All language subtitles for Lincoln.Gettysburg.2013.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]_eng

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

Narrator:
THE CIVIL WAR RAGES ON,

AND THE NORTH
IS ON THE VERGE OF DEFEAT.

FOR PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

DESPERATE FOR A VICTORY,

HE WILL BRING A NEW WEAPON
TO THE BATTLEFIELD.

Wheeler:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAD THIS TOOL

THAT NO OTHER POLITICAL LEADER
IN HISTORY HAD EVER POSSESSED.

Narrator: LINCOLN BECOMES
THE FIRST COMMANDER IN CHIEF

TO DISCOVER THE POWER
OF ELECTRONIC MESSAGING.

Powell: THE TELEGRAPH
WAS A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A WAR.

Narrator: AND LINCOLN'S WAR
IS ABOUT TO BE DECIDED

ON THE HILLS OF GETTYSBURG

IN A SHOWDOWN
BETWEEN ARMIES AND IDEAS.

IT'S THE MOST CATACLYSMIC BATTLE
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

Foner: WHAT WAS AT STAKE
WAS THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY.

THAT'S WHY THE STAKES
WERE SO HIGH TO LINCOLN.

Harris-Perry: THE NOTION
OF AMERICA AS ONE NATION --

HE DOES NOT KNOW
THAT HE'S GOING TO WIN.

HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT THE UNION
WILL BE PRESERVED.

Narrator: WITH SUPPORT
FOR THE WAR PLUNGING,

LINCOLN JOURNEYS TO GETTYSBURG
TO RALLY A NATION.

STANDING ON THE BATTLEFIELD,

LINCOLN DELIVERS
THE MOST FAMOUS 272 WORDS

EVER SPOKEN
BY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

Waldman:
HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST

AND MOST EFFECTIVE
POLITICAL TACTICIANS,

USERS OF SPIN, USERS OF WHAT
WE WOULD CALL A SOUND BITE.

Narrator:
BORN OUT OF BLOOD AND SACRIFICE,

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS REDEFINES
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN.

Shaara: "...OF THE PEOPLE,
BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE,

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH."

I MEAN, THAT SAYS IT ALL.

THIS COUNTRY
IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

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.

NOW WE ARE ENGAGED...

...IN A GREAT CIVIL WAR...

...TESTING WHETHER THAT NATION,
OR ANY NATION SO CONCEIVED...

...AND SO DEDICATED,
CAN LONG ENDURE.

[ GUNFIRE, INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator:
THE CIVIL WAR HAS BEEN RAGING

FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF SOLDIERS

HAVE BEEN KILLED OR MAIMED.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN TELLS AN AIDE,

"IF THERE IS A WORSE PLACE
THAN HELL, I AM IN IT."

Shaara:
IN 1863, THE UNION HAS BEEN

ON THIS RIDICULOUS
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE.

THE CASUALTY COUNTS
ARE HORRIFIC,

AND THE COUNTRY
IS IN DEEP DESPAIR IN THE NORTH.

AND OF COURSE IN THE SOUTH,
THEY'RE EUPHORIC.

I MEAN, THEY'RE WINNING.

ROBERT E. LEE IS WINNING
EVERY BATTLE HE FIGHTS.

Waldman: THIS WAS A WAR
THAT WAS INCREASINGLY UNPOPULAR.

SO MANY PEOPLE WERE DYING,

AND INCREASINGLY,
IT WAS A WAR ABOUT SLAVERY,

AND MUCH AS WE MIGHT HOPE
OTHERWISE,

THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY MAKE IT
MORE POPULAR IN THE NORTH.

Harris-Perry:
THE CORE ISSUE WAS,

HOW DO WE LIVE AS A NATION

WHERE SOME STATES HOLD PEOPLE
IN SLAVERY AND OTHERS DON'T?

THAT WAS THE GREAT
AMERICAN QUESTION.

Narrator: LINCOLN ANSWERS
THAT QUESTION ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

BY SIGNING
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,

ABOLISHING SLAVERY.

Harris-Perry: IN THE END,
IT IS LINCOLN WHO DECIDES

AND TAKES US ON THE PATH
THAT SAYS,

"THERE IS NO WAY
TO CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE THIS.

WE CAN ONLY BE ONE COUNTRY
WHEN ALL PEOPLE ARE FREE."

Narrator: THIS IS THE
MAKE-OR-BREAK YEAR FOR THE WAR.

WHAT LINCOLN DESPERATELY NEEDS
IS A VICTORY.

IN THE DARKEST HOURS
OF HIS PRESIDENCY,

LINCOLN PLACES HIS HOPES
ON A NEW ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.

EVERY DAY, HE MARCHES
ACROSS THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN

TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT.

INSIDE SITS THE GOVERNMENT'S
CLASSIFIED TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

THIS IS
LINCOLN'S COMMAND CENTER.

HERE HE ENGAGES
IN VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS

WITH HIS GENERALS
OUT ON THE FRONT LINES.

Wheeler: YOU CAN THINK

ABOUT THE TELEGRAPH ROOM
IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT

AS THE FIRST SITUATION ROOM.

IT WAS THE EQUIVALENT

TO BARACK OBAMA SITTING
IN THE SITUATION ROOM

WATCHING THE RAID
AGAINST BIN LADEN.

[ TELEGRAPH CLICKING ]

AND LINCOLN'S ABILITY TO DO THAT

WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
ANY LEADER HAD EVER HAD THAT.

Narrator:
UNDER LINCOLN'S WATCH,

THE TELEGRAPH BECOMES
A WHITE HOUSE TOOL

FOR TAKING INFORMATION IN,

BUT ALSO SENDING
INFORMATION OUT.

Wheeler:
SO, HE WAS THINKING IN TERMS

OF HOW THE TELEGRAPH SPREADS
HIS MESSAGE.

HE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE

WHAT WE WOULD CALL PRESS
RELEASES TODAY, OR BLOGGING,

WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION
WAS FEEDING THE ELECTRONIC NEED

FOR CONSTANTLY REFRESHED
AND NEW INFORMATION.

Waldman: LINCOLN COMMUNICATED
WITH THE PUBLIC

THROUGH THE MEDIA OF HIS DAY --
NEWSPAPERS.

THEY WERE PARTISAN, CLAMOROUS.

NEWSPAPERS WERE MORE LIKE BLOGS
OR CABLE NETWORKS

WITH A LIBERAL
OR A CONSERVATIVE BENT.

SO, JUST AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN

USED THE PARTISAN NEWSPAPERS
OF HIS TIME,

TODAY'S PRESIDENTS
USE TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

AND THE INTERNET AND CABLE NEWS.

LINCOLN WOULD HAVE BEEN BIG-TIME
ON TWITTER.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT.
PEOPLE WOULD HAVE LOVED HIM.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN PITHY
AND SHORT AND SMART

AND INSPIRATIONAL,
UM, AND A LITTLE SNARKY.

Waldman:
HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST

AND MOST EFFECTIVE
POLITICAL TACTICIANS,

USERS OF SPIN, USERS OF WHAT
WE WOULD CALL A SOUND BITE.

Narrator: STILL,
LINCOLN HAS EVEN BIGGER PLANS

FOR ELECTRONIC MESSAGING.

HE BELIEVES
THAT THE NEW TECHNOLOGY

CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON OF WAR.

THE NORTHERN STATES ARE WIRED,

CRISSCROSSED BY AN ELABORATE WEB
OF TELEGRAPH LINES.

THE SOUTH, WITH FEW CONNECTIONS,
IS HARDLY PLUGGED IN.

Wheeler:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAD THIS TOOL

THAT NO OTHER POLITICAL LEADER
IN HISTORY HAD EVER POSSESSED.

