Lincoln @ Gettysburg

Narrator: THE CIVIL WAR RAGES ON,

AND THE NORTH IS ON THE VERGE OF DEFEAT.

FOR PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN, TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

DESPERATE FOR A VICTORY,

HE WILL BRING A NEW WEAPON TO THE BATTLEFIELD.

Wheeler: ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAD THIS TOOL

THAT NO OTHER POLITICAL LEADER IN HISTORY HAD EVER POSSESSED.

Narrator: LINCOLN BECOMES THE FIRST COMMANDER IN CHIEF

TO DISCOVER THE POWER OF ELECTRONIC MESSAGING.

Powell: THE TELEGRAPH WAS A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A WAR.

Narrator: AND LINCOLN'S WAR IS ABOUT TO BE DECIDED

ON THE HILLS OF GETTYSBURG

IN A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN ARMIES AND IDEAS.

IT'S THE MOST CATACLYSMIC BATTLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

Foner: WHAT WAS AT STAKE WAS THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY.

THAT'S WHY THE STAKES WERE SO HIGH TO LINCOLN.

Harris-Perry: THE NOTION OF AMERICA AS ONE NATION --

HE DOES NOT KNOW THAT HE'S GOING TO WIN.

HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT THE UNION WILL BE PRESERVED.

Narrator: WITH SUPPORT FOR THE WAR PLUNGING,

LINCOLN JOURNEYS TO GETTYSBURG TO RALLY A NATION.

STANDING ON THE BATTLEFIELD,

LINCOLN DELIVERS THE MOST FAMOUS 272 WORDS

EVER SPOKEN BY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

Waldman: HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST

AND MOST EFFECTIVE POLITICAL TACTICIANS,

USERS OF SPIN, USERS OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL A SOUND BITE.

Narrator: BORN OUT OF BLOOD AND SACRIFICE,

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS REDEFINES WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN.

Shaara: "...OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE,

SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."

I MEAN, THAT SAYS IT ALL.

THIS COUNTRY IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

"LINCOLN@GETTYSBURG" WAS MADE POSSIBLE

...OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH ON THIS CONTINENT...

...A NEW NATION, CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY...

...AND DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION...

...THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

NOW WE ARE ENGAGED...

...IN A GREAT CIVIL WAR...

...TESTING WHETHER THAT NATION, OR ANY NATION SO CONCEIVED...

...AND SO DEDICATED, CAN LONG ENDURE.

[ GUNFIRE, INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator: THE CIVIL WAR HAS BEEN RAGING

FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS

HAVE BEEN KILLED OR MAIMED.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN TELLS AN AIDE,

"IF THERE IS A WORSE PLACE THAN HELL, I AM IN IT."

Shaara: IN 1863, THE UNION HAS BEEN

ON THIS RIDICULOUS ROLLER-COASTER RIDE.

THE CASUALTY COUNTS ARE HORRIFIC,

AND THE COUNTRY IS IN DEEP DESPAIR IN THE NORTH.

AND OF COURSE IN THE SOUTH, THEY'RE EUPHORIC.

I MEAN, THEY'RE WINNING.

ROBERT E. LEE IS WINNING EVERY BATTLE HE FIGHTS.

Waldman: THIS WAS A WAR THAT WAS INCREASINGLY UNPOPULAR.

SO MANY PEOPLE WERE DYING,

AND INCREASINGLY, IT WAS A WAR ABOUT SLAVERY,

AND MUCH AS WE MIGHT HOPE OTHERWISE,

THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY MAKE IT MORE POPULAR IN THE NORTH.

Harris-Perry: THE CORE ISSUE WAS,

HOW DO WE LIVE AS A NATION

WHERE SOME STATES HOLD PEOPLE IN SLAVERY AND OTHERS DON'T?

THAT WAS THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION.

Narrator: LINCOLN ANSWERS THAT QUESTION ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

BY SIGNING THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,

ABOLISHING SLAVERY.

Harris-Perry: IN THE END, IT IS LINCOLN WHO DECIDES

AND TAKES US ON THE PATH THAT SAYS,

"THERE IS NO WAY TO CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE THIS.

WE CAN ONLY BE ONE COUNTRY WHEN ALL PEOPLE ARE FREE."

Narrator: THIS IS THE MAKE-OR-BREAK YEAR FOR THE WAR.

WHAT LINCOLN DESPERATELY NEEDS IS A VICTORY.

IN THE DARKEST HOURS OF HIS PRESIDENCY,

LINCOLN PLACES HIS HOPES ON A NEW ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.

EVERY DAY, HE MARCHES ACROSS THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN

TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT.

INSIDE SITS THE GOVERNMENT'S CLASSIFIED TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

THIS IS LINCOLN'S COMMAND CENTER.

HERE HE ENGAGES IN VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS

WITH HIS GENERALS OUT ON THE FRONT LINES.

Wheeler: YOU CAN THINK

ABOUT THE TELEGRAPH ROOM IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT

AS THE FIRST SITUATION ROOM.

IT WAS THE EQUIVALENT

TO BARACK OBAMA SITTING IN THE SITUATION ROOM

WATCHING THE RAID AGAINST BIN LADEN.

[ TELEGRAPH CLICKING ]

AND LINCOLN'S ABILITY TO DO THAT

WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY ANY LEADER HAD EVER HAD THAT.

Narrator: UNDER LINCOLN'S WATCH,

THE TELEGRAPH BECOMES A WHITE HOUSE TOOL

FOR TAKING INFORMATION IN,

BUT ALSO SENDING INFORMATION OUT.

Wheeler: SO, HE WAS THINKING IN TERMS

OF HOW THE TELEGRAPH SPREADS HIS MESSAGE.

HE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE

WHAT WE WOULD CALL PRESS RELEASES TODAY, OR BLOGGING,

WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION WAS FEEDING THE ELECTRONIC NEED

FOR CONSTANTLY REFRESHED AND NEW INFORMATION.

Waldman: LINCOLN COMMUNICATED WITH THE PUBLIC

THROUGH THE MEDIA OF HIS DAY -- NEWSPAPERS.

THEY WERE PARTISAN, CLAMOROUS.

NEWSPAPERS WERE MORE LIKE BLOGS OR CABLE NETWORKS

WITH A LIBERAL OR A CONSERVATIVE BENT.

SO, JUST AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN

USED THE PARTISAN NEWSPAPERS OF HIS TIME,

TODAY'S PRESIDENTS USE TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

AND THE INTERNET AND CABLE NEWS.

LINCOLN WOULD HAVE BEEN BIG-TIME ON TWITTER.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT.

PEOPLE WOULD HAVE LOVED HIM.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN PITHY AND SHORT AND SMART

AND INSPIRATIONAL, UM, AND A LITTLE SNARKY.

Waldman: HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST

AND MOST EFFECTIVE POLITICAL TACTICIANS,

USERS OF SPIN, USERS OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL A SOUND BITE.

Narrator: STILL, LINCOLN HAS EVEN BIGGER PLANS

FOR ELECTRONIC MESSAGING.

HE BELIEVES THAT THE NEW TECHNOLOGY

CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON OF WAR.

THE NORTHERN STATES ARE WIRED,

CRISSCROSSED BY AN ELABORATE WEB OF TELEGRAPH LINES.

THE SOUTH, WITH FEW CONNECTIONS, IS HARDLY PLUGGED IN.

