The Gettysburg Address Analysis
A Grade 12 social studies worksheet focusing on the historical context, rhetorical devices, and enduring legacy of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
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The Gettysburg Address Analysis
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Read the following questions carefully and provide thoughtful, detailed answers based on your knowledge of the Gettysburg Address and its historical context.
Abraham Lincoln
1. What was the primary purpose of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
To declare a Union victory in the Civil War.
To dedicate a national cemetery and articulate the meaning of the Union cause.
To announce the Emancipation Proclamation.
To criticize the Confederate leadership.
2. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was delivered on , four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.
3. The speech famously begins with the phrase, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created ."
4. The Gettysburg Address was immediately recognized as one of the greatest speeches in American history by all who heard it.
True
False
5. Explain how Lincoln's use of phrases like "new birth of freedom" and "government of the people, by the people, for the people" redefines the purpose of the Civil War.
Match the rhetorical device with its example from the Gettysburg Address.
6. Anaphora
a. "Four score and seven years ago"
7. Allusion
b. "We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground."
8. Parallelism
c. References to the Declaration of Independence
9. Analyze the enduring significance of the Gettysburg Address in American political thought and its relevance to contemporary issues of democracy and equality. Discuss specific phrases or ideas from the speech to support your analysis.