And now on american tv, we continue our special series on speech that defined a presidency this week a look at the 863 gettysburg address. Now it was only 3 minutes in length, but it proclaimed a new birth of freedom and defined Abraham Lincolns legacy in so many ways youll. Hear an actor read the entire address and thats by a discussion on its historical significance. This begins now for a score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield that war. We have to dedicate a portion of that as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate. We cannot consecrate. We cannot hallow. This. The brave men and dead who struggled, have consecrated far above our poor power to add order. The world little note nor long remember 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 have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here, dedicate did to the great task remaining before that from these honored dead. We take in grace devotion to that for which they here gave the last measure of devotion that we here highlight resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under god shall have a new birth freedom, and that god of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. Thank you, john. It is no exact that the gettysburg address has been read or recited millions upon millions of times, and each time it is read or heard. Even now, more than a century and a half after it was written and delivered it still inspires, it still moves us to the core. It still makes us introspective. It still transcends and takes us to new levels of hope and possibility. Many consider the gettysburg address to be Abraham Lincolns greatest. It would be difficult to argue otherwise. You might ask yourselves what he have written that possibly rivaled it. And while you would be good to stand your ground were you to argue your case, the gettysburg address other scholars, lincolns lincoln enthusiasts and armchair historians might argue that lincolns Cooper Union Speech or his second inaugural might be even greater. As probably know, lincolns union speech was delivered about two miles south of here at cooper institute, which is now known as the cooper union. It was a speech which in part launched lincolns political career and the broader national stage. The speech delivered in february of 1860, when our nation was on the brink of civil war brought us the often quoted words let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith led us to the end. Dare to do our duty as we understand it, lincolns second inaugural address, which is engraved at the Lincoln Memorial on the wall opposite the gettysburg address, was delivered in march of 1865, as civil war was nearing its conclusion. It set our nation on a course for postwar reconstruction. As lincoln called upon our ancestors and all us, even to this day, to move forward with malice toward none, with charity for all. He set a tone which was not punitive and vengeful, but rather peaceful and visionary. There is no doubt that lincolns most famous address is the cooper union, second inaugural and gettysburg. Our among his greatest. And in the the debate over which is the greatest becomes more subjective than objective but perhaps what makes the gettysburg address much more frequently quoted, recited or remembered can be attributed to its content. And interestingly enough, its length. It is a 272 word, 2 to 3 minute masterpiece in which lincoln said our nation on a course for a new birth of freedom one that we are still working on to perfect today. Back in 2012, we at the abraham president ial library and museum and foundation were looking for a way to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the gettysburg address. We wanted to do out of the ordinary something special. Naturally, our first thought was to put the document out, display that is enough. But we wanted to take it a step beyond. There are only five copies of the gettysburg address and lincolns own hand. Two of the copies are at the library of congress. Those the two drafts he had written prior to delivering the address. Another four that he wrote post address. Is that university. Another is in the white house, in the lincoln room. And then the other one is the everett copy. And that at our museum and library in springfield, illinois. The our copy of the address was written after. It was the one that was written immediately his delivery of it. And he was requested write it out by edward everett, who was keynote speaker at on that day. And as we probably all remember, he spoke for about two and a half hours to two and a half minutes. Everett asked president lincoln to write it out so that he could put it in a book for to auction off for convalescing soldiers, which lincoln gladly obliged him. When a document is as famous and revered as the gettysburg address, it does seem like putting it on display should be enough. But we came up with the idea of a 272 word challenge. You know, the 272 words is the exact number in the gettysburg address. And while lincoln didnt set out to. 272 words, he didnt say, well now, today im going to write a 272 word masterpiece that will transcend the generations. We thought it was a wonderful way that if we challenged to write their own 272 words, that might become more intimately tied to the address and really understand how difficult it is to be brilliant in 272 words. Let alone be brilliant at any time. So we challenged people. And as part of the challenge, essayists could about Abraham Lincoln gettysburg the gettysburg address or something that some a cause cause related topic that stirred passions. We had no clue kind of response we would receive, but we were hoping to receive enough that we might be able to put some out in a mini display with the gettysburg address, the 150th. But the news of the challenge started to spread we found ourselves doing more than our share of explaining that the point of the project was not to top the gettysburg address or to write as well as president lincoln, but rather to celebrate the man in his