Wheeler: ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAD THIS TOOL

THAT NO OTHER POLITICAL LEADER IN HISTORY HAD EVER POSSESSED.

Powell: THE TELEGRAPH GAVE THE PRESIDENT

THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH HIS GENERALS

AND TO ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS TO THEM,

TO GET VERY FIRSTHAND REPORTS FROM THEM.

AND SO IT WAS A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A WAR.

Wheeler: STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT.

THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

POLITICAL LEADERS ALWAYS HAD TO BE WITH THEIR ARMY.

WE HAD A SEPARATION

OF THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND THE MILITARY STRUCTURE,

AND THAT CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT

IN WHICH THE GENERALS WERE GODS.

AND THE GENERALS LIKED THIS.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,

THERE WAS THIS ELECTRONIC INTRUSION INTO THEIR TENTS,

AND THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

COULD COMMUNICATE WITH THEM THEIR THOUGHTS.

AND THIS WAS A WHOLE NEW WAY

OF SUPERVISING MILITARY ACTIVITY.

AND THE GENERALS RESENTED IT.

Narrator: BY SPRING, LINCOLN IS SPENDING MUCH OF HIS TIME

IN THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE MANAGING THE WAR.

THE REPORTS FROM THE FIELD ARE GRIM.

THEN IN JUNE COMES THE MOST DIRE NEWS OF ALL --

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY, LED BY GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE,

IS POISED TO INVADE THE NORTH.

WARNINGS FLOOD IN OF A POSSIBLE ATTACK

ON BALTIMORE OR PHILADELPHIA

OR, MOST LIKELY, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Foner: LEE HAD DEFEATED GENERAL AFTER GENERAL AFTER GENERAL,

AND MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WAS INVINCIBLE.

MANY SOUTHERNERS THOUGHT THAT.

MANY NORTHERNERS THOUGHT THAT.

Narrator: BUT LINCOLN BELIEVES ELECTRONIC MESSAGING

WILL ALLOW HIM TO PINPOINT LEE'S POSITION

AND CUT HIM OFF AT THE PASS.

THAT WAS KIND OF LINCOLN'S WAKE-UP, "AHA" MOMENT

ABOUT THE POWER OF THIS NEW MEDIUM.

Narrator: BY PIECING TOGETHER REPORTS

FROM EVERY MILITARY OUTPOST IN THE AREA,

LINCOLN ASSEMBLES

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF LEE'S PLANS.

Wheeler: THERE'S ALL KINDS OF TELEGRAMS BACK AND FORTH SAYING,

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"

THESE ARE BLIND MEN.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Narrator: AS THE TELEGRAMS STREAM IN,

LEE'S STRATEGY COMES INTO FOCUS.

LINCOLN IMMEDIATELY ORDERS

THE GENERAL IN CHARGE OF THE EASTERN THEATER, JOSEPH HOOKER,

TO CUT THE REBEL LEADER OFF BEFORE HE ENTERS PENNSYLVANIA.

HOOKER RESISTS.

INSTEAD, THE GENERAL RECOMMENDS AN ATTACK

ON THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL OF RICHMOND.

Powell: WELL, THEY'RE THE COMMANDERS ON THE GROUND,

AND THEY THINK THEY KNOW THE GROUND BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.

BUT AS WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE COURSE OF OUR HISTORY

AND THE HISTORY OF MANY OTHER NATIONS,

GENERALS ARE FIGHTING THE BATTLE,

BUT IT'S THE PRESIDENT WHO REALLY IS FIGHTING THE WAR.

Narrator: LINCOLN IS ADAMANT -- RICHMOND IS A DISTRACTION.

LEE'S ARMY MUST BE STOPPED.

LINCOLN KNOWS THAT IF LEE CAN PULL OFF

ONE MAJOR COUP, ONE MORE MAJOR SWEEPING VICTORY,

IT MIGHT BE OVER.

Wheeler: AND THEN WORD REACHES

THAT LEE HAS CROSSED THE POTOMAC AND IS IN THE NORTH.

Narrator: 80,000 OF THE CONFEDERATES' TOUGHEST SOLDIERS,

UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE WAR'S MOST MENACING GENERAL,

HAVE ENTERED PENNSYLVANIA.

LINCOLN LOSES ALL CONFIDENCE IN HOOKER.

HUMILIATED, THE GENERAL OFFERS HIS RESIGNATION.

THE PRESIDENT READILY ACCEPTS.

WITH AN ATTACK JUST DAYS AWAY,

LINCOLN CANVASSES HIS TOP OFFICERS,

SEARCHING FOR A NEW FRONTLINE GENERAL.

EVERY CORPS COMMANDER TURNS HIM DOWN EXCEPT ONE --

A RELATIVE UNKNOWN NAMED GEORGE GORDON MEADE.

LINCOLN'S PRESIDENCY NOW RESTS

ON THE SHOULDERS OF AN UNTESTED GENERAL.

THEN, ON JUNE 28th,

ON THE EVE OF THE MOST PIVOTAL BATTLE OF THE WAR,

THE PRESIDENT'S DIRECT LINES TO GENERAL MEADE'S HEADQUARTERS

SUDDENLY GO DEAD.

REBEL RAIDERS HAVE STUMBLED UPON THE LINES AND CUT THEM.

LINCOLN HAS LOST HIS TELEGRAPHIC LIFELINE.

MEADE IS ON HIS OWN.

IN EARLY SUMMER, THE LAND SURROUNDING GETTYSBURG

IS CARPETED WITH GROWING CROPS.

THE SUN CASTS A SHIMMERING VEIL OVER THE COUNTRYSIDE.

SWELTERING HEAT SEEMS TO COMPEL MOVEMENT INTO SLOW MOTION.

THE LAST THING THE 2,400 RESIDENTS

OF THE SMALL PENNSYLVANIA FARMING COMMUNITY EXPECT

IS THAT THIS WILL BE THE SITE

OF THE GREATEST BATTLE OF THE CIVIL WAR.

Shaara: YOU HAVE, ON BOTH SIDES AT GETTYSBURG, COMBINED,

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 160,000 AND 200,000 TROOPS.

THAT'S ENORMOUS.

I MEAN, THAT GATHERING OF TROOPS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE

ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

YOU HAVE MORE ARTILLERY IN ONE PLACE

THAN HAS EVER BEEN ASSEMBLED BEFORE.

AND FOR THREE DAYS, THESE TWO ARMIES SLUG IT OUT.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator: ON JULY 1st,

THE CONFEDERATES DRIVE MEADE'S ARMY BACK THROUGH GETTYSBURG,

BUT THE UNION HOLDS THE HIGH GROUND.

BACK IN WASHINGTON,

LINCOLN STAYS GLUED TO THE TELEGRAPH MACHINE,

WAITING FOR NEWS FROM THE BATTLE.

THE SILENCE IS EXCRUCIATING.

Holzer: I MEAN, HE'S HOPING FOR THE BEST

AND PROBABLY EXPECTING THE WORST.

WHY SHOULD HE THINK ANYTHING'S GONNA GO WELL

WHEN THEY'VE LOST FREDERICKSBURG

AND THEY'VE LOST CHANCELLORSVILLE?

Narrator: DAY TWO -- LEE'S ARMY CHARGES UP THE HILLS

TO SEIZE THE UNION STRONGHOLDS.

BUT THEY PROVE IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERTAKE.

