NOTE: Before answering the questions, read the "Background" and watch the videos under "Resources" below.

1. When did the Battle of Gettysburg take place?

2. In what state did the Battle of Gettysburg take place?

3. What is the significance of this battle?

4. a) What was the date of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
b) Why wasn't President Lincoln the keynote speaker at the dedication of the cemetery, but asking him to speak was “an afterthought”?

5. Read President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
a) How long was the president's speech?
b) How long was the keynote speaker's speech?
c) Why do you think Lincoln's Gettysburg Address became one of the most significant in American history?

6. Consider the videos from 1929-30 of veterans speaking of a time when they were young men who fought in the Civil War (1861-64). What is your reaction?

CHALLENGE: Did you know? -- High school students memorized poems and speeches as a standard practice in US schools from the 19th century until around 1960.
Memorize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.