Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Speech — rewritten in simple language

Eighty-seven years ago, our fathers created a new nation based on freedom and equality. Today we are in a great civil war, testing whether a nation built on such ideals can survive.

We stand on a battlefield where many brave soldiers gave their lives. We have come to honour them, but in truth, their sacrifice has already honoured this ground more than our words ever can.

The world may forget what we say here today, but it will never forget what they did here.

It is our duty, the living, to continue the work they left behind, to stay dedicated to the cause for which they gave their lives.

Let us resolve that they shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall never disappear from the earth.”

Explanation :

Eighty-seven years before this speech, the founders of America created a nation based on the belief that people are born equal and deserve freedom.

Lincoln begins by reminding the audience of this idea, because the country is now fighting a civil war that will decide whether such a nation can survive.

As he stands on the battlefield of Gettysburg, a place where thousands of soldiers died, he explains that they have come to honour these brave men who sacrificed their lives.

But he also says something deeply humble: whatever words they speak today cannot truly honour this ground, because the soldiers, through their courage, have already done far more than any speech ever could.

The world may forget today’s ceremony or the words spoken, he says, but the world will never forget what these soldiers did here.

Lincoln then turns toward the living and tells them that their real duty is not only to mourn the dead, but to dedicate themselves to the same cause the soldiers fought for.

He says they must take inspiration from the sacrifice made here and continue the unfinished work of protecting freedom.

He urges everyone to stay committed to building a nation that becomes stronger and more just, so that the soldiers’ deaths are not in vain.

In the end, he expresses his hope that the nation will experience a new birth of freedom, and that a government created by the people, run by the people, and serving the people will never vanish from the earth.