should be free So Abraham Lincoln says All men are created equal Eleven southern states left the Union They formed the Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis So the war began Lincoln wanted to preserve the unity of the United States and end slavery The war became a test to see whether a nation built on liberty and equality could survive The Battle of Gettysburg July One of the most important and bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place in Gettysburg Pennsylvania from July to July It was fought between the Union Army led by General George G Meade and the Confederate Army led by General Robert E Lee Lee wanted to invade the North He forced the Union to surrender After three days of terrible fighting Lee s army was defeated and forced to retreat Around soldiers from both sides were killed wounded or missing The victory at Gettysburg marked a turning point in the war It ended the Confederate attempt to invade northern territory The battlefield became a symbol of sacrifice courage and national rebirth The Emancipation Proclamation January Before the Battle of Gettysburg Lincoln had already taken a bold step for freedom On January he issued the Emancipation Proclamation It declared that all persons including slaves would be forever free This changed the purpose of the war It was no longer just a battle to preserve the Union it became a fight for human liberty The Proclamation inspired enslaved people to hope for freedom It also encouraged thousands of African Americans to join the Union Army It gave the war a new moral meaning the fight for justice and equality The Purpose of Lincoln s Visit After the Battle of Gettysburg the people of Pennsylvania decided to dedicate part of the battlefield as the Soldiers National Cemetery Lincoln was invited to speak at the dedication ceremony on November The main orator of the day Edward Everett spoke for two hours Lincoln spoke for just two minutes and used words but his short speech became one of the most powerful in history Lincoln s purpose was to honor the brave soldiers who had died at Gettysburg He also reminded the living of their duty He says them To be dedicated here to the unfinished work Lincoln s Message and Historical Importance In his speech Lincoln connected America s past present and future He began with the founding of the nation in saying nbsp 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 He said that the war was testing whether such a nation could survive Lincoln honored the soldiers saying nbsp The brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it nbsp He encouraged the living to continue their struggle for freedom and unity so that nbsp This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom The speech ended with his immortal words nbsp Government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth The Gettysburg Address grew from the pain of war and the hope for freedom The Civil War the Battle of Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation shaped its spirit In just a few words Lincoln turned sorrow into strength and loss into purpose His message made clear that true democracy lives only through sacrifice liberty and equality