In his conclusion, Lincoln tries to explain once again why the Civil War is important to the nation and what the Union is fighting to protect. In Lincoln’s view, what result would mean that the soldiers who died at Gettysburg did not die in vain?

Lincoln says the dead at Gettysburg must not have died in vain, and calls on the living to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people” survives. In context, that means preserving the Union and its democratic government by winning the Civil War. A Confederate victory or an inconclusive end would not achieve that goal.

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