Professor speaks about the meaning of the Gettysburg Address

By: Alexis Grant

The aftermath of the Gettysburg address is history the community is still remembering today.  On Tuesday, November 19, America remembered one of the most famous events that took place in history: Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address.  For the 150^th anniversary of the speech, tourists and civil war history enthusiasts alike visited the historical grounds of Gettysburg. 

Among the Dedication Day festivities, Brian Jordan, adjunct professor of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, delivered a speech at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church entitled, The Unfinished Work: Union Veterans, The Gettysburg Address, and The Meaning of the Civil War. 

Jordan helped the audience understand how the Gettysburg Address was remembered immediately after Lincoln’s speech.  “Many [historians] have said before that it was quickly forgotten until the 1890’s.  Then it was rediscovered as emancipation was becoming popular,” Jordan said.

Some argue there were deep racial undertones of the address, yet other arguments say the address was not understood.  Perhaps Lincoln had “picked the intellectual pockets” of the people, so it was quickly forgotten.

Jordan insists that these assumptions were all wrong.  “The speech was very political. “[It’s] fairly partisan and says why the war has to continue,” he said.

Jordan argued that the address gave a sense of meaning as to what the war was about.  There is evidence that specific groups of people kept the speech alive, such as the Union soldiers.

“The Union soldiers would write letters saying [newspapers] should reprint the address and Union veterans continued to refer back to the address,” Jordan said.  Without a doubt, people of that time remembered the speech because it was talked about so extensively.

The unfinished work certainly pertained to the racial issues that had not been solved by the war. Jordan said the address Lincoln delivered challenged people to think about the war not as unfinished, but shaking hands with former enemies and just buttoning it up.

Jordan’s speech at the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church was followed by a special performance by the West Point Men’s Glee Club.