Gettysburg Address

Worksheet Description

According to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the foundational U.S. document that addressed the true intentions of the Founding Fathers for America is the Declaration of Independence. We can ascertain this from the opening line of the address:

“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.”

“Four score and seven years” is a reference to 87 years. Given that the Gettysburg Address was delivered in 1863, subtracting 87 years takes us to 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was adopted. In the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson wrote about the self-evident truth “that all men are created equal,” which aligns with Lincoln’s reference to a nation “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”