THE BATTLE TURNS INTO A GRUESOME STALEMATE.

Shaara: THE BLOODLETTING, I MEAN, IT'S --

YOU CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT GETTYSBURG IS LIKE.

THE SHEER VOLUME OF BLOOD THAT HAS BEEN LET ON THIS GROUND

IS JUST HORRIFYING

BEYOND WHAT ANYONE IN WASHINGTON CAN READILY COMPREHEND.

Narrator: LINCOLN CONTINUES HIS VIGIL.

HISTORY UNFOLDS WITHOUT HIM.

DURING THE DAY, HE IS HANDED A MESSAGE,

NOT ABOUT THE BATTLE, BUT ABOUT HIS WIFE.

MARY IS INJURED.

SHE WAS THROWN FROM HER CARRIAGE --

THE SAME CARRIAGE THE PRESIDENT RIDES EVERY DAY.

SABOTAGE IS SUSPECTED.

FEARS GROW FOR THE PRESIDENT'S LIFE.

Holzer: HIS WIFE HAS FALLEN OUT OF A CARRIAGE

AND HIT HER HEAD ON A ROCK

AND MAY BE IN CRITICAL CONDITION UP AT THE COUNTRY HOUSE.

TOUGH, TOUGH DAY.

BUT HE CAN'T LEAVE THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

THAT'S WHERE HE STAYS.

Kushner: YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HE HELD UP,

BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS AT STAKE.

IF LEE HAD BROKEN THROUGH AND MADE HIS WAY TO WASHINGTON,

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN OVERWHELMING DEMAND

TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE PEACE WITH THE SOUTH,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY DEMANDED

SECESSION AND SLAVERY AS A PART OF THEIR NEGOTIATIONS.

SO I THINK THE PRESSURE MUST HAVE BEEN HORRENDOUS.

Powell: THE CIVIL WAR HAS OFTEN BEEN CALLED THE FIRST MODERN WAR,

BUT IT WAS REALLY A TRANSITIONING WAR.

BUT IT STILL HAD SOME TINGES OF THE PAST,

TINGES OF THE NAPOLEONIC ERA, BECAUSE IN ORDER TO MASS FIRE,

YOU STILL HAD TO BRING TROOPS TOGETHER.

THEY HAD TO STAND SHOULDER-IN-SHOULDER

AND MARCH INTO CANNON FIRE, MARCH INTO RIFLE FIRE.

Shaara: BY THE 1860s, YOU'VE GOT THE RIFLED MUSKET

ABLE TO KNOCK A MAN DOWN AT 300 YARDS,

WHEREAS UP UNTIL THEN,

THE MUSKET WAS GOOD AT ABOUT 50 YARDS.

WELL, YOU DO THAT MATH,

AND YOU MARCH THOUSANDS OF MEN IN A GROUP ACROSS AN OPEN FIELD

INTO THOSE RIFLED MUSKETS,

SLAUGHTER HAPPENS.

Narrator: EVEN THOUGH THE UNION HOLDS THE HIGH GROUND,

LEE FAILS TO CHANGE HIS TACTICS.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

ON DAY THREE, HE ORDERS ONE HUMAN WAVE UP THE HILL...

...THEN ANOTHER...

THEN ANOTHER,

ONLY TO SEE THEM MOWED DOWN BY UNION FIRE.

OUTGUNNED AND OUTMANEUVERED,

LEE FINALLY STOPS THE BLOODBATH.

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THE SOUTH'S MILITARY MASTERMIND SUFFERS A CRUSHING DEFEAT.

ON THE MORNING OF JULY 4th,

THE THUNDEROUS SOUNDS OF BATTLE GO SILENT.

ONLY THE WAILS OF THE INJURED WAFT THROUGH THE AIR.

THE RESIDENTS OF GETTYSBURG

CAUTIOUSLY EMERGE FROM THEIR CELLARS.

THE SIGHTS AND SMELLS BEFORE THEM

ARE ALMOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

Shaara: THE NEXT DAY, THE TOURISTS START TO COME.

PEOPLE FROM PHILADELPHIA AND WASHINGTON --

THEY WANT TO SEE IT.

I MEAN, IT'S -- THERE'S THAT THING THAT WE DO TODAY --

THE RUBBERNECKING.

I MEAN, PEOPLE SHOW UP HERE LITERALLY ONE DAY LATER

TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

THEY GET PRESSED INTO SERVICE.

SUDDENLY, THEY'RE GRABBED --

"NO, WE NEED YOU IN HERE.

RIP THESE SHEETS UP INTO BANDAGES."

THERE'S NO EUPHORIA HERE

THAT, YOU KNOW, "YEAH, WE WHIPPED OLD BOBBY LEE."

MAYBE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS ARE DOING THAT,

BUT THE REALITY IN THE TOWN OF GETTYSBURG

IS ANYTHING BUT EUPHORIC.

IT IS HORRIBLE.

Narrator: IN ALL, NEARLY 50,000 MEN

HAVE BEEN KILLED OR MAIMED AT GETTYSBURG.

THE ARMY SETS UP MAKESHIFT HOSPITALS AND MORGUES.

VOLUNTEER NURSES FLOCK IN FROM MILES AWAY.

THE CARNAGE LEAVES THEM STUNNED.

Woman: THERE WERE MILES OF TENTS

AND ACRES OF MEN LYING ON THE OPEN EARTH,

BUT, GOOD GOD, WHAT THOSE QUIET-LOOKING TENTS CONTAINED.

DEAD AND DYING AND WOUNDED IN EVERY CONDITION,

TORN TO PIECES IN EVERY WAY.

BUT THE MOST HORRIBLE THING WAS TO SEE LIMBS LYING,

PILED UP AT THE FOOT OF A TREE IN FRONT OF THE SURGEON'S TENT.

THE AMPUTATION TABLE IS PLAINLY IN VIEW.

I NEVER TRUST MYSELF TO LOOK TOWARD IT.

THE UNION SOLDIERS AND THE REBELS LIE SIDE BY SIDE,

FRIENDLY AS BROTHERS.

A PERPETUAL PROCESSION OF COFFINS

IS CONSTANTLY PASSING TO AND FRO.

IT WILL BE A PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE FOR THE NATION.

[ FIREWORKS POPPING ]

[ PEOPLE CHEERING ]

Narrator: FAR FROM THE SLAUGHTER,

JULY 4th IN WASHINGTON, D.C., IS A DAY OF JUBILATION.

FOR NORTHERNERS, THE SCALE OF THE VICTORY

HOLDS THE PROMISE OF A QUICK END TO THE WAR.

LINCOLN, THOUGH, KNOWS BETTER.

LEE'S ARMY HAS BEEN DEFEATED BUT NOT DESTROYED.

HE WILL BE BACK TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.

AS FIREWORKS EXPLODE IN THE NIGHT SKY,

SUDDENLY, A QUIET TICKING CAN BE HEARD IN THE COMMAND CENTER.

[ TELEGRAPH CLICKING ]

THE TELEGRAPH LINES HUM BACK TO LIFE.

THE NEWS IS ASTONISHING.

TORRENTIAL RAINS HAVE FLOODED THE POTOMAC,

PREVENTING THE CONFEDERATES

FROM FLEEING BACK INTO SOUTHERN TERRITORY.

LEE'S ARMY IS TRAPPED AT THE RIVER'S EDGE.

