Writing the Gettysburg Address (Hardcover)

Martin P. Johnson

ISBN 10: 070061933X / ISBN 13: 9780700619337

Published by University Press of Kansas, Kansas, 2013

About this Item

Hardcover. Four score and seven years ago . . .Are any six words better known, of greater import, or from a more crucial moment in Americas history? And yet after 150 years the dramatic and surprising story of how Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address has never been fully told. Until now. Martin Johnsons remarkable work of historical and literary detection illuminates a speech, a man, and a moment in history that we thought we knew. Johnson guides readers on Lincolns emotional and intellectual journey to the speakers platform, revealing that Lincoln himself experienced writing the Gettysburg Address as an eventful process that was filled with the possibility of failure, but which he knew resulted finally in success beyond expectation. We listen as Lincoln talks with the cemetery designer about the ideals and aspirations behind the unprecedented cemetery project, look over Lincolns shoulder as he rethinks and rewrites his speech on the very morning of the ceremony, and share his anxiety that he might not live up to the occasion. And then, at last, we stand with Lincoln at Gettysburg, when he created the words and image of an enduring and authentic legend. Writing the Gettysburg Address resolves the puzzles and problems that have shrouded the composition of Lincolns most admired speech in mystery for fifteen decades. Johnson shows when Lincoln first started his speech, reveals the state of the document Lincoln brought to Gettysburg, traces the origin of the false story that Lincoln wrote his speech on the train, identifies the manuscript Lincoln held while speaking, and presents a new method for deciding what Lincolns audience actually heard him say. Ultimately, Johnson shows that the Gettysburg Address was a speech that grew and changed with each step of Lincolns eventful journey to the podium. His two-minute speech made the battlefield and the cemetery into landmarks of the American imagination, but it was Lincolns own journey to Gettysburg that made the Gettysburg Address. The dramatic and surprising story of how Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address, this book solves the central mysteries that for over 150 years have surrounded our nation's most admired speech. Follows Lincoln from Washington to Gettysburg as he composed, revised, and then delivered this important statement of American identity. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780700619337

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Writing the Gettysburg Address (Hardcover)
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas, Kansas
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 070061933X
• ISBN 13: 9780700619337
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Winner: Lincoln Prize

Four score and seven years ago . . . .



Are any six words better known, of greater import, or from a more crucial moment in our nation’:s history? And yet after 150 years the dramatic and surprising story of how Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address has never been fully told. Until now.

Martin Johnson's remarkable work of historical and literary detection illuminates a speech, a man, and a moment in history that we thought we knew. Johnson guides readers on Lincoln's emotional and intellectual journey to the speaker's platform, revealing that Lincoln himself experienced writing the Gettysburg Address as an eventful process that was filled with the possibility of failure, but which he knew resulted finally in success beyond expectation.

We listen as Lincoln talks with the cemetery designer about the ideals and aspirations behind the unprecedented cemetery project, look over Lincoln's shoulder as he rethinks and rewrites his speech on the very morning of the ceremony, and share his anxiety that he might not live up to the occasion. And then, at last, we stand with Lincoln at Gettysburg, when he created the words and image of an enduring and authentic legend.

Writing the Gettysburg Address resolves the puzzles and problems that have shrouded the composition of Lincoln's most admired speech in mystery for fifteen decades. Johnson shows when Lincoln first started his speech, reveals the state of the document Lincoln brought to Gettysburg, traces the origin of the false story that Lincoln wrote his speech on the train, identifies the manuscript Lincoln held while speaking, and presents a new method for deciding what Lincoln's audience actually heard him say.

Ultimately, Johnson shows that the Gettysburg Address was a speech that grew and changed with each step of Lincoln's eventful journey to the podium. His two-minute speech made the battlefield and the cemetery into landmarks of the American imagination, but it was Lincoln's own journey to Gettysburg that made the Gettysburg Address.

About the Author

Martin P. Johnson is an assistant professor of history at Miami University and is the author of two books on European politics and several articles on Lincoln and the Civil War.