Searching You Tube for a video involving President Abraham Lincoln I found one recognizing his most famous speech—the Gettysburg Address. As I viewed it I couldn’t quite grasp how amazing of a speech this really was. At this time in history, November 19, 1863, this was the most influential speech ever given. As a sat watching this video I was blown away at the magnitude of President Lincoln’s speech. When I think about this address and the civil war itself I am truly amazed that our nation’s existence and our way of life came down to a war won by the “right” side. We sit today in a land or freedom, a land where there are no slaves and the thought of equality reigns supreme. President Lincoln’s address portrays the turning point of the civil war into the North’s favor. Where would we be toady if the south would have won the war? Would President Lincoln’s speech still be one of the most well known speeches in American history? Our lives would be totally different than the way we live them today. I still find it hard to comprehend that our way of life boiled down to one part of our country defeating the other.

I was lucky enough to visit the Gettysburg Cemetery where President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address. The experience of being able to stand where President Lincoln gave one of the most influential speeches in history will stick with me for the rest of my life. The entire time I was standing there the only thought I had racing through my mind was how unbelievable it was to think about my life today. I am able to live my life the way I do because of what happened in the fields I was looking over. As I stood there I tried to fully understand the magnitude of what happened there. But yet I am still in awe today.