LINCOLN TELLS GENERAL MEADE TO FIND THEM

AND DESTROY THEM ONCE AND FOR ALL.

LINCOLN'S LISTENING TO HIS OWN ADVISORS

THERE AT THE WAR DEPARTMENT SAYING,

"WE'VE GOT HIM.

WE'VE GOT LEE ON THE ROPES."

WE NEED TO GO AFTER HIM.

WE NEED TO END THIS.

CRUSH HIM."

Narrator: BUT TO LINCOLN'S DISMAY,

MEADE IS HESITATING.

Shaara: MEADE'S ARMY IS PRETTY BADLY BEAT UP.

THEY'RE NOT IN A POSITION TO GO JUST CHARGING OFF

AND ENGAGE IN ANOTHER MAJOR CAMPAIGN ANY MORE THAN LEE IS.

HE'S BEEN IN COMMAND LESS THAN A WEEK,

SO HE'S NOT THIS DYNAMIC GUY

THAT'S GONNA GO CHARGING OFF, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OFF A CLIFF.

Narrator: ON JULY 7th, LINCOLN RECEIVES A TELEGRAM

FROM THE WESTERN FRONT.

UNION FORCES COMMANDED BY GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT

HAVE WON A DECISIVE VICTORY AT VICKSBURG.

AT LAST, THE TIDE SEEMS TO BE SHIFTING.

YET EVEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY TURN OF EVENTS

DOES LITTLE TO CALM LINCOLN'S FEARS.

Shaara: EVEN THOUGH GETTYSBURG AND VICKSBURG,

WHICH HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME IN JULY OF 1863 --

THEY'RE BOTH ENORMOUS VICTORIES FOR THE UNION --

THERE IS NO EUPHORIA.

THE WAR'S GONE ON FOR TOO LONG.

"CAN WE GET THIS OVER WITH NOW?

WE'VE KILLED ENOUGH PEOPLE."

Narrator: LINCOLN IS CONVINCED

THAT THE END OF THE WAR IS WITHIN REACH

IF HE CAN INFLICT A FINAL BLOW TO LEE'S TATTERED ARMY.

THEN THE TELEGRAM COMES IN.

LEE'S ARMY HAS ESCAPED ACROSS THE POTOMAC

AND IS SAFELY BACK IN SOUTHERN TERRITORY.

Holzer: ONCE ROBERT E. LEE'S ARMY

RETREATED BACK ACROSS THE POTOMAC,

ONCE HE HEARD THAT GENERAL MEADE HAD DECIDED

HE COULDN'T FORCE HIS ARMY OF 100,000 BATTLE-WEARY SOLDIERS

TO NOW JUST PICK UP AND HEAD SOUTH,

NOT WITH ALL THE DEBRIS, NOT WITH ALL THE DEATH,

NOT WITH ALL THE CARNAGE AND THE BURIAL PARTIES,

AND IN EFFECT, HE LET LEE ESCAPE --

THAT'S WHEN LINCOLN REALLY UNDERSTOOD,

ALMOST, THE WHAT-MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN.

Narrator: UNABLE TO CONTAIN HIS BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT,

LINCOLN DRAFTS A LETTER TO GENERAL MEADE.

Holzer: HE SAID, "YOU HAD THEM IN THE HOLLOW OF YOUR HAND.

"THE WAR COULD HAVE BEEN OVER.

"YOU HAVE MISSED AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY,

AND YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW UPSET I AM."

BUT WHAT LINCOLN DID NEXT IS AMAZING.

THIS IS A MAN WHO USED WORDS

WITH SUCH POWER AND SUCH PRECISION

BUT WAS EQUALLY BRILLIANT ABOUT WHEN NOT TO USE WORDS.

SO HE WRITES ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS LETTER,

"NEVER SIGNED, NEVER SENT."

Narrator: FOR LINCOLN, LEE'S ESCAPE

WOULD BE THE SINGLE GREATEST MISSED OPPORTUNITY

OF HIS PRESIDENCY.

LINCOLN'S ELDEST SON, ROBERT, WOULD LATER WRITE

THAT HE FOUND HIS FATHER STOOPED OVER HIS DESK

IN TEARS WITH HIS HEAD BOWED UPON HIS ARMS.

NOT ONLY IS HE A WARTIME PRESIDENT,

HE'S THE PRESIDENT WHO STARTS THE WAR.

AND SO FOR HIM TO, YOU KNOW,

JUST ABSORB THAT ON A DAILY BASIS,

IT HAS TO JUST CRUSH HIM.

AND LINCOLN IS THE ONE WHO RECEIVES THE PERSONAL LETTERS

FROM THE MOTHERS, THE GRIEVING PARENTS

OF YOUNG MEN WHO ARE KILLED IN THE WAR.

HE'S GETTING THIS ON HIS DESK EVERY DAY.

HOW CAN YOU ABSORB THAT AND NOT BE AFFECTED BY IT?

THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM

THE HUMAN BEING TO ME, THE HUMAN PRESIDENT,

IS THAT HE FEELS THAT.

Harris-Perry: LINCOLN, PERHAPS BECAUSE

OF THE LOSS OF HIS OWN CHILD,

SEEMED TO HAVE SUCH EXTRAORDINARY EMPATHY,

NOT JUST FOR THE COUNTRY IN THE CONTEXT OF WAR,

BUT FOR EACH AND EVERY FAMILY.

Powell: HE WAS DEEPLY TOUCHED BY THIS HUMAN ASPECT OF WAR.

IT IS NOT SOME GAME YOU'RE PLAYING.

I'VE BEEN IN WAR,

I'VE BEEN IN A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP IN WAR,

AND I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE.

IT IS NOT JUST MOVING PEOPLE AROUND ON THE GROUND.

IT'S LIFE AND DEATH.

AND NOTHING LIKE THAT HAD EVER HAPPENED ON OUR CONTINENT BEFORE.

AND HE REALIZED THAT EVERY TIME HE HEARD ABOUT A SOLDIER DYING

OR BEING MUTILATED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,

HE KNEW THAT THERE WAS A MOTHER WEEPING SOMEWHERE.

AND SO HE TOOK THE TIME TO WRITE TO THESE PEOPLE.

Kushner: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LETTER, I THINK,

THAT HE WROTE ABOUT MOURNING AND GRIEF

IS TO A YOUNG GIRL NAMED FANNY McCULLOUGH,

WHOSE FATHER WAS KILLED.

AND HE WRITES HER THIS LETTER.

IT'S JUST HEARTBREAKING.

AND HE SAYS, "I KNOW YOU FEEL NOW

"THAT YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE HAPPY AGAIN,

"BUT IF YOU TRY TO IMAGINE YOURSELF HAPPY

"AT SOME DISTANT POINT,

YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GET THERE."

IT'S SO GENTLE, AND IT'S SO FULL OF AN EXPERIENCE OF LOSS.

IT SHOWS SUCH AN INTIMACY WITH THE PROCESSES OF MOURNING.

Narrator: IN GETTYSBURG, ACROSS ONCE-GREEN FIELDS,

IT LOOKS AS IF SNOW HAS FALLEN IN JULY

AS WORKERS SPREAD A BLANKET OF LIME

TO MASK THE STENCH OF DEATH.

THE TOWN FATHERS FACE A DAUNTING TASK --

WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEAD.

Jones: YOU HAVE A LOT OF BODIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

AND THIS IS THE SUMMER.

