The organizers also invited Henry Longfellow, the famous poet, but he didn’t attend The cemetery commission chose November 19 as the date because that was the first date Everett was available. Given Everett’s fame, he was a natural choice to speak at the dedication. The 7,000 seats weren’t enough, and angry overflow crowds burst in to hear Everett speak. One of Everett’s 129 speeches on Washington was at the Academy of Music in New York City. Everett was a famous orator who gained renown when traveling the country in the 1850’s giving a speech on “The Character of George Washington.” His speaking tour raised $70,000 to save Mount Vernon. Thousands attended the dedication, many came to listen to Edward Everett. Lincoln later wrote to Everett “The point made against the theory of the general government being only an agency…I think, is one of the best arguments for national supremacy.” Constitution, and the federal government didn’t take an oath to the states. Everett pointed out that the states’ Constitutional Officers took an oath to the U.S. Southerners argued that the federal government was an agent of the states, so the states could leave the Union. Edward Everett spoke for about two hours, giving a narrative of the battle, comparing the Union dead to the ancient Greek defenders of Marathon, and attacking rebel claims that secession was legal. Why should we care about the Gettysburg Address? Lincoln wasn’t the keynote speaker at the dedication of the National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The Gettysburg Address Still Resonates Today
0 kommentar(er)
