Gettysburg Address Timelines: The Catto Years

One of the best known speeches in American History, Lincoln delivered it on November 19, 1863. Lincoln’s speech lasted only about 2 minutes. In it he reiterated the ideals for human equality in the Declaration of Independence and reinforced that the Civil War was being fought to keep the Union together with “a new birth of freedom” for all citizens. Many historians see this speech marking what was to be known as “America’s Second Founding.”