THEY'RE DECOMPOSING QUICKLY, AND YOU MUST DO SOMETHING.

THESE ARE HONORED DEAD, TOO.

THESE ARE SOLDIERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD,

SO YOU NEED TO BURY THEM.

AND SO A CONTRACT IS MADE

WITH A LEADER WITHIN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

TO INTER THESE BODIES.

Narrator: WORKING FROM DAWN TO DUSK,

A CREW OF 10 BLACK MEN BEGIN THE GRUELING TASK

OF EXHUMING BODIES FROM MAKESHIFT GRAVES

AND MOVING THEM TO NEW GROUNDS ON CEMETERY HILL.

ARTICLES OF CLOTHING ARE CAREFULLY EXAMINED

FOR CLUES TO THEIR OWNER'S IDENTITY...

...DIARIES, LETTERS,

NAMES IN A BIBLE, EMBROIDERED INITIALS.

CONFEDERATES UNIFORMS WERE COTTON...

...UNION, WOOL.

OF COURSE, IT'S THE MOST CATACLYSMIC BATTLE

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

AND YET THE SACRIFICE THAT HAS BEEN MADE

BY THE PEOPLE WHO DIED THERE IS VERY MUCH IN PEOPLE'S MINDS,

NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE NUMBERS AND THE STATISTICS ARE ENORMOUS,

NOT ONLY BECAUSE SO MANY FAMILIES

ARE AFFECTED BY BROTHERS, SONS, AND FATHERS

DYING IN THAT CARNAGE,

BUT BECAUSE OF THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF DEATH

THAT'S EVERYWHERE IN GETTYSBURG

AND BECOMES KNOWN THROUGH THE NEWSPAPERS

THROUGH THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

Waldman: THE WORD OF WHAT HAPPENED AT GETTYSBURG

SPREAD AS FAST THEN PRETTY MUCH AS IT WOULD NOW.

Narrator: RESPONDING TO THE OUTPOURING OF SORROW,

THE GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

CALLS FOR THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL CEMETERY.

NO LONGER JUST A BATTLEFIELD,

THE NAME "GETTYSBURG" BECOMES A SYMBOL

OF ALL THE BLOOD THAT HAS BEEN SPILLED

SINCE THE START OF THE WAR.

NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE SYMBOLISM BETTER THAN LINCOLN,

OR THE NEED TO PREPARE THE COUNTRY

FOR EVEN MORE SACRIFICE.

AND, AS HE HAS FEARED, 10 WEEKS AFTER GETTYSBURG,

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY COMES ROARING BACK.

[ GUNFIRE ]

SEPTEMBER OF 1863,

YOU HAVE THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA IN NORTH GEORGIA,

WHICH IS A CRUSHING DEFEAT FOR THE UNION ARMY,

AND WE'RE RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE WERE.

AND SO THE DESPAIR, ONCE AGAIN, CREEPS THROUGH WASHINGTON.

YOU KNOW, "CAN WE NOT GET THIS THING OVER WITH?"

Narrator: IN CONGRESS,

OPPOSITION TO LINCOLN'S WAR IS STIFFENING.

AND HE IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

LINCOLN HAD SAID, "PUBLIC SENTIMENT IS EVERYTHING."

NOW HE MUST FIND A WAY TO GAIN BACK SUPPORT.

HE DOESN'T KNOW IN 1864

IF HE'S GOING TO BE TURNED OUT OF OFFICE.

IF THAT HAPPENS, WHAT HAPPENS TO DEMOCRACY?

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES?

DOES IT SIMPLY DISSOLVE?

DOES IT SIMPLY GO AWAY?

Narrator: IN EARLY NOVEMBER,

LINCOLN RECEIVES AN UNUSUAL INVITATION

TO SPEAK AT THE DEDICATION OF THE GETTYSBURG MEMORIAL.

MOST PRESIDENTS WOULD TURN IT DOWN.

Waldman: PRESIDENTS DID NOT THINK

THEY COULD OR SHOULD TALK OFTEN TO THE PUBLIC

UNTIL MUCH LATER --

UNTIL NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO AND TELEVISION.

IN THOSE DAYS, IT WAS JUST CONSIDERED WRONG

FOR THE PRESIDENT TO DO IT.

EVEN THE MOST ELOQUENT PRESIDENTS

DIDN'T GIVE THEIR STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS IN PERSON.

GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JOHN ADAMS --

THEY WENT UP TO CONGRESS TO GIVE THAT SPEECH,

BUT THOMAS JEFFERSON THOUGHT IT WAS KINGLY.

IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE PRESIDENT

TO GO TO THE SOVEREIGN BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT,

CONGRESS, COEQUAL,

AND TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.

SO HE SENT HIS MESSAGE IN WRITING, AS DID ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Narrator: LINCOLN KNOWS THAT EVERY NEWSPAPER IN THE COUNTRY

WILL BE REPORTING ON THE SPEECHES AT THE CEREMONY.

HE ACCEPTS THE INVITATION.

Shaara: ONE OF THE THINGS, I THINK, MODERN POLITICS --

AND YOU COULD CREDIT LINCOLN WITH UNDERSTANDING --

THAT IF YOU CAN REACH THE PEOPLE FIRST,

IT'S NOT ABOUT REACHING THE SENATORS

AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

GO PAST THAT FOR A MINUTE

AND REACH DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE.

LINCOLN, I THINK, PROBABLY MORE

THAN ANY PRESIDENT UP TO HIS TIME,

UNDERSTANDS THAT.

Narrator: IN THE DAYS BEFORE LINCOLN IS TO LEAVE FOR GETTYSBURG,

HIS YOUNGEST SON, TAD, FALLS INTO A FEVERED STUPOR --

A SCENE FRIGHTENINGLY SIMILAR

TO THE DEATH OF HIS SON WILLIE FROM TYPHOID FEVER

THE YEAR BEFORE.

LINCOLN'S WIFE HAS BARELY RECOVERED

FROM THE LOSS OF ONE SON AND HER OWN INJURY.

NOW THIS.

MARY BEGS HER HUSBAND NOT TO GO.

[ BELL TOLLING ]

LINCOLN IGNORES HIS WIFE'S PLEAS.

HE LEAVES HIS SON'S SICKBED.

HE LEAVES HIS COMMAND CENTER IN THE TELEGRAPH ROOM.

HE WILL GO TO GETTYSBURG TO SPEAK TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

HE HAS BEGUN WRITING THE WORDS THAT WILL GIVE MEANING

TO ALL THE SUFFERING THE COUNTRY HAS ENDURED

AND ALL IT MUST STILL ENDURE IN THE YEARS TO COME.

ON NOVEMBER 18th,

LINCOLN'S TRAIN GETS UNDER WAY PACKED WITH DIGNITARIES,

AN HONOR GUARD OF INJURED SOLDIERS,

AND A CORPS OF REPORTERS.

Shaara: LINCOLN IS VERY AWARE

THAT HE'S BEING WATCHED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

HE'S BEING WATCHED BY, YOU KNOW, THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

AND ALL THE VARIOUS MONARCHS AND DICTATORS EVERYWHERE

ARE PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION

TO WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THIS CIVIL WAR.

IT'S NOT JUST A UNIQUELY AMERICAN THING.

