Gettysburg Address vs. Declaration of Independance
Emily Mills
English 111-L
Journal Eight
21 October 2010
The Declaration of Independence vs. the Gettysburg Address
Possibly the two most important documents in American history would have to be the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. The Declaration of Independence, which was a document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, called for the complete independence of the states from the British Empire. The Gettysburg Address was the document that unified the country as one. Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Gettysburg Address in a Pennsylvanian cemetery as dedication for the soldiers that were lost in the civil war.
These two documents of Jefferson and Lincoln’s are different in more ways than they are similar. More specifically, the clear difference between the two in organization and contradiction of arguments that each expresses are what show that the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence were two documents written on completely different ends of the spectrum. Because of this, the two are just as significant to each other as they are individually to the construction and shaping of America and its rich history. The fact that these two documents are so different from one another is what makes them such great pieces of history. Jefferson’s idea of decentralization and freedom versus Lincoln’s theory of one centralized, unified, and indivisible nation and government represents the change and difference of opinion between two people of different eras in American history. This change and difference of opinion was the result of a growing country and is what was needed in order to build it and develop it into the country that it is today.
When analyzing the differences between Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence, the first factor that must be taken into account is the difference
English 111-L
Journal Eight
21 October 2010
The Declaration of Independence vs. the Gettysburg Address
Possibly the two most important documents in American history would have to be the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. The Declaration of Independence, which was a document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, called for the complete independence of the states from the British Empire. The Gettysburg Address was the document that unified the country as one. Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Gettysburg Address in a Pennsylvanian cemetery as dedication for the soldiers that were lost in the civil war.
These two documents of Jefferson and Lincoln’s are different in more ways than they are similar. More specifically, the clear difference between the two in organization and contradiction of arguments that each expresses are what show that the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence were two documents written on completely different ends of the spectrum. Because of this, the two are just as significant to each other as they are individually to the construction and shaping of America and its rich history. The fact that these two documents are so different from one another is what makes them such great pieces of history. Jefferson’s idea of decentralization and freedom versus Lincoln’s theory of one centralized, unified, and indivisible nation and government represents the change and difference of opinion between two people of different eras in American history. This change and difference of opinion was the result of a growing country and is what was needed in order to build it and develop it into the country that it is today.
When analyzing the differences between Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence, the first factor that must be taken into account is the difference