Here, a president of the United States spoke of the price of division, and the meaning of sacrifice. We draw on them when we seek hope in hours of darkness “Four score, and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Here on this sacred ground, Abraham Lincoln, re-imagined America itself. The end of slavery, widening equality, pursuit of justice, the creation of opportunity, and the sanctity of freedom. For President Lincoln, the Civil War was about the greatest of causes. About how much it has cost America in the past, about how much it is costing us now, and about why I believe in this moment, we must come together as a nation. There’s no more fitting place than here today in Gettysburg, to talk about the cost of division. Slavery would be abolished, government of by and for the people would not perish from the earth, and freedom would be born anew in our land. The war would go on for nearly two more years, but the back of the Confederacy had been broken. When the sun rose on that Independence Day, Lee would retreat.

It took place here on this ground in Gettysburg three days of violence, three days of carnage, 50,000 casualties, wounded, captured, missing, or dead, over three days of fighting. On July 4th, 1863, American woke to the remains of perhaps the most consequential battle in American soil. I appreciate you being here on this gorgeous day in a magnificent, magnificent setting, until you think about all the lives that were lost here.

The text of the gettysburg address