On this day in 1863, at the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Pennsylvania—the site of a bloody Civil War battle—President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. In just a few minutes, with quiet dignity, he honored the fallen and reframed the meaning of the nation’s struggle.

“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,” he began. Lincoln could not have known that his elegant, simple tribute would become one of the greatest speeches ever delivered.

The 16th President was a complex and fascinating man, born poor in a Kentucky log cabin. From those humble beginnings, he guided the nation through the tangled crisis of freedom and slavery, leading the country through the bitter conflict between the North and South.

“My dream is of a place and time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth,” he said. Lincoln’s vision reached beyond his own era, calling future generations to guard and deepen that hope.

Lincoln was a born orator, explained historian Robert Green Ingersoll. His powerful style was “clear, sincere, natural.” He did not pretend or say what he thought others wished to hear; he spoke what he truly thought. Of the Gettysburg Address, Ingersoll said, “The speech will never be forgotten. It will live until languages are dead and lips are dust.”

Only 286 words. A milestone of compressed brilliance—spoken at a crossroads of uncertainty by one of history’s great leaders. The address reminds us that the simplest words can hold the deepest meaning and lasting power.