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

An account of Lincoln's revolutionary speech describes how, in the space of a mere 272 words, the President brought to bear the rhetoric of the Greek Revival, the categories of transcendentalism, and the imagery of the Rural Cemetary Movement. 25,000 first printing. "The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead he gave the whole nation "a new birth of freedom" in the space of a mere 272 words. His entire life and previous training and his deep political experience went into this, his revolutionary masterpiece. By examining both the address and Lincoln in their historical moment and cultural frame, Wills breathes new life into words we thought we knew, and reveals much about a president so mythologized but often misunderstood. Wills shows how Lincoln came to change the world and to effect an intellectual revolution, how his words had to and did complete the work of the guns, and how Lincoln wove a spell that has not yet been broken"--Publisher's description Examination Of The Gettysburg Address And Lincoln In Their Historical Moment And Cultural Frame Breathing New Life Into The Words And Revealing Much About The President. 1. Oratory Of The Greek Revival -- 2. Gettysburg And The Culture Of Death -- 3. The Transcendental Declaration -- 4. Revolution In Thought -- 5. Revolution In Style -- App. I. What Lincoln Said: The Text -- App. Ii. Where He Said It: The Site -- App. Iii. Four Funeral Orations. A. By Everett. B. By Pericles. C. By Gorgias. D. The Gettysburg Address. 1. Spoken Text . 2. Final Text. Garry Wills. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 267-304) And Indexes.