Powell:
THE TELEGRAPH GAVE THE PRESIDENT

THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE
DIRECTLY WITH HIS GENERALS

AND TO ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS
TO THEM,

TO GET VERY FIRSTHAND REPORTS
FROM THEM.

AND SO IT WAS
A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A WAR.

Wheeler:
STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT.

THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

POLITICAL LEADERS ALWAYS
HAD TO BE WITH THEIR ARMY.

WE HAD A SEPARATION

OF THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE
AND THE MILITARY STRUCTURE,

AND THAT CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT

IN WHICH THE GENERALS WERE GODS.

AND THE GENERALS LIKED THIS.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,

THERE WAS THIS ELECTRONIC
INTRUSION INTO THEIR TENTS,

AND THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

COULD COMMUNICATE WITH THEM
THEIR THOUGHTS.

AND THIS WAS A WHOLE NEW WAY

OF SUPERVISING
MILITARY ACTIVITY.

AND THE GENERALS RESENTED IT.

Narrator: BY SPRING, LINCOLN
IS SPENDING MUCH OF HIS TIME

IN THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE
MANAGING THE WAR.

THE REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
ARE GRIM.

THEN IN JUNE COMES
THE MOST DIRE NEWS OF ALL --

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY,
LED BY GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE,

IS POISED TO INVADE THE NORTH.

WARNINGS FLOOD IN
OF A POSSIBLE ATTACK

ON BALTIMORE OR PHILADELPHIA

OR, MOST LIKELY,
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Foner: LEE HAD DEFEATED GENERAL
AFTER GENERAL AFTER GENERAL,

AND MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT
HE WAS INVINCIBLE.

MANY SOUTHERNERS THOUGHT THAT.
MANY NORTHERNERS THOUGHT THAT.

Narrator: BUT LINCOLN BELIEVES
ELECTRONIC MESSAGING

WILL ALLOW HIM
TO PINPOINT LEE'S POSITION

AND CUT HIM OFF AT THE PASS.

THAT WAS KIND OF LINCOLN'S
WAKE-UP, "AHA" MOMENT

ABOUT THE POWER
OF THIS NEW MEDIUM.

Narrator:
BY PIECING TOGETHER REPORTS

FROM EVERY MILITARY OUTPOST
IN THE AREA,

LINCOLN ASSEMBLES

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
OF LEE'S PLANS.

Wheeler: THERE'S ALL KINDS OF
TELEGRAMS BACK AND FORTH SAYING,

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"

THESE ARE BLIND MEN.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Narrator:
AS THE TELEGRAMS STREAM IN,

LEE'S STRATEGY COMES INTO FOCUS.

LINCOLN IMMEDIATELY ORDERS

THE GENERAL IN CHARGE OF THE
EASTERN THEATER, JOSEPH HOOKER,

TO CUT THE REBEL LEADER OFF
BEFORE HE ENTERS PENNSYLVANIA.

HOOKER RESISTS.

INSTEAD,
THE GENERAL RECOMMENDS AN ATTACK

ON THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
OF RICHMOND.

Powell: WELL, THEY'RE
THE COMMANDERS ON THE GROUND,

AND THEY THINK THEY KNOW THE
GROUND BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.

BUT AS WE HAVE SEEN
OVER THE COURSE OF OUR HISTORY

AND THE HISTORY
OF MANY OTHER NATIONS,

GENERALS ARE FIGHTING
THE BATTLE,

BUT IT'S THE PRESIDENT
WHO REALLY IS FIGHTING THE WAR.

Narrator: LINCOLN IS ADAMANT --
RICHMOND IS A DISTRACTION.

LEE'S ARMY MUST BE STOPPED.

LINCOLN KNOWS
THAT IF LEE CAN PULL OFF

ONE MAJOR COUP,
ONE MORE MAJOR SWEEPING VICTORY,

IT MIGHT BE OVER.

Wheeler:
AND THEN WORD REACHES

THAT LEE HAS CROSSED THE POTOMAC
AND IS IN THE NORTH.

Narrator: 80,000 OF THE
CONFEDERATES' TOUGHEST SOLDIERS,

UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE WAR'S
MOST MENACING GENERAL,

HAVE ENTERED PENNSYLVANIA.

LINCOLN LOSES ALL CONFIDENCE
IN HOOKER.

HUMILIATED, THE GENERAL OFFERS
HIS RESIGNATION.

THE PRESIDENT READILY ACCEPTS.

WITH AN ATTACK JUST DAYS AWAY,

LINCOLN CANVASSES
HIS TOP OFFICERS,

SEARCHING FOR
A NEW FRONTLINE GENERAL.

EVERY CORPS COMMANDER
TURNS HIM DOWN EXCEPT ONE --

A RELATIVE UNKNOWN
NAMED GEORGE GORDON MEADE.

LINCOLN'S PRESIDENCY NOW RESTS

ON THE SHOULDERS
OF AN UNTESTED GENERAL.

THEN, ON JUNE 28th,

ON THE EVE OF THE MOST PIVOTAL
BATTLE OF THE WAR,

THE PRESIDENT'S DIRECT LINES
TO GENERAL MEADE'S HEADQUARTERS

SUDDENLY GO DEAD.

REBEL RAIDERS HAVE STUMBLED
UPON THE LINES AND CUT THEM.

LINCOLN HAS LOST
HIS TELEGRAPHIC LIFELINE.

MEADE IS ON HIS OWN.

IN EARLY SUMMER,
THE LAND SURROUNDING GETTYSBURG

IS CARPETED WITH GROWING CROPS.

THE SUN CASTS A SHIMMERING VEIL
OVER THE COUNTRYSIDE.

SWELTERING HEAT SEEMS TO COMPEL
MOVEMENT INTO SLOW MOTION.

THE LAST THING
THE 2,400 RESIDENTS

OF THE SMALL PENNSYLVANIA
FARMING COMMUNITY EXPECT

IS THAT THIS WILL BE THE SITE

OF THE GREATEST BATTLE
OF THE CIVIL WAR.

Shaara: YOU HAVE, ON BOTH SIDES
AT GETTYSBURG, COMBINED,

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 160,000
AND 200,000 TROOPS.

THAT'S ENORMOUS.

I MEAN, THAT GATHERING OF TROOPS
HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE

ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

YOU HAVE MORE ARTILLERY
IN ONE PLACE

THAN HAS EVER BEEN ASSEMBLED
BEFORE.

AND FOR THREE DAYS,
THESE TWO ARMIES SLUG IT OUT.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator: ON JULY 1st,

THE CONFEDERATES DRIVE MEADE'S
ARMY BACK THROUGH GETTYSBURG,

BUT THE UNION HOLDS
THE HIGH GROUND.

BACK IN WASHINGTON,

LINCOLN STAYS GLUED
TO THE TELEGRAPH MACHINE,

WAITING FOR NEWS
FROM THE BATTLE.

THE SILENCE IS EXCRUCIATING.

Holzer:
I MEAN, HE'S HOPING FOR THE BEST

AND PROBABLY EXPECTING
THE WORST.

WHY SHOULD HE THINK
ANYTHING'S GONNA GO WELL

WHEN THEY'VE LOST FREDERICKSBURG

AND THEY'VE LOST
CHANCELLORSVILLE?

Narrator: DAY TWO --
LEE'S ARMY CHARGES UP THE HILLS

TO SEIZE THE UNION STRONGHOLDS.

BUT THEY PROVE IMPOSSIBLE
TO OVERTAKE.

THE BATTLE TURNS INTO
A GRUESOME STALEMATE.

Shaara: THE BLOODLETTING,
I MEAN, IT'S --

YOU CAN'T IMAGINE
WHAT GETTYSBURG IS LIKE.

