On November 19, 1863, an audience of 15,000 people stood on a Civil War battlefield to listen to the dedication of a cemetery.

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Four score and Seven years ago!

Nearly everyone in the US knows the first few lines of this great speech given by Abraham Lincoln.  This outstanding speech was only about 2 minutes long, yet it is quite masterful.

Prior to the short speech of Mr. Lincoln the crowd listened to the famous orator Edward Everett. The 15,000 listeners were exhausted by the 2 hour, detailed speech of Edward Everett. The short speech of President Lincoln was praised by Mr. Everett, who stated, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."

You have probably heard that Mr. Lincoln quickly scribbled this speech on the back of an envelope while riding on a train to Gettysburg. While that story is quite popular, it is also quite untrue. This was a very important speech for Mr. Lincoln. He always worked very hard on his speeches. The 'Gettysburg Address' was prepared and worked on for some time before its presentation. There were at least two earlier drafts for the speech written before its presentation on November 19, 1863.

Not all people present that day were impressed with the words of Mr. Lincoln. The Chicago Times reported this about the speech:

". . . We did not conceive it possible that even Mr. Lincoln would produce a paper so slipshod, so loose-joined, so puerile, not alone in literary construction, but in its ideas, its sentiments, its grasp. He has outdone himself. He has literally come out of the little end of his own horn. By the side of it, mediocrity is superb."

Sources:
On This Day | Microsoft(R) Encarta(R)