This is a marvelous example of why I studied History in college. I found that it provided an opportunity to look at how humans made decisions in the past, as a way of understanding their reasoning, and, hopefully, avoiding those mistakes in the future.
I spent 2 years at Lincoln Elementary School, in Lakewood, OH. I remember waiting in the hallway near the front entrance, and seeing the plaque containing the words of the Gettysburg Address. The words still give me chills.
That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Many years ago my wife and I attended a performance of A Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland. The narrator delivered the final words of the Gettysburg Address in a way I'd never heard before. His delivery was .."the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from this earth." During a Q&A session afterwards he was asked about the change since we normally hear "of", "by", and "for" emphasized.
ReplyDeleteHe answered that he had performed the piece not long after it was published in 1942 and was approached afterwards by 90-year old who claimed to have heard the speech in person and that was Lincoln's delivery.