THE SHEER VOLUME OF BLOOD
THAT HAS BEEN LET ON THIS GROUND

IS JUST HORRIFYING

BEYOND WHAT ANYONE IN WASHINGTON
CAN READILY COMPREHEND.

Narrator:
LINCOLN CONTINUES HIS VIGIL.

HISTORY UNFOLDS WITHOUT HIM.

DURING THE DAY,
HE IS HANDED A MESSAGE,

NOT ABOUT THE BATTLE,
BUT ABOUT HIS WIFE.

MARY IS INJURED.

SHE WAS THROWN
FROM HER CARRIAGE --

THE SAME CARRIAGE
THE PRESIDENT RIDES EVERY DAY.

SABOTAGE IS SUSPECTED.

FEARS GROW
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S LIFE.

Holzer: HIS WIFE HAS FALLEN
OUT OF A CARRIAGE

AND HIT HER HEAD ON A ROCK

AND MAY BE IN CRITICAL CONDITION
UP AT THE COUNTRY HOUSE.

TOUGH, TOUGH DAY.

BUT HE CAN'T LEAVE
THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

THAT'S WHERE HE STAYS.

Kushner: YOU CAN'T IMAGINE
HOW HE HELD UP,

BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS AT STAKE.

IF LEE HAD BROKEN THROUGH
AND MADE HIS WAY TO WASHINGTON,

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN
AN OVERWHELMING DEMAND

TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE PEACE
WITH THE SOUTH,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE
CERTAINLY DEMANDED

SECESSION AND SLAVERY
AS A PART OF THEIR NEGOTIATIONS.

SO I THINK THE PRESSURE
MUST HAVE BEEN HORRENDOUS.

Powell:
THE CIVIL WAR HAS OFTEN BEEN
CALLED THE FIRST MODERN WAR,

BUT IT WAS REALLY
A TRANSITIONING WAR.

BUT IT STILL HAD SOME TINGES
OF THE PAST,

TINGES OF THE NAPOLEONIC ERA,
BECAUSE IN ORDER TO MASS FIRE,

YOU STILL HAD TO
BRING TROOPS TOGETHER.

THEY HAD TO STAND
SHOULDER-IN-SHOULDER

AND MARCH INTO CANNON FIRE,
MARCH INTO RIFLE FIRE.

Shaara: BY THE 1860s,
YOU'VE GOT THE RIFLED MUSKET

ABLE TO KNOCK A MAN DOWN
AT 300 YARDS,

WHEREAS UP UNTIL THEN,

THE MUSKET WAS GOOD
AT ABOUT 50 YARDS.

WELL, YOU DO THAT MATH,

AND YOU MARCH THOUSANDS OF MEN
IN A GROUP ACROSS AN OPEN FIELD

INTO THOSE RIFLED MUSKETS,

SLAUGHTER HAPPENS.

Narrator: EVEN THOUGH THE UNION
HOLDS THE HIGH GROUND,

LEE FAILS TO CHANGE HIS TACTICS.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

ON DAY THREE, HE ORDERS
ONE HUMAN WAVE UP THE HILL...

...THEN ANOTHER...

THEN ANOTHER,

ONLY TO SEE THEM MOWED DOWN
BY UNION FIRE.

OUTGUNNED AND OUTMANEUVERED,

LEE FINALLY STOPS THE BLOODBATH.

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE
THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THE SOUTH'S MILITARY MASTERMIND
SUFFERS A CRUSHING DEFEAT.

ON THE MORNING OF JULY 4th,

THE THUNDEROUS SOUNDS OF BATTLE
GO SILENT.

ONLY THE WAILS OF THE INJURED
WAFT THROUGH THE AIR.

THE RESIDENTS OF GETTYSBURG

CAUTIOUSLY EMERGE
FROM THEIR CELLARS.

THE SIGHTS AND SMELLS
BEFORE THEM

ARE ALMOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

Shaara: THE NEXT DAY,
THE TOURISTS START TO COME.

PEOPLE FROM PHILADELPHIA
AND WASHINGTON --

THEY WANT TO SEE IT.

I MEAN, IT'S -- THERE'S
THAT THING THAT WE DO TODAY --

THE RUBBERNECKING.

I MEAN, PEOPLE SHOW UP HERE
LITERALLY ONE DAY LATER

TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

THEY GET PRESSED INTO SERVICE.

SUDDENLY, THEY'RE GRABBED --

"NO, WE NEED YOU IN HERE. RIP
THESE SHEETS UP INTO BANDAGES."

THERE'S NO EUPHORIA HERE

THAT, YOU KNOW, "YEAH,
WE WHIPPED OLD BOBBY LEE."

MAYBE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS
ARE DOING THAT,

BUT THE REALITY
IN THE TOWN OF GETTYSBURG

IS ANYTHING BUT EUPHORIC.

IT IS HORRIBLE.

Narrator:
IN ALL, NEARLY 50,000 MEN

HAVE BEEN KILLED OR MAIMED
AT GETTYSBURG.

THE ARMY SETS UP MAKESHIFT
HOSPITALS AND MORGUES.

VOLUNTEER NURSES FLOCK IN
FROM MILES AWAY.

THE CARNAGE LEAVES THEM STUNNED.

Woman:
THERE WERE MILES OF TENTS

AND ACRES OF MEN
LYING ON THE OPEN EARTH,

BUT, GOOD GOD, WHAT THOSE
QUIET-LOOKING TENTS CONTAINED.

DEAD AND DYING AND WOUNDED
IN EVERY CONDITION,

TORN TO PIECES IN EVERY WAY.

BUT THE MOST HORRIBLE THING
WAS TO SEE LIMBS LYING,

PILED UP AT THE FOOT OF A TREE
IN FRONT OF THE SURGEON'S TENT.

THE AMPUTATION TABLE
IS PLAINLY IN VIEW.

I NEVER TRUST MYSELF
TO LOOK TOWARD IT.

THE UNION SOLDIERS AND
THE REBELS LIE SIDE BY SIDE,

FRIENDLY AS BROTHERS.

A PERPETUAL PROCESSION
OF COFFINS

IS CONSTANTLY PASSING
TO AND FRO.

IT WILL BE A PLACE
OF PILGRIMAGE FOR THE NATION.

[ FIREWORKS POPPING ]

[ PEOPLE CHEERING ]

Narrator:
FAR FROM THE SLAUGHTER,

JULY 4th IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
IS A DAY OF JUBILATION.

FOR NORTHERNERS,
THE SCALE OF THE VICTORY

HOLDS THE PROMISE
OF A QUICK END TO THE WAR.

LINCOLN, THOUGH, KNOWS BETTER.

LEE'S ARMY HAS BEEN DEFEATED
BUT NOT DESTROYED.

HE WILL BE BACK
TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.

AS FIREWORKS EXPLODE
IN THE NIGHT SKY,

SUDDENLY, A QUIET TICKING CAN
BE HEARD IN THE COMMAND CENTER.

[ TELEGRAPH CLICKING ]

THE TELEGRAPH LINES
HUM BACK TO LIFE.

THE NEWS IS ASTONISHING.

TORRENTIAL RAINS
HAVE FLOODED THE POTOMAC,

PREVENTING THE CONFEDERATES

FROM FLEEING BACK
INTO SOUTHERN TERRITORY.

LEE'S ARMY IS TRAPPED
AT THE RIVER'S EDGE.

LINCOLN TELLS GENERAL MEADE
TO FIND THEM

AND DESTROY THEM
ONCE AND FOR ALL.

LINCOLN'S LISTENING
TO HIS OWN ADVISORS

THERE AT THE WAR DEPARTMENT
SAYING,

"WE'VE GOT HIM.
WE'VE GOT LEE ON THE ROPES."

WE NEED TO GO AFTER HIM.
WE NEED TO END THIS. CRUSH HIM."

