Who wrote the Gettysburg Address?

• A. Frederick Douglass
• B. Ulysses S. Grant
• C. Abraham Lincoln
• D. Jefferson Davis

Answer: (C)

Abraham Lincoln authored the Gettysburg Address. He delivered it on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, during the Civil War after the Union victory there. The speech is famous for its concise reminder that a nation founded on liberty and equality must endure, and it frames the war as a test of whether a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” can survive. Lincoln also links the sacrifices made at Gettysburg to the broader ideals of the Declaration of Independence, urging renewed commitment to preserving the Union and advancing freedom. The other figures were important in the era but did not write this address: Frederick Douglass was a prominent abolitionist, Ulysses S. Grant was a Union general who would later become president, and Jefferson Davis led the Confederacy. Lincoln’s unique role as President during the war and his focus on unity and equal principle make him the author of this famous speech.