words. We first turned to gilder, lehrman, lincoln recipient Harold Holzer to see if he would help us launch the project by writing his own 272 words. And he wrote back an email and and he said, wow, who could be succinct . And then in parentheses, brilliant as Abraham Lincoln. And our answer, of course. Well, harold, no one on the planet except for possibly who live by the tweet and are used to writing far less. But harold wasnt daunted. And in a few days we received actually it almost like a few minutes. We had harolds 272 words, which id like share with you now. His essay was titled long remembered provide the essence of the gettysburg address in 272 words. Quite a challenge. For a while, lincoln used, but two sheets of paper to compose it. Historians have slaughtered entire forests to expound on it. Yet the glittering essence lincolns perhaps americas speech is magnificent economy. Invited to deliver only a few appropriate remarks, lincoln summoned the rhetorical that revolutionized political oratory replaced the traditionally written with a new birth of simplicity and made virtue of brevity. Of course, its oh, i can memorize this length does not begin to explain its enduring. Did it reinvent america as some have claimed . Probably not. Weve come a long way in the quest to complete lincolns unfinished work, but no one can say for certain whether, if he returned to assess his legacy, he might conclude, traveled too fast or too slowly. On the opposite side of the analytical. Was the gettysburg address meant to be more than a subtle declaration of its authors to seek a second term as president , to simply stick to it much to cynical . Then what . In his heart, Abraham Lincoln understood. Gettysburg was a place of death, from which america itself needed to summon rebirth or die as well. Therein lies its genius and relevance. Lincoln made one colossal error in the gettysburg, suggesting the world would little note nor long remember honest abe too modest, maybe even this ingenue was. He wrote his speech with such breathtaking ingenuity he surely meant its a long endure and it has. So that is heralds. 272 words. And when we received it, we thought, well, were on our way. And if we had any doubt that we werent, you know, maybe something, you know, it wouldnt take off. All of a sudden an express mail envelope came to the door and when opening it, we pulled out a piece of white stationery and it was bearing a centered fee figure of an eagle. And it was outlined in blue with four stars descending the nape of its neck. And there was a name also in blue, just under it in big all caps. And it was from jimmy carter. And he had decided he would write his 272 words. Now immediately working at a museum with with very valuable artifacts, we knew that we probably be putting on the white curators gloves, but we were too excited and we just picked it up and reading and id like to share his essay with you now. Its a magnificent, magnificent essay. Bear with me while i get to it. And his was simply called gettysburg address. When i began talks at david between israel and egypt. It soon became obvious that the two leaders were almost completely incompatible. For three days i tried to induce them to negotiate in good faith, but they always diverted into ancient antagonisms. For the last ten days of discussion, i kept them completely apart with them living in separate cabins. As the first sun approached, i tried to think of something that would divert our minds from the middle east and focus our attention, something that was completely removed from our concentrated work. Finally, my wife that we might drive to the nearby civil war site at gettysburg. Yes, we made the necessary travel arrangements for the cabinet officers and Staff Members from the two delegates nations to go in busses. And i rode in the president ial sitting between and sadat. Once there everyone except israeli Prime Minister was thoroughly familiar with the battlefield and what had occurred there. Having studied it in our military schools, i showed them where the georgia artillery had been and recounted the terrible casualties on both sides. I soon noticed that bagan, who had never served in the military was disturbingly aloof. He was a proud man and i was afraid he would be both embarrassed and angry. The group became when the guide announced that we were at the spot of lincolns. After few moments begin, began to recite the words in a clear and strong voice, and we listened with rapt attention. It was my most unforgettable event at a memorial to war. So you can imagine. I we were very moved when we received this and we were touched that he not only chose participate in our project, but from what he wrote we realized that we were probably some of the first people ever to hear that story. Certainly some of the first to ever read it. We knew that immediately. The contents of the essay was of deep historical. And we realized that we were no longer sailing in historys wake, as we usually do at museum because were getting other peoples artifacts that are 150 years old. But rather than in historys wake, we were now making history. And with each document came, we were making history. We ended up getting essays from all the living president s and theyre all in the book. But they are for you to read at another time or another interesting thing about president carters essay was that he typed it himself on his own typewriter. Now, its not just typed it himself. It was on a typewriter. And this was only a year ago. So im his staff must have had a computer. He may even had a computer, but he used a typewriter and it was very clear it was on a typewriter. Which brings me to another aspect of the project. In addition to challenging people to write 272 words, we challenged to walk further in lincolns shoes and handwrite their essays because obviously there were no computers back. In 1863. Some people did it. Others chose type it out and then sign their name to it. But the actual we that the actual act of having handwrite essays out was a challenge