Narrator:
BUT TO LINCOLN'S DISMAY,

MEADE IS HESITATING.

Shaara: MEADE'S ARMY
IS PRETTY BADLY BEAT UP.

THEY'RE NOT IN A POSITION
TO GO JUST CHARGING OFF

AND ENGAGE IN ANOTHER MAJOR
CAMPAIGN ANY MORE THAN LEE IS.

HE'S BEEN IN COMMAND
LESS THAN A WEEK,

SO HE'S NOT THIS DYNAMIC GUY

THAT'S GONNA GO CHARGING OFF,
YOU KNOW, RIGHT OFF A CLIFF.

Narrator: ON JULY 7th,
LINCOLN RECEIVES A TELEGRAM

FROM THE WESTERN FRONT.

UNION FORCES COMMANDED
BY GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT

HAVE WON A DECISIVE VICTORY
AT VICKSBURG.

AT LAST,
THE TIDE SEEMS TO BE SHIFTING.

YET EVEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY
TURN OF EVENTS

DOES LITTLE
TO CALM LINCOLN'S FEARS.

Shaara: EVEN THOUGH
GETTYSBURG AND VICKSBURG,

WHICH HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME
IN JULY OF 1863 --

THEY'RE BOTH ENORMOUS VICTORIES
FOR THE UNION --

THERE IS NO EUPHORIA.

THE WAR'S GONE ON FOR TOO LONG.

"CAN WE GET THIS OVER WITH NOW?
WE'VE KILLED ENOUGH PEOPLE."

Narrator:
LINCOLN IS CONVINCED

THAT THE END OF THE WAR
IS WITHIN REACH

IF HE CAN INFLICT A FINAL BLOW
TO LEE'S TATTERED ARMY.

THEN THE TELEGRAM COMES IN.

LEE'S ARMY HAS ESCAPED
ACROSS THE POTOMAC

AND IS SAFELY BACK
IN SOUTHERN TERRITORY.

Holzer:
ONCE ROBERT E. LEE'S ARMY

RETREATED BACK
ACROSS THE POTOMAC,

ONCE HE HEARD
THAT GENERAL MEADE HAD DECIDED

HE COULDN'T FORCE HIS ARMY OF
100,000 BATTLE-WEARY SOLDIERS

TO NOW JUST PICK UP
AND HEAD SOUTH,

NOT WITH ALL THE DEBRIS,
NOT WITH ALL THE DEATH,

NOT WITH ALL THE CARNAGE
AND THE BURIAL PARTIES,

AND IN EFFECT,
HE LET LEE ESCAPE --

THAT'S WHEN LINCOLN
REALLY UNDERSTOOD,

ALMOST,
THE WHAT-MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN.

Narrator: UNABLE TO CONTAIN
HIS BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT,

LINCOLN DRAFTS A LETTER
TO GENERAL MEADE.

Holzer: HE SAID, "YOU HAD THEM
IN THE HOLLOW OF YOUR HAND.

"THE WAR COULD HAVE BEEN OVER.

"YOU HAVE MISSED
AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY,

AND YOU CANNOT IMAGINE
HOW UPSET I AM."

BUT WHAT LINCOLN DID NEXT
IS AMAZING.

THIS IS A MAN WHO USED WORDS

WITH SUCH POWER
AND SUCH PRECISION

BUT WAS EQUALLY BRILLIANT
ABOUT WHEN NOT TO USE WORDS.

SO HE WRITES ON THE BOTTOM
OF THIS LETTER,

"NEVER SIGNED, NEVER SENT."

Narrator:
FOR LINCOLN, LEE'S ESCAPE

WOULD BE THE SINGLE GREATEST
MISSED OPPORTUNITY

OF HIS PRESIDENCY.

LINCOLN'S ELDEST SON, ROBERT,
WOULD LATER WRITE

THAT HE FOUND HIS FATHER
STOOPED OVER HIS DESK

IN TEARS WITH HIS HEAD BOWED
UPON HIS ARMS.

NOT ONLY
IS HE A WARTIME PRESIDENT,

HE'S THE PRESIDENT
WHO STARTS THE WAR.

AND SO FOR HIM TO, YOU KNOW,

JUST ABSORB THAT
ON A DAILY BASIS,

IT HAS TO JUST CRUSH HIM.

AND LINCOLN IS THE ONE WHO
RECEIVES THE PERSONAL LETTERS

FROM THE MOTHERS,
THE GRIEVING PARENTS

OF YOUNG MEN
WHO ARE KILLED IN THE WAR.

HE'S GETTING THIS ON HIS DESK
EVERY DAY.

HOW CAN YOU ABSORB THAT
AND NOT BE AFFECTED BY IT?

THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM

THE HUMAN BEING TO ME,
THE HUMAN PRESIDENT,

IS THAT HE FEELS THAT.

Harris-Perry:
LINCOLN, PERHAPS BECAUSE

OF THE LOSS OF HIS OWN CHILD,

SEEMED TO HAVE
SUCH EXTRAORDINARY EMPATHY,

NOT JUST FOR THE COUNTRY
IN THE CONTEXT OF WAR,

BUT FOR EACH AND EVERY FAMILY.

Powell: HE WAS DEEPLY TOUCHED
BY THIS HUMAN ASPECT OF WAR.

IT IS NOT SOME GAME
YOU'RE PLAYING.

I'VE BEEN IN WAR,

I'VE BEEN IN A POSITION
OF LEADERSHIP IN WAR,

AND I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE.

IT IS NOT JUST MOVING PEOPLE
AROUND ON THE GROUND.

IT'S LIFE AND DEATH.

AND NOTHING LIKE THAT
HAD EVER HAPPENED ON
OUR CONTINENT BEFORE.

AND HE REALIZED THAT EVERY TIME
HE HEARD ABOUT A SOLDIER DYING

OR BEING MUTILATED
IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,

HE KNEW THAT THERE WAS
A MOTHER WEEPING SOMEWHERE.

AND SO HE TOOK THE TIME
TO WRITE TO THESE PEOPLE.

Kushner: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
LETTER, I THINK,

THAT HE WROTE ABOUT MOURNING
AND GRIEF

IS TO A YOUNG GIRL
NAMED FANNY McCULLOUGH,

WHOSE FATHER WAS KILLED.

AND HE WRITES HER THIS LETTER.
IT'S JUST HEARTBREAKING.

AND HE SAYS,
"I KNOW YOU FEEL NOW

"THAT YOU'RE NEVER
GOING TO BE HAPPY AGAIN,

"BUT IF YOU TRY TO IMAGINE
YOURSELF HAPPY

"AT SOME DISTANT POINT,

YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GET THERE."

IT'S SO GENTLE, AND IT'S SO FULL
OF AN EXPERIENCE OF LOSS.

IT SHOWS SUCH AN INTIMACY
WITH THE PROCESSES OF MOURNING.

Narrator: IN GETTYSBURG,
ACROSS ONCE-GREEN FIELDS,

IT LOOKS AS IF SNOW
HAS FALLEN IN JULY

AS WORKERS SPREAD
A BLANKET OF LIME

TO MASK THE STENCH OF DEATH.

THE TOWN FATHERS
FACE A DAUNTING TASK --

WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEAD.

Jones: YOU HAVE A LOT OF BODIES
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

AND THIS IS THE SUMMER.

THEY'RE DECOMPOSING QUICKLY,
AND YOU MUST DO SOMETHING.

THESE ARE HONORED DEAD, TOO.

THESE ARE SOLDIERS
ON THE BATTLEFIELD,

SO YOU NEED TO BURY THEM.

AND SO A CONTRACT IS MADE

WITH A LEADER WITHIN
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

TO INTER THESE BODIES.