IT'S AN EVENT THAT CAN CHANGE POLITICS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Kushner: THE DEFEAT OF THIS COUNTRY WOULD HAVE MEANT

NOT ONLY THE END OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA --

AND AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN,

I WOULD THINK THAT A VERY BAD THING --

BUT ALSO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY,

AND AS LINCOLN SAID MANY TIMES,

A DEFEAT OF THE VERY IDEA OF DEMOCRACY.

THERE IS AN IDEA AT STAKE HERE.

THERE'S THE GREAT, SORT OF, MYSTICAL IDEA OF UNION,

BUT THERE'S ALSO THE IDEA OF A PEOPLE'S SELF-GOVERNMENT.

AND WE'RE ALL TESTING AN ABSTRACT IDEA HERE.

SO THESE PEOPLE SLAUGHTERING EACH OTHER

IS ALSO A TESTING OF THAT IDEA.

WILL A PEOPLE'S UNION COHERE IN THE FACE OF TERRIBLE DURESS,

OR WILL IT DISINTEGRATE?

Narrator: IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRIP,

LINCOLN WITHDRAWS TO PRIVATE QUARTERS.

AWAY FROM THE CROWD, WORDS SWIRL THROUGH HIS HEAD

FOR THE SPEECH HE HAS NOT YET COMPLETED.

AT THE PRESIDENT'S SIDE THAT DAY

IS HIS VALET, WILLIAM H. JOHNSON.

JOHNSON IS LIKELY THE ONLY BLACK MAN ON THE TRAIN.

Jones: WE ARE NOT SURE WHETHER JOHNSON WAS BORN FREE

OR WHETHER HE HAD RUN AWAY ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

WE'RE NOT CERTAIN.

HE'S A RATHER MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER.

Narrator: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO MEN

GOES BACK TO LINCOLN'S DAYS IN ILLINOIS.

WHEN THE LINCOLNS MOVED INTO THE WHITE HOUSE,

THEY BROUGHT JOHNSON WITH THEM.

BUT THAT WOULD TURN OUT TO BE MORE COMPLICATED THAN EXPECTED.

Jones: AND WHEN HE GETS TO THE WHITE HOUSE,

HE ALSO RUNS INTO ONE OF THE REALITIES

OF THE WASHINGTON, D.C., COLOR PREJUDICE.

IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THERE'S QUITE A LEGACY

OF GRADATIONS OF COLOR

DETERMINING WHO SHOULD HAVE ACCESS.

LIGHTER-SKINNED AFRICAN-AMERICANS

WOULD OFTEN DISCRIMINATE

AGAINST DARKER-SKINNED AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

AND JOHNSON WAS A DARKER-SKINNED AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

AND MANY WHO WORKED IN THE WHITE HOUSE

WERE NOT PLEASED WITH THE FACT

THAT HE HAD THE RUN OF THE HOUSE WITH THE PRESIDENT.

Narrator: BUT LINCOLN WOULD BREAK WITH CUSTOM

AND INSIST THAT JOHNSON ACCOMPANY HIM TO GETTYSBURG.

FEELS THAT HE'S AN AMBASSADOR.

HE'S AN AMBASSADOR FOR FREEDOM.

THIS MEANS SOMETHING TO ALL OF HIS PEOPLE,

THE FACT THAT HE'S EVEN THERE WITH THE PRESIDENT.

HE MUST STAND ERECT.

HE MUST LOOK PROUD

AND SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL THAT IT'S TIME TO AID THE UNION.

Narrator: AS LINCOLN'S TRAIN PULLS INTO THE GETTYSBURG STATION,

A BRIGHT MOON CASTS A GHOSTLY LIGHT

ON THE ROWS OF COFFINS STACKED ON THE PLATFORM.

FROM THERE, HE IS WHISKED INTO TOWN TO SPEND THE NIGHT

IN A CRAMPED BEDROOM IN THE HOME OF A LOCAL RESIDENT.

HE NEEDS QUIET, TIME TO REVIEW HIS SPEECH,

BUT IT IS HARD TO COME BY.

OUTSIDE HIS WINDOW, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

ARE STREAMING IN TO ATTEND THE GETTYSBURG CEREMONY.

THAT EVENING, A TELEGRAM ARRIVES FROM HIS WIFE.

LINCOLN'S HEART GROWS LIGHTER.

DAWN.

A LONE BUGLER MAKES HIS WAY TO THE SUMMIT OF CEMETERY HILL.

ECHOING OVER FIELDS SCARRED BY BATTLE,

HE SUMMONS THE PEOPLE OF GETTYSBURG TO THE CEMETERY.

[ BUGLE PLAYS ]

LINCOLN BRACES HIMSELF FOR A DIFFICULT DAY.

A YOUNG GIRL ON THE STREET SPOTS THE PRESIDENT AT THE WINDOW

WITH PIECES OF PAPER IN HIS HAND.

SHE IS STRUCK

BY THE INEXPRESSIBLE SADNESS ON HIS FACE.

Kushner: LINCOLN DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE COULD WIN THE CIVIL WAR.

HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE COULD MAKE SURE THE END OF THE WAR

MEANT THE END OF SLAVERY.

BUT I THINK HE KNEW THAT HE HAD THE EFFECT

OF HAVING AN ENORMOUS IMPACT WITH HIS WORDS.

Waldman: THE CIVIL WAR HAS BEEN GRINDING ON,

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS KILLED,

AND PEOPLE ARE ASKING,

"IS IT WORTH IT?

WHY ARE WE FIGHTING?"

PRESIDENT LINCOLN, IN HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS, SAID,

"WE'RE FIGHTING TO PRESERVE THE UNION,

TO PRESERVE THE CONSTITUTION AS IT IS."

BUT IN FACT, OF COURSE, THE WAR WAS REALLY ABOUT SLAVERY.

AND BY EMANCIPATING THE SLAVES

IN THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,

LINCOLN TURNED IT INTO A PEOPLE'S WAR,

TRANSFORMING THE CIVIL WAR

FROM A FIGHT OVER THE CONSTITUTION

TO A FIGHT ABOUT BASIC VALUES

AND THAT THE COUNTRY HAD TO BE REBORN

AROUND A MORE EQUAL AND MORE DEMOCRATIC SET OF VALUES.

Narrator: THE PRESIDENT HAS SPENT MUCH OF THE NIGHT

HONING HIS SPEECH.

IN THE MORNING, JOHNSON ENTERS HIS ROOM.

Jones: JOHNSON IS HIS SOUNDING BOARD.

ONE IS THAT HE'S PRESENT,

AND LINCOLN, I THINK, WOULD REHEARSE.

IT'S A SPEECH THAT -- REHEARSAL WOULD BE EASY.

THE STATEMENT THAT THIS NATION, CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY,

THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL --

NOW, THAT'S KEY.

JOHNSON'S HEARING THIS,

AND HE'S HEARING THIS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND HOW HE MUST FEEL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HIS CHILDREN,

THE FUTURE OF HIS PEOPLE

WHEN THE MAN AT THE HELM

HAS PUT THIS COUNTRY IN A DIRECTION

WHERE ALL MEN SHOULD BE CREATED EQUAL.

AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED

IN THE SHIP CALLED "AMERICA."

Narrator: 10:00 A.M.

A SOLEMN PROCESSION STARTS MOVING TOWARD THE CEMETERY.

RIDING ABOVE THE CROWD ON HORSEBACK,

LINCOLN SCANS THE HORIZON.

