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.

lib·er·ty| ˈlibərdē | noun (plural liberties) 

1 the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on
one's way of life, behavior, or political views: compulsory retirement would interfere with
individual liberty. 

• the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved: people who have lost property or liberty
without due process. 

• (usually liberties) a right or privilege, especially a statutory one: the Bill of Rights was intended
to secure basic civil liberties. 

• (Liberty) the personification of liberty as a female figure: the Statue of Liberty. 

2 the power or scope to act as one pleases: individuals should enjoy the liberty to pursue their
own interests and preferences. 

• Philosophy a person's freedom from control by fate or necessity. 

• Nautical shore leave granted to a sailor. 

3 informal a presumptuous remark or action: how did he know what she was thinking?—it was
a liberty!

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field 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. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do
this.

ded·i·cate| ˈdedəˌkāt | verb [with object] (often dedicate something to) 

devote (time, effort, or oneself) to a particular task or purpose: Joan has dedicated her life to
animals. 

• devote (something) to a particular subject or purpose: you should dedicate a telephone line

to each modem you plan to install. 

• cite (a book or other artistic work) as being issued or performed in someone's honor: the
novel is dedicated to the memory of my mother. 
• formally open or unveil (a building or memorial): the ex-president came to dedicate a $2.6
million recreation center. 

• ceremonially assign (a church or other building) to a deity or saint: the parish church is

dedicated to St. Paul.

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. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here,
but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to
the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather
for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—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—and that government of the people, by
the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The earth is the third planet from the sun in the solar system, orbiting between Venus and Mars
at an average distance of 90 million miles (149.6 million km) from the sun, and has one natural
satellite, the moon. It has an equatorial diameter of 7,654 miles (12,756 km), an average
density 5.5 times that of water, and is believed to have formed about 4,600 million years
ago. The earth, which is three-quarters covered by oceans and has a dense atmosphere of
nitrogen and oxygen, is the only planet known to support life.

Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863