Narrator:
WORKING FROM DAWN TO DUSK,

A CREW OF 10 BLACK MEN
BEGIN THE GRUELING TASK

OF EXHUMING BODIES
FROM MAKESHIFT GRAVES

AND MOVING THEM TO NEW GROUNDS
ON CEMETERY HILL.

ARTICLES OF CLOTHING
ARE CAREFULLY EXAMINED

FOR CLUES
TO THEIR OWNER'S IDENTITY...

...DIARIES, LETTERS,

NAMES IN A BIBLE,
EMBROIDERED INITIALS.

CONFEDERATES UNIFORMS
WERE COTTON...

...UNION, WOOL.

OF COURSE,
IT'S THE MOST CATACLYSMIC BATTLE

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

AND YET THE SACRIFICE
THAT HAS BEEN MADE

BY THE PEOPLE WHO DIED THERE
IS VERY MUCH IN PEOPLE'S MINDS,

NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE NUMBERS
AND THE STATISTICS ARE ENORMOUS,

NOT ONLY BECAUSE
SO MANY FAMILIES

ARE AFFECTED BY BROTHERS, SONS,
AND FATHERS

DYING IN THAT CARNAGE,

BUT BECAUSE OF THE PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE OF DEATH

THAT'S EVERYWHERE IN GETTYSBURG

AND BECOMES KNOWN
THROUGH THE NEWSPAPERS

THROUGH THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

Waldman: THE WORD
OF WHAT HAPPENED AT GETTYSBURG

SPREAD AS FAST THEN
PRETTY MUCH AS IT WOULD NOW.

Narrator: RESPONDING
TO THE OUTPOURING OF SORROW,

THE GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

CALLS FOR THE CREATION
OF A NATIONAL CEMETERY.

NO LONGER JUST A BATTLEFIELD,

THE NAME "GETTYSBURG"
BECOMES A SYMBOL

OF ALL THE BLOOD
THAT HAS BEEN SPILLED

SINCE THE START OF THE WAR.

NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE SYMBOLISM
BETTER THAN LINCOLN,

OR THE NEED
TO PREPARE THE COUNTRY

FOR EVEN MORE SACRIFICE.

AND, AS HE HAS FEARED,
10 WEEKS AFTER GETTYSBURG,

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY
COMES ROARING BACK.

[ GUNFIRE ]

SEPTEMBER OF 1863,

YOU HAVE THE BATTLE OF
CHICKAMAUGA IN NORTH GEORGIA,

WHICH IS A CRUSHING DEFEAT
FOR THE UNION ARMY,

AND WE'RE RIGHT BACK
TO WHERE WE WERE.

AND SO THE DESPAIR, ONCE AGAIN,
CREEPS THROUGH WASHINGTON.

YOU KNOW, "CAN WE NOT
GET THIS THING OVER WITH?"

Narrator: IN CONGRESS,

OPPOSITION TO LINCOLN'S WAR
IS STIFFENING.

AND HE IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION
THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

LINCOLN HAD SAID, "PUBLIC
SENTIMENT IS EVERYTHING."

NOW HE MUST FIND A WAY
TO GAIN BACK SUPPORT.

HE DOESN'T KNOW IN 1864

IF HE'S GOING TO BE
TURNED OUT OF OFFICE.

IF THAT HAPPENS,
WHAT HAPPENS TO DEMOCRACY?

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES?

DOES IT SIMPLY DISSOLVE?
DOES IT SIMPLY GO AWAY?

Narrator: IN EARLY NOVEMBER,

LINCOLN RECEIVES
AN UNUSUAL INVITATION

TO SPEAK AT THE DEDICATION
OF THE GETTYSBURG MEMORIAL.

MOST PRESIDENTS
WOULD TURN IT DOWN.

Waldman:
PRESIDENTS DID NOT THINK

THEY COULD OR SHOULD TALK OFTEN
TO THE PUBLIC

UNTIL MUCH LATER --

UNTIL NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS
AND RADIO AND TELEVISION.

IN THOSE DAYS,
IT WAS JUST CONSIDERED WRONG

FOR THE PRESIDENT TO DO IT.

EVEN THE MOST ELOQUENT
PRESIDENTS

DIDN'T GIVE THEIR STATE
OF THE UNION ADDRESS IN PERSON.

GEORGE WASHINGTON
AND JOHN ADAMS --

THEY WENT UP TO CONGRESS
TO GIVE THAT SPEECH,

BUT THOMAS JEFFERSON
THOUGHT IT WAS KINGLY.

IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE
FOR THE PRESIDENT

TO GO TO THE SOVEREIGN BRANCH
OF GOVERNMENT,

CONGRESS, COEQUAL,

AND TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.

SO HE SENT HIS MESSAGE IN
WRITING, AS DID ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Narrator: LINCOLN KNOWS THAT
EVERY NEWSPAPER IN THE COUNTRY

WILL BE REPORTING
ON THE SPEECHES AT THE CEREMONY.

HE ACCEPTS THE INVITATION.

Shaara: ONE OF THE THINGS,
I THINK, MODERN POLITICS --

AND YOU COULD CREDIT LINCOLN
WITH UNDERSTANDING --

THAT IF YOU CAN REACH
THE PEOPLE FIRST,

IT'S NOT ABOUT REACHING
THE SENATORS

AND THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES.

GO PAST THAT FOR A MINUTE

AND REACH DIRECTLY
TO THE PEOPLE.

LINCOLN, I THINK,
PROBABLY MORE

THAN ANY PRESIDENT
UP TO HIS TIME,

UNDERSTANDS THAT.

Narrator:
IN THE DAYS BEFORE LINCOLN
IS TO LEAVE FOR GETTYSBURG,

HIS YOUNGEST SON, TAD,
FALLS INTO A FEVERED STUPOR --

A SCENE FRIGHTENINGLY SIMILAR

TO THE DEATH OF HIS SON WILLIE
FROM TYPHOID FEVER

THE YEAR BEFORE.

LINCOLN'S WIFE
HAS BARELY RECOVERED

FROM THE LOSS OF ONE SON
AND HER OWN INJURY.

NOW THIS.

MARY BEGS HER HUSBAND NOT TO GO.

[ BELL TOLLING ]

LINCOLN IGNORES
HIS WIFE'S PLEAS.

HE LEAVES HIS SON'S SICKBED.

HE LEAVES HIS COMMAND CENTER
IN THE TELEGRAPH ROOM.

HE WILL GO TO GETTYSBURG
TO SPEAK TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

HE HAS BEGUN WRITING THE WORDS
THAT WILL GIVE MEANING

TO ALL THE SUFFERING
THE COUNTRY HAS ENDURED

AND ALL IT MUST STILL ENDURE
IN THE YEARS TO COME.

ON NOVEMBER 18th,

LINCOLN'S TRAIN GETS UNDER WAY
PACKED WITH DIGNITARIES,

AN HONOR GUARD
OF INJURED SOLDIERS,

AND A CORPS OF REPORTERS.

Shaara:
LINCOLN IS VERY AWARE

THAT HE'S BEING WATCHED
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

HE'S BEING WATCHED BY,
YOU KNOW, THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

AND ALL THE VARIOUS MONARCHS
AND DICTATORS EVERYWHERE

ARE PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION

TO WHAT'S HAPPENING
WITH THIS CIVIL WAR.

IT'S NOT JUST
A UNIQUELY AMERICAN THING.

IT'S AN EVENT THAT CAN CHANGE
POLITICS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Kushner: THE DEFEAT
OF THIS COUNTRY WOULD HAVE MEANT

NOT ONLY THE END OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA --

AND AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN,

I WOULD THINK THAT
A VERY BAD THING --

BUT ALSO IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE 19th CENTURY,

AND AS LINCOLN SAID MANY TIMES,

A DEFEAT OF THE VERY IDEA
OF DEMOCRACY.

