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Which US President delivered the famous 'Gettysburg Address'?
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Answer: Option C — Abraham Lincoln
Detailed Solution
The Gettysburg Address was delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, on 19 November 1863.
About the Gettysburg Address:
- It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.
- The cemetery honoured Union soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg (1-3 July 1863), one of the bloodiest battles of the war and a turning point in favour of the Union (North).
The speech was very short, only about 272 words, and took about two minutes. The main speaker that day, Edward Everett, spoke for about two hours.
It begins with the famous words: "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" = 87 years, referring to 1776.)
It ends with the hope that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." This phrase is often quoted as the best definition of democracy.
It is considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.
About Abraham Lincoln:
- He was born on 12 February 1809 in a log cabin in Kentucky.
- He was largely self-educated and became a lawyer.
- He was elected President in 1860 as a candidate of the Republican Party.
- He led the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865) against the Confederate (Southern) states that had seceded.
- He issued the "Emancipation Proclamation" on 1 January 1863, declaring freedom for slaves in the Confederate states.
- The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution (1865) abolished slavery throughout the USA.
He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on 14 April 1865, and died the next day. He was the first US President to be assassinated.
He is one of the four Presidents carved on Mount Rushmore, along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt.
The "Lincoln Memorial" in Washington, D.C., where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech (1963), honours him.
Why not the other options?
- ✗George Washington was the first President of the USA and gave a famous "Farewell Address" (1796).
- ✗Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence (1776).
Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the "Four Freedoms" speech (1941) and the "Day of Infamy" speech after Pearl Harbor.
Quick tip
Remember: Gettysburg Address = Abraham Lincoln, 19 November 1863 ("government of the people, by the people, for the people"); Emancipation Proclamation = 1863; Lincoln = 16th President, assassinated 1865.
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Famous Personalities & Founders — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Famous Personalities & Founders, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous personalities from India and the world: leaders, reformers, scientists, entrepreneurs and their nicknames, along with the founders of organisations, companies, institutions, religions and movements. Questions often use popular titles such as 'Iron Man of India' (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) or 'Nightingale of India' (Sarojini Naidu), or ask who founded an organisation, such as the Ramakrishna Mission (Swami Vivekananda). Grouping people by field and by title makes revision faster and helps you spot wrong options. Practise the famous personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.