One hundred fifty years ago today gave America one of its most famous speeches. Today, it’s 13,607 characters would fit on 11 Twitter messages. Then, even the writer didn’t think much of it in saying “the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.”
The setting was war and the dedication of a cemetery for fallen soldiers. Sadly, some people (and I believe the minority) can’t watch the video absent of political bias. A special thanks to Ken Burns, a director and producer of documentaries, for getting all of these people involved.
Because the video is now marked private,
- Click here to visit Learn the Address
- In the upper right corner, click the video The Address Mashup that displays President Obama.
Here’s also a quick visit to the cemetery.
A Frank Angle 
Frank, the video of the address was terrific. Thank you for posting that. I’m presuming you also read about how the Pennsylvania newspaper that originally panned the speech changed its mind, 150 years later: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20131114/us-gettysburg-address-apology/?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=green
Enjoy. Hope the week goes OK for you.
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Elyse,
I knew about that paper, but this is a good link for others. Thanks …. I think you would enjoy going to the link Hudson Howl provided.
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PS: Here’s a short, but related article, from my paper today about this. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131118/NEWS/311180045/
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What fantastic videos, Frank. Wonderful to see so many faces in that top one, from BOTH sides of the fence. Great way to end my day. 🙂
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Carrie,
Ken Burns made some great decisions on his choices. Glad to provide a good ending to your day.
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What an amazing collection of people. United we stand.
I’ve been to Gettysburg. It is humbling to think all those fine young men fighting for what they believed was right and just. Did they have any idea how important – how their efforts would always be honored and remembered?
(but unsure what you mean by the “political bias” and the video? Who couldn’t be moved by this? It’s all a part of our country’s history and its’ search for perfection/truth. Sorry, great videos/post, but baffled.)
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Mouse,
It is a great collection, but only a snippet of the people who submitted. Go to http://www.learntheaddress.org/videos/
You shouldn’t be baffled because there is a method to my madness. I made the comment about political bias to discourage readers from doing so because I saw a few on the YouTube page for this post. Simply sad that some people can’t get beyond that.
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Some places I just can’t read comments. You know.
I figured there was a story – your posts are constructed and as an editor I would have pulled that out as it doesn’t strengthen the writing. So it’s proactive.
very sad…those people need to go there and walk the grounds- alone. No matter the side, a great loss for all. An a reason to remember.
Country isn’t perfect, but trying. Brutal language, name calling, race baiting (by both parties and celebrities) are not productive and only divide more bitterly. Pick up the yoke, pull together and move on. It’s the only hope for progress. Well, done, Frank. Well done
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Well stated .. and thanks.
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I love this….saw this on CNN the other day
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Curious,
Welcome first time commenter …. and I note you are from Minnesota. Like yourself, I saw it on CNN, and thus the idea for this post was born.
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Thank you for sharing this, Frank.
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Cathy,
… and thanks for visiting to see it!
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Lincoln spoke after another man who rambled on for a few hours. Lincoln’s seech took a few minutes.
Afterwards, the other man told Lincoln that Lincoln’s speech, and not his own, was the one worth hearing.
The speech, which most read in papers (including those at the battlefield since there was no amplification) was derided at the time by many news outlets in the North.
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Guapo,
Great points. To add to your point about the papers, many at that time were quite political. See the link in Elyse’s comment for an example. Love the FYI about the other speaker!!!!
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Thank you for sharing both videos. I like how Kevin Burns gathered the people that he did to create the video.
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RoSy,
Visit the site in Hudson’s comment is a real treat.
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Ken Burns made such a terrific video of Lincoln’s brilliant speech I can almost overlook the presence of Taylor Swift. Thanks for posting it Frank.
El Guapo’s right. The Gettysburg address was a very short speech, only 268 words.
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Lame,
LOL … but she is a star. Maybe she did it on her own, and then Burns used it. Interesting that Spielberg had the worst audio.
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Great video! I think you meant 13,607 characters, though….
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Cyclist,
Absolutely! Thanks for letting me know and I made the correction.
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Actually, I believe it is more like 1,350 characters. Most sources say the speech is 270 or 271 “words” long, depending on the version used, and I believe the convention for average word length is 5 letters. Makes the brevity even more startling, eh? As for significance, Philo said it well. The Tea Party radicals ought to be shamed by Lincoln’s meaning in this speech, but they won’t.
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Jim,
I got the number for a reliable source, but I can’t recall where. Oh well … The Tea Party likes approves of this speech because it has it’s own interpretation.
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Unless I messed it, in others comments, here is the link to the project itself http://www.learntheaddress.org/about/ Every country needs a strong functioning public media system and the good intentions of people like you -just giving credit where credit is do.
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Hudson,
Thanks for this link as I just spent at least 10 minutes going though a small sample of the videos. Awesome!
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Terrific! Thanks for posting and for all those who commented and shared additional links.
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Patti,
The site Hudson gave is a good one to visit. Glad you enjoyed this.
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This is a great share Frank…
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Bulldog,
The video is a great one, thus should be shared.
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Love it, Frank–especially the comparison to twitter messages–though I think you mean letters as opposed to “words.” I had seen the video on CNN yesterday–fun isn’t it?
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
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Kathy,
Ah ha … you must be reading it though your Reader that didn’t pick up my edit. 😉 Better yet, it’s characters because the spaces have to be counted. Seeing it on CNN is where I got the idea. By the way, go to the link Hudson Howl provided … it’s awesome!!! … and have a great Ecuadorian day.
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I passed this along to my family and friends on the facebook machine.
Another great work of Ken Burns. Thanks, Frank.
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Absolutely … and worth passing along.
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Thanks for sharing these videos, Frank. I have never seen pictures of the cemetery before. The continuous in-ground headstones are so close together that the bodies had to be laid shoulder to shoulder.
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John,
I’ve never been there … what a shame because it’s not that far away … and even closer for you.
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ken burns is brilliant. love his “gettysburg” film so much that it inspired me to write a middle grade book about the civil war. and loved his series on baseball. learned a great deal about the game’s history and it gave me a good chance to bond with an elderly friend who also loved baseball. have not seen his world war II film, but i should.
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Rich,
He’s very good … and gosh knows there’s a lot to learn!
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The visit to the cemetery is very moving, Frank. I loved the way this address was done. Most effective indeed.
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Sylvia,
Thanks for the encouragement to make my first visit. And yes, Ken Burns put together a great video.
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Read this at his memorial in Washington a few years ago
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GFB,
It’s a American classic.
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For some reason I can’t view the Ken Burns video, Frank. It’s marked private. I’ll google it later and enjoy it. I always gravitate to whatever Ken Burns produces so I’m definitely curious!
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Debra,
Thanks for the note about the video. No need to search, just return to this post because I replaced the video with links to the actual site that has the video.
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Excellent post, Frank. Seeing those numbers one after another, just made me think of numbered Jews. We are more, so much more than a number. Now heading off to the address…
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Noeleen,
Glad you enjoyed this post. Hope you saw the video because the Gettysburg Address is applicable beyond America.
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