THERE IS AN IDEA AT STAKE HERE.

THERE'S THE GREAT, SORT OF,
MYSTICAL IDEA OF UNION,

BUT THERE'S ALSO THE IDEA
OF A PEOPLE'S SELF-GOVERNMENT.

AND WE'RE ALL TESTING
AN ABSTRACT IDEA HERE.

SO THESE PEOPLE
SLAUGHTERING EACH OTHER

IS ALSO A TESTING OF THAT IDEA.

WILL A PEOPLE'S UNION COHERE
IN THE FACE OF TERRIBLE DURESS,

OR WILL IT DISINTEGRATE?

Narrator:
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRIP,

LINCOLN WITHDRAWS
TO PRIVATE QUARTERS.

AWAY FROM THE CROWD,
WORDS SWIRL THROUGH HIS HEAD

FOR THE SPEECH
HE HAS NOT YET COMPLETED.

AT THE PRESIDENT'S SIDE THAT DAY

IS HIS VALET,
WILLIAM H. JOHNSON.

JOHNSON IS LIKELY
THE ONLY BLACK MAN ON THE TRAIN.

Jones: WE ARE NOT SURE
WHETHER JOHNSON WAS BORN FREE

OR WHETHER HE HAD RUN AWAY
ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

WE'RE NOT CERTAIN. HE'S A RATHER
MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER.

Narrator: THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE TWO MEN

GOES BACK TO LINCOLN'S DAYS
IN ILLINOIS.

WHEN THE LINCOLNS MOVED
INTO THE WHITE HOUSE,

THEY BROUGHT JOHNSON WITH THEM.

BUT THAT WOULD TURN OUT TO BE
MORE COMPLICATED THAN EXPECTED.

Jones: AND WHEN HE GETS
TO THE WHITE HOUSE,

HE ALSO RUNS INTO
ONE OF THE REALITIES

OF THE WASHINGTON, D.C.,
COLOR PREJUDICE.

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
THERE'S QUITE A LEGACY

OF GRADATIONS OF COLOR

DETERMINING
WHO SHOULD HAVE ACCESS.

LIGHTER-SKINNED
AFRICAN-AMERICANS

WOULD OFTEN DISCRIMINATE

AGAINST DARKER-SKINNED
AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

AND JOHNSON WAS A DARKER-SKINNED
AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

AND MANY WHO WORKED
IN THE WHITE HOUSE

WERE NOT PLEASED WITH THE FACT

THAT HE HAD THE RUN OF THE HOUSE
WITH THE PRESIDENT.

Narrator: BUT LINCOLN
WOULD BREAK WITH CUSTOM

AND INSIST THAT JOHNSON
ACCOMPANY HIM TO GETTYSBURG.

Jones: I BELIEVE THAT JOHNSON
FEELS THAT HE'S AN AMBASSADOR.

HE'S AN AMBASSADOR FOR FREEDOM.

THIS MEANS SOMETHING
TO ALL OF HIS PEOPLE,

THE FACT THAT HE'S EVEN THERE
WITH THE PRESIDENT.

HE MUST STAND ERECT.

HE MUST LOOK PROUD

AND SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL
THAT IT'S TIME TO AID THE UNION.

Narrator:
AS LINCOLN'S TRAIN PULLS
INTO THE GETTYSBURG STATION,

A BRIGHT MOON
CASTS A GHOSTLY LIGHT

ON THE ROWS OF COFFINS
STACKED ON THE PLATFORM.

FROM THERE, HE IS WHISKED
INTO TOWN TO SPEND THE NIGHT

IN A CRAMPED BEDROOM
IN THE HOME OF A LOCAL RESIDENT.

HE NEEDS QUIET,
TIME TO REVIEW HIS SPEECH,

BUT IT IS HARD TO COME BY.

OUTSIDE HIS WINDOW,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

ARE STREAMING IN TO ATTEND
THE GETTYSBURG CEREMONY.

THAT EVENING, A TELEGRAM
ARRIVES FROM HIS WIFE.

LINCOLN'S HEART GROWS LIGHTER.

DAWN.

A LONE BUGLER MAKES HIS WAY
TO THE SUMMIT OF CEMETERY HILL.

ECHOING OVER FIELDS
SCARRED BY BATTLE,

HE SUMMONS THE PEOPLE
OF GETTYSBURG TO THE CEMETERY.

[ BUGLE PLAYS ]

LINCOLN BRACES HIMSELF
FOR A DIFFICULT DAY.

A YOUNG GIRL ON THE STREET SPOTS
THE PRESIDENT AT THE WINDOW

WITH PIECES OF PAPER
IN HIS HAND.

SHE IS STRUCK

BY THE INEXPRESSIBLE SADNESS
ON HIS FACE.

Kushner: LINCOLN DIDN'T KNOW
THAT HE COULD WIN THE CIVIL WAR.

HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE COULD
MAKE SURE THE END OF THE WAR

MEANT THE END OF SLAVERY.

BUT I THINK HE KNEW
THAT HE HAD THE EFFECT

OF HAVING AN ENORMOUS IMPACT
WITH HIS WORDS.

Waldman: THE CIVIL WAR
HAS BEEN GRINDING ON,

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS KILLED,

AND PEOPLE ARE ASKING,

"IS IT WORTH IT?
WHY ARE WE FIGHTING?"

PRESIDENT LINCOLN,
IN HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS, SAID,

"WE'RE FIGHTING
TO PRESERVE THE UNION,

TO PRESERVE
THE CONSTITUTION AS IT IS."

BUT IN FACT, OF COURSE, THE WAR
WAS REALLY ABOUT SLAVERY.

AND BY EMANCIPATING THE SLAVES

IN THE
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,

LINCOLN TURNED IT
INTO A PEOPLE'S WAR,

TRANSFORMING THE CIVIL WAR

FROM A FIGHT
OVER THE CONSTITUTION

TO A FIGHT ABOUT BASIC VALUES

AND THAT THE COUNTRY
HAD TO BE REBORN

AROUND A MORE EQUAL AND
MORE DEMOCRATIC SET OF VALUES.

Narrator: THE PRESIDENT
HAS SPENT MUCH OF THE NIGHT

HONING HIS SPEECH.

IN THE MORNING,
JOHNSON ENTERS HIS ROOM.

Jones:
JOHNSON IS HIS SOUNDING BOARD.

ONE IS THAT HE'S PRESENT,

AND LINCOLN, I THINK,
WOULD REHEARSE.

IT'S A SPEECH THAT --
REHEARSAL WOULD BE EASY.

THE STATEMENT THAT THIS NATION,
CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY,

THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL MEN
ARE CREATED EQUAL --

NOW, THAT'S KEY.

JOHNSON'S HEARING THIS,

AND HE'S HEARING THIS FROM THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND HOW HE MUST FEEL ABOUT
THE FUTURE OF HIS CHILDREN,

THE FUTURE OF HIS PEOPLE

WHEN THE MAN AT THE HELM

HAS PUT THIS COUNTRY
IN A DIRECTION

WHERE ALL MEN
SHOULD BE CREATED EQUAL.

AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED

IN THE SHIP CALLED "AMERICA."

Narrator: 10:00 A.M.

A SOLEMN PROCESSION STARTS
MOVING TOWARD THE CEMETERY.

RIDING ABOVE THE CROWD
ON HORSEBACK,

LINCOLN SCANS THE HORIZON.

EVERYWHERE HIS EYES REST,
GRAVES --

NOTHING BUT GRAVES.

I THINK LINCOLN FELT
THE AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY

OF HAVING TO LOOK OUT
ACROSS THIS CEMETERY

WHERE ALL THESE MEN ARE BURIED
THAT HE PUT THERE.

I MEAN, THERE'S THAT REALITY
THAT THIS IS HIS WAR.

