American civil war Quote by Abraham Lincoln
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here so nobly advanced.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln, 1863
The speech emphasizes that actions endure longer than words, urging the living to continue the work of those who sacrificed themselves.
In simple terms: Actions outlast words; keep their legacy alive.
Key Takeaway
Commit to unfinished work.
Themes
legacy
service
memory
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
historical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- memorial ceremonies
- public service
- education
- community projects
Key Concepts
civic duty
historical remembrance
Questions to Reflect On
- How will you honor their sacrifice today?
- What unfinished work calls to you?
A Different Perspective
Words may fade, but deeds shape history.
![“The people who visit the [Lincoln] memorial always look like an advertisement for democracy, so bizarrely, suspiciously diverse that one time I actually saw a man in a cowboy hat standing there reading the Gettysburg Address next to a Hasidic Jew. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had linked…” quote by Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3fe/sarah-vowell-2016_addresses_the-people-who-visit-the-lincoln-memoria_1143653.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
![“The triumph of the Confederacy... would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and damp the sprits of its friends all over the civilized world... [The American Civil War] is destined to be a turning point, for good or evil, of the course of human…” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/645/john-stuart-mill-477_affair_the-triumph-of-the-confederacy-would-be_182321.jpg)
