what was the audience's reaction to the gettysburg address?

Question

abraham lincoln's gettysburg address

Answer 1

The initial reaction to the speech was silence. Not a sound. At first the audience didn't realize that Lincoln had finished so they were late with their applause. Those who had actually listened to the President were impressed, including the keynote speaker (a famous orator) who had gone on for two hours before him.

He said (nearly an exact quote) that "President Lincoln said more in two minutes than I did in two hours."

Although most of the press dismissed it, they did publish the full text of the speech in their papers and the American reaction was not dismissal. People read it and thought about it and finally approved it. It's now considered one of the three finest speeches an American president has ever made.

Answer 2

Actually the people were not that impressed at first with Lincoln's speech because of the first orator, Edward Everett went over 2 hours while Lincoln was 2 1/2 minutes long. Once people read the speech , however and took the message to heart they admired Lincoln for his unassuming eloquence and how he grasped the true meaning of the civil war and the situation he was placed . It did not take the whirlwind speech to dedicate a cemetery to hallow it but it took the heroism or valor of those who gave their lives that hallowed it and no amount of words could equalize the actions of the brave on those 3 days in July 1863. Lincoln realized this and it is to his honor and intelligence to recognize this situation and attribute it to those that deserve it. In retrospect, the audience's reaction was not a well done for Lincoln but it would be recognize as one of the greatest speeches of all time because of its simplicity that all men and women would respect for all time.

Answer 3

The audience (those who didn't leave because the previous speaker drolled on and on) received the speech well.
The press, however, ridiculed it, saying that it was too simple and didn't do justice to the event it was marking. They felt it was not grandiose enough for the occasion.
Of course, not many remember their articles and every schoolchild studies the Gettysburg Address.

Answer 4

The most beautiful thing Lincoln said in the Gettyburg Address was that the ones who died in the war had already hallowed the ground they had come to dedicate.

Answer 5

The people who were still there, not having been bored silly by the first guy who went on for over two hours, were impressed; more with the brevity and simplicity of his remarks. It was eloquence at it's very best and remains THE example of a dedication speech.

Answer 6

The first speaker was in awe. He commented to Lincoln "You've said more in two minutes than I did in two hours."

Answer 7

it's one of the top three speaches by a president

Answer 8

Good answers, just what I was searching for.