AND HE'S LOOKING AT THE GRAVES,
MASS GRAVES IN MANY CASES,

OF MEN THAT ARE THERE
BECAUSE OF HIM.

OKAY, HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT?
HOW DO YOU TALK ABOUT THAT?

THAT'S AN AWESOME
RESPONSIBILITY.

Narrator: LINCOLN TAKES
HIS PLACE ON THE PLATFORM

AMONG THE DIGNITARIES.

A HEAD TALLER THAN MOST MEN,

THE CROWD OF NEARLY 20,000

GREETS HIM
WITH CURIOSITY AND AWE.

BUT LINCOLN IS NOT
THE MOST ANTICIPATED SPEAKER

ON THE PLATFORM.

THAT HONOR FALLS
TO EDWARD EVERETT,

THE MOST POPULAR ORATOR,

THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
OF HIS TIME.

TYPICAL FOR THE DAY,
HE SPEAKS FOR TWO HOURS.

Waldman:
EVERETT SPOKE FOR A LONG TIME

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE BATTLE,

AND THIS WAS WHAT PEOPLE
EXPECTED IN THOSE DAYS.

THERE WAS NO TELEVISION.

THERE WAS NOT
A LOT OF BOOKS AROUND.

THERE WAS NO INTERNET.

PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR
THE NARRATION OF THEIR TIMES

THROUGH THESE BIG SPEECHES
TO A HUGE CROWD.

Narrator:
FINALLY, IT IS LINCOLN'S TURN.

EVERETT SPOKE FROM MEMORY.

LINCOLN PUTS ON
HIS READING GLASSES.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

WILL BARELY LAST
THREE MINUTES --

10 SENTENCES,

A MERE 272 WORDS.

WHEN THE PRESIDENT
LOOKS UP FROM HIS PAPER,

THE CROWD STANDS SILENT.

IS THE SPEECH OVER?

IS THERE MORE?

THE PHOTOGRAPHER CHARGED
WITH DOCUMENTING THE CEREMONY

BELIEVES HE HAS PLENTY OF TIME

TO GET A PICTURE
OF THE HISTORIC MOMENT.

HE IS STILL FUMBLING
WITH HIS EQUIPMENT

WHEN LINCOLN SPEAKS
HIS LAST WORD.

THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE PRESIDENT AT THE CEREMONY

CAPTURES HIM AMONG THE CROWD.

FINALLY, THE PRESIDENT HEARS
A LONG, THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE.

[ APPLAUSE ]

NOW HISTORY
WILL TAKE THE MEASURE

OF THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS BECOMES
WHAT WE WOULD CALL FAMOUS,

I THINK, FAIRLY QUICKLY.

THE TELEGRAPH LINE
TAKES IT COAST TO COAST,

AND BECAUSE
IT IS ONLY 272 WORDS,

YOU CAN PUBLISH THE ENTIRETY
IN THE NEWSPAPER

SO PEOPLE CAN READ
THE WHOLE THING.

Kushner: IT WAS BEING PUBLISHED
EVERYWHERE.

WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS,
IT BECAME, PROBABLY,

THE MOST FAMOUS
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH EVER MADE.

Wheeler: THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
WAS TELEGRAPHIC IN THE SENSE

THAT IT WAS A HANDFUL OF LINES

WITH CAREFULLY CHOSEN WORDS

WITH INCREDIBLE IMPACT.

Narrator:
"FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO,

OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH UPON
THIS CONTINENT A NEW NATION..."

Holzer: "HOW LONG AGO IS IT?
80-ODD YEARS"

BECOMES, UNDER HIS
BRILLIANT CRAFTSMANSHIP,

EDITING, AND REWORKING,

"FOUR SCORE
AND SEVEN YEARS AGO."

"WHEN A PEOPLE GOT TOGETHER
AND DECIDED" BECOMES

"OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH UPON
THIS CONTINENT A NEW NATION."

AMAZING.

SO, WHEN HE GOT UP AND SAID,

"FOUR SCORE
AND SEVEN YEARS AGO,"

THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE PAYING ATTENTION

MIGHT HAVE SCRATCHED THEIR HEADS
AND SAID,

"WAIT A MINUTE.
I'M DOING THE MATH.

THAT'S NOT 1787. THAT'S 1776."

OBVIOUSLY THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

AND THE CONSTITUTION?

Narrator:
"CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY

AND DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL."

Waldman: THE CONSTITUTION
CONDONES SLAVERY,

AND THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE

TALKED ABOUT EVERYBODY
BEING CREATED EQUAL AND LIBERTY.

SO, HE WAS PRESSING WHAT
WE WOULD CALL A RESET BUTTON,

SAYING THE COUNTRY
DIDN'T START IN 1787.

IT STARTED IN 1776.

Foner: THIS NATION WAS CREATED
ON THIS PRINCIPLE

THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

THAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL,
UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE

OF AMERICAN LIFE,
ACCORDING TO LINCOLN,

AND THAT IS A POWERFUL,
POWERFUL STATEMENT.

HE IS SAYING GOVERNMENTS
ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN

FOR ONLY ONE PURPOSE --
THAT IS TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS,

AND THESE RIGHTS
ARE INALIENABLE,

AND ALL PEOPLE HAVE THEM,
AND IT IS SELF-EVIDENT.

Narrator: "NOW WE ARE ENGAGED
IN A GREAT CIVIL WAR,

"TESTING WHETHER THAT NATION,

"OR ANY NATION SO CONCEIVED
AND SO DEDICATED,

CAN LONG ENDURE."

Harris-Perry: IT IS OUR
MODERN NOTION OF DEMOCRACY

THAT IS FORGED IN THIS MOMENT.

THE NOTION OF AMERICA
AS ONE NATION

REALLY ONLY EMERGES IN THE
CONTEXT OF WHAT THIS FIGHT IS.

Narrator: "WE ARE MET ON
A GREAT BATTLEFIELD OF THAT WAR.

"WE HAVE COME TO DEDICATE
A PORTION OF THAT FIELD

"AS A FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR
THOSE WHO HERE GAVE THEIR LIVES

THAT THAT NATION MIGHT LIVE."

THIS IS A SPEECH
DELIVERED AT A CEMETERY,

IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE,
WITH PEOPLE WHO LOST LOVED ONES,

IN A VERY BLOODY WAR,

AND THERE IS NOT A NOTE
OF TRIUMPH, OF GLORY,

IN THE WHOLE SPEECH.

IT'S ALMOST CLINICAL.
IT'S SCIENTIFIC.

Narrator:
"BUT, IN A LARGER SENSE,

"WE CAN NOT DEDICATE,
WE CAN NOT CONSECRATE,

"WE CAN NOT HALLOW THIS GROUND.

"THE BRAVE MEN, LIVING AND DEAD,
WHO STRUGGLED HERE

"HAVE CONSECRATED IT

FAR ABOVE OUR POOR POWER
TO ADD OR DETRACT."

Wheeler:
HE USES THE SACRIFICE

AND THE HORRIFIC BATTLE

TO LIFT EVERYONE,

TO SEE THE GREATER CHALLENGE

THAT IS REPRESENTED
BY THIS CONFLICT

AND TO REDEFINE THE CONFLICT

OUT OF MILITARY TERMS

AND INTO ALMOST
EXISTENTIAL TERMS.

Narrator:
"THE WORLD WILL LITTLE NOTE

"NOR LONG REMEMBER
WHAT WE SAY HERE,

BUT IT CAN NEVER FORGET
WHAT THEY DID HERE."

Kushner: ONE THING I REALLY LOVE
ABOUT THE SPEECH --

THE REPETITION
OF THE WORD "HERE," H-E-R-E.

HE KEEPS SAYING "HERE."

"WE DEDICATE OURSELVES HERE."
"MEN STRUGGLED HERE."