in and of itself and for some of our essays said that was actually more stressful than having to compose 272 brilliant words because long when they got to were 253. They made a mistake and theyd have to start writing it from scratch. You know, one person actually said it was a humiliating experience and we got a call one day from general Colin Powells office, and they said, do you mind if general powell prints out his essay by. And we said, well, who we to tell general powell to do . I mean, if he wants to print it out, by all means printed. And they said, well, cursive wasnt over too well. So he printed it. And in a few in a few days, we received Colin Powells essay. And id like to share that with you now. And its in its titled the march must continue in november 2013. Three months after commemorating the 50th anniversary of dr. Martin luther jrs i have a dream speech we commemorated 150th anniversary of president lincolns gettysburg address. A century after lincoln of the unfinished work and that this nation under god shall have a new birth of freedom. It felt dr. King to remind america that the work was not finished and lincolns vision not yet realized for all americans. During that century, we saw the rise of segregation and the fiction that separate but equal could actually be equal. A second civil war was needed. It was a war of protest. It would be a war of ideas, morals and aspirations. It would be a war to make live up to the dreams of forefathers. As lincoln proclaimed in fourscore and seven years ago. Our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated the proposition that all men are created equal. Dr. King reaffirmed hopes in his i have a dream speech the gettysburg address. I have a dream have gone down in history as the most inspirational speeches in American History. I am proud of my country and all we have done to realize these visions. Both would be pleased, but not satisfied. Both men assassinated for their beliefs. We are their inheritors. We must do more than commemorate the dates and be warmed by words. We must reach out to those in need so that all can be free. At last. The march must continue. So. No. As you can see, we were very fortunate in receiving essays from some very, very powerful individuals. Essays themselves were powerful. We received essays from people from all walks of life, from high school students. And as i said to us president s, from filmmakers as Steven Spielberg and ken jurists, such as sandra day oconnor, Alan Dershowitz and judith sheindlin, otherwise known as judge judy from corporate leaders, such as Googles Eric Schmidt and caterpillars doug over hillman, poets such as collins and kevin stein. Sailors from the uss Abraham Lincoln. And musical and visual artists such as pete seeger. And annie. Pete seeger sent us the gettysburg address, written out in his own hands. In a different format. And he said, you know, im 94, so im not going to be composing anything right now. But im going to write it out for you. The gettysburg out for you. The way ive helped people over the years learn to recite it. And so thats what he sent us. And annie leibowitz. Sent us. She said, well, you know, im not a writer. I do photograph. So she sent us some photo essays that we included in the book particularly the one of Daniel Chester french, who was the sculptor for the Lincoln Memorial. And she was at his studio. And so she a picture of of the model and thats what we have the book but many of our other essays spoke of their own personal experience pieces and their family heritages and julian bond, the late julian bond, wrote for us an essay reminds us that only a few generations separates us from slavery. And he wrote a very eloquent essay and ill read some of it for you. Only my generation stands between julian bond and human bondage. I am the grandson of a slave. He and his mother were property like chair or a horse. At 15, barely able to read and write. My grandfather his tuition a steer to a rope and walked across to berea college. His was a transfer in generation of black americans born in slavery freed by Abraham Lincoln and determined to make way in freedom. When he graduated college, asked him to deliver the commencemenel school the little rock nine and we have school teachers, its just really wide breadth of different types of. Essays. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Yes. Well, i want to thank everyone. Oh, one more. Oh, sorry. Oh, you know what . Thats a good question. I wish i could tell you. I mean, the question was, i know what the 273rd word was that sam harris took of his essay and. I dont im sorry, but sam, just so you know, he went on to the illinois holocaust and education center. So he went on to do great things. And hes a wonderful man who has joined me on a lot of these. But he lives in illinois and couldnt make the trip. But. But anyway. You so much. Yeah. Thank you, carla. It was wonderful. And youre watching American History tvs special series on speeches that defined presidency. Next, its fdr. 9033 enoggera address and a selection of his world. Herself. Our atonement must consist doing better if allowed the chance we are the relics of a colossal and the deep universe does not care whether we continue to. We alone can care. Where shall we live . Where do we deserve to live . Where we know that place and ourselves. When we reach it. Now. And that was obviously an essay by someone picking something that theyre passionate about. Another person wrote something that theyre passionate about. You know, while robert was contemplating an environmental holocaust, this other person, sam harris, was contemplating moving on from another. And that was the mass genocide perpetrated by adolf hitler and, the nazis during world war two. Sam was born shulamit resnick. He was taken by nazis in 1939 at the age of four, to live in concentration camps. Dublin in chess to hova in poland in, 1945, at the age of. His camp was by the russian army and. Sam and his sister came to america as orphans, having lost their pare