A Very Short Story Of 3 Speeches.

[Stuart G]

A. Last night the "idiot" talked for over an hour..maybe an hour and twenty minutes?..for what??
....Lies, stupidity, innuendo ???I didn't see it. And frankly I don't care..I didn't miss anything..Did I?

B. Edward Everett spoke at a dedication for about two hours. This was during the Civil War, and Everett who was brought in to do a speech as the principal orator, and he was well known as a great orator . He spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

C. The third speaker, President Abraham Lincoln, spoke for about 2 and half minutes. (272 words) at the same battlefield that Everett spoke at.. His speech is remembered as the Gettysburg Address.

........Who's speech is most remembered and will always be most remembered?.

[akraven]

1. Four score and seven years ago -

our forefathers...…………

[llmart]

2. When I was in the sixth grade eons ago...

every person in the class had to memorize the entire Gettysburg address and get up in front of the class and say it. To this day I can still recite the entire thing.

[akraven]

3. I never could remember the whole thing,

but have read it over and over since!

[llmart]

4. Well, I was a straight A student and a bit of an overachiever,

so there was no way I would not know it backwards and forwards if I had to get up in front of a class. I practiced it every day at home until I knew I could ace it. Probably why it's still stuck in my head.

[akraven]

5. Ditto - but in a Catholic school and therefore forced to learn

everything Kennedy!

[tblue37]

6. Same here. Fifth grade. nt

[llmart]

7. Do you still remember all of it?

I remember when I was vacationing and went to Gettsyburg, saw where he gave the speech etc. I was reciting it under my breath (mainly so the person I was with wouldn't think I was geeky).

[tblue37]

8. Oh, yes, as well as the passages from Shakespeare and the individual poems we

memorized. Memorizing such works helps train the nemory, and it also helps train the mind to recognize and respond to rhythmic language, which eventually affects a person's writing style.

[tblue37]

9. I did that, too, when we visited Gettysburg. I was 12 at the time. nt

[llmart]

11. Cool.

I was in my 40's. I have to say that was an informative trip plus sad. The year I went there it was an awful drought that summer and the temps were in the high 90's, so I kept having to get back in the car to cool off in the air conditioning.

[Aristus]

10. Edward Everett himself acknowledged the brilliance of Lincoln's speech.

This is entirely from memory:

Everett reputedly told Lincoln: "I feel confident in asserting, sir, that you came nearer to the spirit of the occasion in two minutes than I did in two hours."

[llmart]

12. I had never heard that.

Thanks for the historical tidbit.

[struggle4progress]

13. Lincoln at Gettysburg and Everett's speech

The text of Everett's speech