Newspaper Regrets Referring to Gettysburg Address as "Silly Remarks"

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Imagine a newspaper dismissing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as insignificant. This week, a Harriburg, Pennsylvania paper retracted a 1863 editorial:

"We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them, and that they shall be no more repeated or thought of."

Patriot & Union Editorial, 1863: On the Gettysburg Address

 

It's a little late, but the timing is appropriate: on Tuesday, we'll celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

  • Why wait 150 years? Why not 100? Or 50? Why publish a retraction at all?
  • What justification do you see for the initial review? What other reactions were prevalent at the time?