On November19,1863,Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak atthe National Soldiers Cemetery.The Civil War was still going on.There was much

criticism ofPresident Lincoln at the time.He was not at all popular. He had been invited tospeak at Gettyburg only out of courtesy. The principal speaker was to be Edward

Everett,a famousstatesman and speaker of the day.Everett was a handsome man and very populareverywhere.

2.It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late thatnight,alone in his hotel room and tired out,he again worked briefly on the

speech.The next day Everett spoke first. Hespoke for an hour and 57 minutes.His speech was a perfect example of the richoratory of the day.Then Lincolnrose.The crowd of

15,000 people atfirst paid little attention to him.He spoke for only nine minutes.At the endthere was little applause.Lincoln went to a friend and remarked,"I havefailed

again."On thetrain back to Washingtonhe commented sadly, "That speech was a flat failure,and the people aredisappointed."

3.Some newspapers atfirst criticized the speech.But little by little,as people read the speech,theybegan to understand better. They began to appreciate its deep meaning and

its simplicity.Itwas a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

4.Today,everyAmerican school child learns Lincoln'sGettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatestorations ever given in American history.

It is said that Lincoln prepared hisspeech__________.

A.its deep meaningand its simplicity

B.one of the worstorations

C.nine minutes

D.a perfect exampleof the rich oratory of the day

E.on the train to Gettysburg