence or rhythm whatsoever. Lincoln himself is not exactly the central figure, nor is the Gettysburg Address. For a while it seems Edward Everett is the focus, then the history of ancient cemeteries looms largest, with rambling discussions of Greek and Roman resting places and their evolution from urban to rural, etc. etc. etc. I suppose in all fairness, I should mention that Gettysburg, the place, is the subject. Do yourself a favor: visit the Memorial, skip the book.

The study of words, philology, worked well for Abraham Lincoln before and during his short presidency. The Power of words. He knew how to use the words of the common folks and could be euridite in his oratory. Mainly he used short, easy to remember elocutions for the best effect.

As with all good speakers, he used silence and pauses well (never "uhs" to fill in -- nothing turns the listener off as even on "uh" -- it means you're not prepared and have not mastered what you want or need to say.

Herman S. Frey said, "Perjurer Sanford Conover was jailed for his false accusation that Jefferson Davis was involved in Lincoln's assassination in any way." Lincoln's well-thought through address spoke for the turmoil of that day and for future political rhetoric of our time.

The study of words, philology, worked well for Abraham Lincoln before and during his short presidency. The Power of words. He knew how to use the words of the common folks and could be euridite in his oratory. Mainly he used short, easy to remember elocutions for the best effect.

As with all good speakers, he used silence and pauses well (never "uhs" to fill in -- nothing turns the listener off as even on "uh" -- it means you're not prepared and have not mastered what you want or need to say Lawyers in Lincoln's time debated as a form of perfecting the art of persuation and philolgy (also psychology) to win that debate. Most were educated at college and universities (some at prestigious universities abraod), and enjoyed the power of appropriate words and the victory over his opponent. Abraham was self-educated for the most part. His unkempt appearance gave the impression that he wasn't "polished. It takes a great man to be the victor in a battle of words. When he opened his mouth to speak in his high tenor voice, it wasn't how he sounded it was what he said which mattered. Speaking is not just talking or membling words (I know someone who does that quite well, but I admit he can sing.). His expressive eyes, wry humor, knowledge of his subject and hand gestures (even body language) made him not just impressive but a leader of men.

Herman S. Frey said, "Perjurer Sanford Conover was jailed for his false accusation that Jefferson Davis was involved in Lincoln's assassination in any way." Lincoln's well-thought through address spoke for the turmoil of that day and for future political rhetoric of our time. Lincoln was aware of the power of his rhetoric to define war aims. He made the 80-mile trip from Washington City to Gettysburg for a reason. It was important as to time and place for his historic three-minute oration to change the country into a nation with hope for a future. Not only inspiring, "it was a product of the moment, ...as Lincoln moverd under destiny's guidance. "How Lincoln Won the War With Metaphors" says it all.

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)
I had been reading only business books until this book came out. I had always enjoyed reading about Lincoln and the Civil War. Wills book brought all that back to life for me and I set out reading history and literature again. His style with great research took me straight to scenes. I read it in one sitting.

This Pulitzer prize winning book is extrodinary. It is not light reading; it's very dense and meticulously argued. But any reader of language, history or politics will marvel at the profound way in which this one simple speech changed American. No one has ever captured that notion better than Gary Wills.

Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in Lincoln, the Civil War, American History in general, or how to write great prose.
Wills manages to be scholarly and readable at the same time. Reviews and analyzes the Gettysburg Address (but does not, thank goodness, deconstruct it); entertains, informs, and provokes.
Just an all-around wonderful book; belongs on the shelf of anyone who likes thinking about language, and whether and how it can shape history.

With the massive amount of books written about Lincoln it's nice to disect a sliver of history and dive down deep. This is one of those books. I found it quite interesting having the author really inspect the events leading up to the Gettysburg address and the speech itself. There are some revealing facts about how Lincoln came up with the speech and for a short book (about 180 pages of material) it is an interesting read.

My review of this book would indicate that the author has taken Lincoln out of context for his period and once again tried to put him in some hallowed hall. A simple review of the bible and Shakespeare plays which were Lincoln's main references would enlighten one to the origin of the speech. As for the support of the Declaration vs. the Constitution, I would hope Lincoln would find some legal status for his actions as he virtually distroyed the Constitution and reset our government on its present socialist agenda. Perhaps the only worst president has been Clinton.(by the way, my family fought on both sides and ran the underground railroad)