EVERYWHERE HIS EYES REST, GRAVES --

NOTHING BUT GRAVES.

I THINK LINCOLN FELT THE AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY

OF HAVING TO LOOK OUT ACROSS THIS CEMETERY

WHERE ALL THESE MEN ARE BURIED THAT HE PUT THERE.

I MEAN, THERE'S THAT REALITY THAT THIS IS HIS WAR.

AND HE'S LOOKING AT THE GRAVES, MASS GRAVES IN MANY CASES,

OF MEN THAT ARE THERE BECAUSE OF HIM.

OKAY, HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT?

HOW DO YOU TALK ABOUT THAT?

THAT'S AN AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY.

Narrator: LINCOLN TAKES HIS PLACE ON THE PLATFORM

AMONG THE DIGNITARIES.

A HEAD TALLER THAN MOST MEN,

THE CROWD OF NEARLY 20,000

GREETS HIM WITH CURIOSITY AND AWE.

BUT LINCOLN IS NOT THE MOST ANTICIPATED SPEAKER

ON THE PLATFORM.

THAT HONOR FALLS TO EDWARD EVERETT,

THE MOST POPULAR ORATOR,

THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER OF HIS TIME.

TYPICAL FOR THE DAY, HE SPEAKS FOR TWO HOURS.

Waldman: EVERETT SPOKE FOR A LONG TIME

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE BATTLE,

AND THIS WAS WHAT PEOPLE EXPECTED IN THOSE DAYS.

THERE WAS NO TELEVISION.

THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF BOOKS AROUND.

THERE WAS NO INTERNET.

PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR THE NARRATION OF THEIR TIMES

THROUGH THESE BIG SPEECHES TO A HUGE CROWD.

Narrator: FINALLY, IT IS LINCOLN'S TURN.

EVERETT SPOKE FROM MEMORY.

LINCOLN PUTS ON HIS READING GLASSES.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

WILL BARELY LAST THREE MINUTES --

10 SENTENCES,

A MERE 272 WORDS.

WHEN THE PRESIDENT LOOKS UP FROM HIS PAPER,

THE CROWD STANDS SILENT.

IS THE SPEECH OVER?

IS THERE MORE?

THE PHOTOGRAPHER CHARGED WITH DOCUMENTING THE CEREMONY

BELIEVES HE HAS PLENTY OF TIME

TO GET A PICTURE OF THE HISTORIC MOMENT.

HE IS STILL FUMBLING WITH HIS EQUIPMENT

WHEN LINCOLN SPEAKS HIS LAST WORD.

THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PRESIDENT AT THE CEREMONY

CAPTURES HIM AMONG THE CROWD.

FINALLY, THE PRESIDENT HEARS A LONG, THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE.

[ APPLAUSE ]

NOW HISTORY WILL TAKE THE MEASURE

OF THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS BECOMES WHAT WE WOULD CALL FAMOUS,

I THINK, FAIRLY QUICKLY.

THE TELEGRAPH LINE TAKES IT COAST TO COAST,

AND BECAUSE IT IS ONLY 272 WORDS,

YOU CAN PUBLISH THE ENTIRETY IN THE NEWSPAPER

SO PEOPLE CAN READ THE WHOLE THING.

Kushner: IT WAS BEING PUBLISHED EVERYWHERE.

WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, IT BECAME, PROBABLY,

THE MOST FAMOUS PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH EVER MADE.

Wheeler: THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS WAS TELEGRAPHIC IN THE SENSE

THAT IT WAS A HANDFUL OF LINES

WITH CAREFULLY CHOSEN WORDS

WITH INCREDIBLE IMPACT.

Narrator: "FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO,

OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH UPON THIS CONTINENT A NEW NATION..."

"HOW LONG AGO IS IT?

80-ODD YEARS"

BECOMES, UNDER HIS BRILLIANT CRAFTSMANSHIP,

EDITING, AND REWORKING,

"FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO."

"WHEN A PEOPLE GOT TOGETHER AND DECIDED" BECOMES

"OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH UPON THIS CONTINENT A NEW NATION."

AMAZING.

SO, WHEN HE GOT UP AND SAID,

"FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO,"

THE PEOPLE WHO WERE PAYING ATTENTION

MIGHT HAVE SCRATCHED THEIR HEADS AND SAID,

"WAIT A MINUTE.

I'M DOING THE MATH.

THAT'S NOT 1787.

THAT'S 1776."

OBVIOUSLY THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

AND THE CONSTITUTION?

Narrator: "CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY

AND DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL."

Waldman: THE CONSTITUTION CONDONES SLAVERY,

AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

TALKED ABOUT EVERYBODY BEING CREATED EQUAL AND LIBERTY.

SO, HE WAS PRESSING WHAT WE WOULD CALL A RESET BUTTON,

SAYING THE COUNTRY DIDN'T START IN 1787.

IT STARTED IN 1776.

Foner: THIS NATION WAS CREATED ON THIS PRINCIPLE

THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

THAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL, UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE

OF AMERICAN LIFE, ACCORDING TO LINCOLN,

AND THAT IS A POWERFUL, POWERFUL STATEMENT.

HE IS SAYING GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN

FOR ONLY ONE PURPOSE -- THAT IS TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS,

AND THESE RIGHTS ARE INALIENABLE,

AND ALL PEOPLE HAVE THEM, AND IT IS SELF-EVIDENT.

Narrator: "NOW WE ARE ENGAGED IN A GREAT CIVIL WAR,

"TESTING WHETHER THAT NATION,

"OR ANY NATION SO CONCEIVED AND SO DEDICATED,

CAN LONG ENDURE."

Harris-Perry: IT IS OUR MODERN NOTION OF DEMOCRACY

THAT IS FORGED IN THIS MOMENT.

THE NOTION OF AMERICA AS ONE NATION

REALLY ONLY EMERGES IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT THIS FIGHT IS.

Narrator: "WE ARE MET ON A GREAT BATTLEFIELD OF THAT WAR.

"WE HAVE COME TO DEDICATE A PORTION OF THAT FIELD

"AS A FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO HERE GAVE THEIR LIVES

THAT THAT NATION MIGHT LIVE."

THIS IS A SPEECH DELIVERED AT A CEMETERY,

IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE, WITH PEOPLE WHO LOST LOVED ONES,

IN A VERY BLOODY WAR,

AND THERE IS NOT A NOTE OF TRIUMPH, OF GLORY,

IN THE WHOLE SPEECH.

IT'S ALMOST CLINICAL.

IT'S SCIENTIFIC.

Narrator: "BUT, IN A LARGER SENSE,

"WE CAN NOT DEDICATE, WE CAN NOT CONSECRATE,

"WE CAN NOT HALLOW THIS GROUND.

"THE BRAVE MEN, LIVING AND DEAD, WHO STRUGGLED HERE

"HAVE CONSECRATED IT

FAR ABOVE OUR POOR POWER TO ADD OR DETRACT."

Wheeler: HE USES THE SACRIFICE

AND THE HORRIFIC BATTLE

TO LIFT EVERYONE,

TO SEE THE GREATER CHALLENGE

THAT IS REPRESENTED BY THIS CONFLICT

AND TO REDEFINE THE CONFLICT

OUT OF MILITARY TERMS

AND INTO ALMOST EXISTENTIAL TERMS.