THERE'S THE SENSE
OF A DRAWING UP

FROM THE BLOOD-SOAKED EARTH
OF THIS PLACE

THE KIND OF ENERGY THAT
WILL RECONSECRATE THE NATION

TO THE TASK OF CONCLUDING
THE WAR AND ENDING SLAVERY.

Narrator:
"THAT FROM THESE HONORED DEAD

"WE TAKE INCREASED DEVOTION
TO THAT CAUSE

"FOR WHICH THEY GAVE THE LAST
FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION,

"THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE

"THAT THESE DEAD
SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN,

"THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD,

SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH
OF FREEDOM."

DEMOCRACY WAS AT STAKE.

THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE SPEECH

TALKS ABOUT IT IS
TO BE PROVEN

THAT DEMOCRACY CAN BE SUSTAINED.

AND IF WE LOSE THIS WAR,

THEN DEMOCRACY
CANNOT BE SUSTAINED.

THE WORD "SLAVERY"
DOES NOT APPEAR

IN THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

BUT NOBODY COULD MISTAKE
WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT

WHEN HE SAYS,
"A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM."

AND THEN HE ENDS
WITH A SERIES OF PROPOSALS.

Narrator: "AND THAT GOVERNMENT

"OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE,
FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH."

Shaara: "OF THE PEOPLE,
BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH."

I MEAN, THAT'S --
THAT SAYS IT ALL.

THIS COUNTRY IS MEANT
TO SURVIVE.

LINCOLN UNDERSTANDS THAT,

AS DID GEORGE WASHINGTON,
AS DID F.D.R.

THIS NATION HAS TO SURVIVE.

Kushner: IT'S AN ABSOLUTELY
PERFECT PROSE POEM.

YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING OUT
OF IT AND HAVE THE SAME EFFECT.

IT RELIES ENTIRELY
ON ITS ENTIRETY.

Waldman:
LINCOLN, TO THIS DAY,

HAS GIVEN US THE MOST CONCISE,
TELEGRAPHIC,

AND BASIC DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY --

"A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

BY THE PEOPLE,
AND FOR THE PEOPLE."

HE REALLY DEEPLY BELIEVED
IN DEMOCRACY.

HE UNDERSTOOD THAT THAT INCLUDED
FREEING THE SLAVES

AND A NOTION
OF POLITICAL EQUALITY.

Kushner: AND, YOU KNOW,
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT

THAT THE FOURTH WORD
BEFORE THE END IS "PERISH."

I MEAN, HE DOESN'T END BY
SAYING, "WE'RE GOING TO WIN,"

AND, YOU KNOW,
"VICTORY IS OURS."

HE SAYS, YOU KNOW,
"THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

"BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH."

IT ENDS WITH THIS KIND OF,
LIKE, HEARTBROKEN SOUND.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, A MASTERPIECE
OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Narrator:
LINCOLN'S SPEECH IN GETTYSBURG

THAT CHILLY NOVEMBER AFTERNOON

WILL TAKE A TOLL
ON THE WEARY PRESIDENT.

BY THE TIME HE BOARDS THE TRAIN
BACK TO WASHINGTON,

A FEVER IS RAGING
THROUGH HIS BODY.

SMALLPOX, THE SAME DISEASE
THAT STRUCK HIS YOUNG SON,

HAS NOW INFECTED LINCOLN.

WILLIAM JOHNSON
NEVER LEAVES HIS SIDE.

LINCOLN FIGHTS SMALLPOX
FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS,

BUT HE WILL RECOVER.

JOHNSON, HOWEVER, WILL FALL ILL
ON HIS RETURN TO WASHINGTON.

TWO MONTHS LATER, HE IS DEAD.

Jones: HE WOULD BE BURIED

AT THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED
ARLINGTON CEMETERY

ON THE GROUNDS ONCE OWNED
BY GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.

ON HIS TOMBSTONE,

LINCOLN WOULD HAVE INSCRIBED
"CITIZEN."

CITIZEN WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON.

I BELIEVE
THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN THOUGHT

THAT TOGETHER WE'D MAKE IT,

THAT TOGETHER
WE WERE ONE NATION,

THAT ALL WERE AMERICANS
WHEN HE ETCHED "CITIZEN"

IN WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON'S
TOMBSTONE.

Powell: THE CIVIL WAR
PRESERVED THE UNION,

THE CIVIL WAR
ENDED LEGAL SLAVERY,

BUT FOR THE NEXT
ALMOST 100 YEARS,

WE FOUND THAT SEGREGATION
AND JIM CROW --

THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
FAILED.

WE FOUND THAT SLAVERY STILL
EXISTED BY ANOTHER NAME --

NOT CALLED SLAVERY,

BUT FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES,
IT WAS ALMOST SLAVERY.

AND SO WE NEEDED
ANOTHER CIVIL WAR --

A CIVIL WAR OF THE MIND,

A CIVIL WAR OF COURAGE,
A CIVIL WAR OF CHARACTER.

AND THAT CIVIL WAR WAS NOT LED
BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OF COURSE.

IT WAS LED
BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Waldman:
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING

USED THOSE SAME VALUES
FROM THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

TO GIVE HIS GREATEST SPEECH.

HE WAS STANDING IN FRONT
OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL,

AS HE SAID, IN THE
SYMBOLIC SHADOW OF LINCOLN.

AND WHEN HE GAVE
HIS FAMOUS PERORATION, HE SAID,

"I HAVE A DREAM

"THAT ONE DAY
THIS NATION WILL RISE UP

"AND LIVE OUT THE TRUE MEANING
OF ITS CREED,

THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL,"

THAT CREED THAT LINCOLN
HAD PUT AT THE CENTER

OF WHAT IT MEANT TO BE
AN AMERICAN 100 YEARS BEFORE.

AND EVERY GREAT MOVEMENT,

EVERY GREAT SOCIAL CHANGE
IN OUR COUNTRY,

ALWAYS HARKENS BACK
TO THOSE CORE AMERICAN VALUES.

OVER TIME, OF COURSE, IT BECOMES
ADOPTED BY ALMOST EVERYBODY,

NOT JUST IN THE UNITED STATES
BUT ELSEWHERE,

BECAUSE IT IS SO SUCCINCT,

BECAUSE IT PUTS OUT
THESE PRINCIPLES

THAT ALMOST ANYBODY
CAN IDENTIFY WITH --

EQUALITY, NATIONALITY,
AND DEMOCRACY.

Harris-Perry:
I MEAN, MY MOTHER MEMORIZED
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

AND I MEMORIZED IT, AND
MY DAUGHTER WILL MEMORIZE IT,

I MEAN, BECAUSE IT IS BRIEF,

IT'S TEACHABLE,

AND IT CAN BE PART
OF ORAL HISTORY,

AND YOU CAN PASS IT ON.

MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES LATER,

A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,

BY THE PEOPLE,
AND FOR THE PEOPLE

HAS NOT PERISHED FROM THE EARTH.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

Shaara:
I DON'T THINK ANYONE TODAY --

NO SPEECH WRITER,
NO POLITICIAN --

COULD COME UP WITH WHAT --

I MEAN, THAT'S A UNIQUE MOMENT,
NOT JUST IN OUR HISTORY --

IT'S A UNIQUE MOMENT
IN WORLD HISTORY.

THAT SPEECH,
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS,

IS LEARNED AND RECITED
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT IS A UNIQUE MOMENT
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

PHRASES "OF THE PEOPLE,
BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH."

I CAN'T SAY THOSE PHRASES NOW
WITHOUT CHOKING UP.

THE POWER OF THOSE FEW WORDS --

I MEAN, IT RESONATES
150 YEARS LATER.

IT WILL STAND FOREVER.