Narrator: "THE WORLD WILL LITTLE NOTE

"NOR LONG REMEMBER WHAT WE SAY HERE,

BUT IT CAN NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY DID HERE."

Kushner: ONE THING I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THE SPEECH --

THE REPETITION OF THE WORD "HERE," H-E-R-E.

HE KEEPS SAYING "HERE."

"WE DEDICATE OURSELVES HERE."

"MEN STRUGGLED HERE."

THERE'S THE SENSE OF A DRAWING UP

FROM THE BLOOD-SOAKED EARTH OF THIS PLACE

THE KIND OF ENERGY THAT WILL RECONSECRATE THE NATION

TO THE TASK OF CONCLUDING THE WAR AND ENDING SLAVERY.

Narrator: "THAT FROM THESE HONORED DEAD

"WE TAKE INCREASED DEVOTION TO THAT CAUSE

"FOR WHICH THEY GAVE THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION,

"THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE

"THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN,

"THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD,

SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM."

DEMOCRACY WAS AT STAKE.

THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE SPEECH

TALKS ABOUT IT IS TO BE PROVEN

THAT DEMOCRACY CAN BE SUSTAINED.

AND IF WE LOSE THIS WAR,

THEN DEMOCRACY CANNOT BE SUSTAINED.

THE WORD "SLAVERY" DOES NOT APPEAR

IN THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

BUT NOBODY COULD MISTAKE WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT

WHEN HE SAYS, "A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM."

AND THEN HE ENDS WITH A SERIES OF PROPOSALS.

Narrator: "AND THAT GOVERNMENT

"OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."

Shaara: "OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."

I MEAN, THAT'S -- THAT SAYS IT ALL.

THIS COUNTRY IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

LINCOLN UNDERSTANDS THAT,

AS DID GEORGE WASHINGTON, AS DID F.D.R.

THIS NATION HAS TO SURVIVE.

Kushner: IT'S AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT PROSE POEM.

YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF IT AND HAVE THE SAME EFFECT.

IT RELIES ENTIRELY ON ITS ENTIRETY.

Waldman: LINCOLN, TO THIS DAY,

HAS GIVEN US THE MOST CONCISE, TELEGRAPHIC,

AND BASIC DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY --

"A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE."

HE REALLY DEEPLY BELIEVED IN DEMOCRACY.

HE UNDERSTOOD THAT THAT INCLUDED FREEING THE SLAVES

AND A NOTION OF POLITICAL EQUALITY.

Kushner: AND, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT

THAT THE FOURTH WORD BEFORE THE END IS "PERISH."

I MEAN, HE DOESN'T END BY SAYING, "WE'RE GOING TO WIN,"

AND, YOU KNOW, "VICTORY IS OURS."

HE SAYS, YOU KNOW, "THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

"BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."

IT ENDS WITH THIS KIND OF, LIKE, HEARTBROKEN SOUND.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, A MASTERPIECE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Narrator: LINCOLN'S SPEECH IN GETTYSBURG

THAT CHILLY NOVEMBER AFTERNOON

WILL TAKE A TOLL ON THE WEARY PRESIDENT.

BY THE TIME HE BOARDS THE TRAIN BACK TO WASHINGTON,

A FEVER IS RAGING THROUGH HIS BODY.

SMALLPOX, THE SAME DISEASE THAT STRUCK HIS YOUNG SON,

HAS NOW INFECTED LINCOLN.

WILLIAM JOHNSON NEVER LEAVES HIS SIDE.

LINCOLN FIGHTS SMALLPOX FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS,

BUT HE WILL RECOVER.

JOHNSON, HOWEVER, WILL FALL ILL ON HIS RETURN TO WASHINGTON.

TWO MONTHS LATER, HE IS DEAD.

Jones: HE WOULD BE BURIED

AT THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED ARLINGTON CEMETERY

ON THE GROUNDS ONCE OWNED BY GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.

ON HIS TOMBSTONE,

LINCOLN WOULD HAVE INSCRIBED "CITIZEN."

CITIZEN WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON.

I BELIEVE THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN THOUGHT

THAT TOGETHER WE'D MAKE IT,

THAT TOGETHER WE WERE ONE NATION,

THAT ALL WERE AMERICANS WHEN HE ETCHED "CITIZEN"

IN WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON'S TOMBSTONE.

Powell: THE CIVIL WAR PRESERVED THE UNION,

THE CIVIL WAR ENDED LEGAL SLAVERY,

BUT FOR THE NEXT ALMOST 100 YEARS,

WE FOUND THAT SEGREGATION AND JIM CROW --

THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD FAILED.

WE FOUND THAT SLAVERY STILL EXISTED BY ANOTHER NAME --

NOT CALLED SLAVERY,

BUT FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, IT WAS ALMOST SLAVERY.

AND SO WE NEEDED ANOTHER CIVIL WAR --

A CIVIL WAR OF THE MIND,

A CIVIL WAR OF COURAGE, A CIVIL WAR OF CHARACTER.

AND THAT CIVIL WAR WAS NOT LED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OF COURSE.

IT WAS LED BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Waldman: DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING

USED THOSE SAME VALUES FROM THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

TO GIVE HIS GREATEST SPEECH.

HE WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL,

AS HE SAID, IN THE SYMBOLIC SHADOW OF LINCOLN.

AND WHEN HE GAVE HIS FAMOUS PERORATION, HE SAID,

"I HAVE A DREAM

"THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL RISE UP

"AND LIVE OUT THE TRUE MEANING OF ITS CREED,

THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL,"

THAT CREED THAT LINCOLN HAD PUT AT THE CENTER

OF WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN AMERICAN 100 YEARS BEFORE.

AND EVERY GREAT MOVEMENT,

EVERY GREAT SOCIAL CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY,

ALWAYS HARKENS BACK TO THOSE CORE AMERICAN VALUES.

OVER TIME, OF COURSE, IT BECOMES ADOPTED BY ALMOST EVERYBODY,

NOT JUST IN THE UNITED STATES BUT ELSEWHERE,

BECAUSE IT IS SO SUCCINCT,

BECAUSE IT PUTS OUT THESE PRINCIPLES

THAT ALMOST ANYBODY CAN IDENTIFY WITH --

EQUALITY, NATIONALITY, AND DEMOCRACY.

Harris-Perry: I MEAN, MY MOTHER MEMORIZED THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

AND I MEMORIZED IT, AND MY DAUGHTER WILL MEMORIZE IT,

I MEAN, BECAUSE IT IS BRIEF,

IT'S TEACHABLE,

AND IT CAN BE PART OF ORAL HISTORY,

AND YOU CAN PASS IT ON.

MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES LATER,

A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE

HAS NOT PERISHED FROM THE EARTH.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

Shaara: I DON'T THINK ANYONE TODAY --

NO SPEECH WRITER, NO POLITICIAN --

COULD COME UP WITH WHAT --

I MEAN, THAT'S A UNIQUE MOMENT, NOT JUST IN OUR HISTORY --

IT'S A UNIQUE MOMENT IN WORLD HISTORY.

THAT SPEECH, THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

IS LEARNED AND RECITED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT IS A UNIQUE MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY.

PHRASES "OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."

I CAN'T SAY THOSE PHRASES NOW WITHOUT CHOKING UP.

THE POWER OF THOSE FEW WORDS --

I MEAN, IT RESONATES 150 YEARS LATER.

IT WILL STAND FOREVER.

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