Gettysburg Address Event
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INVITATION TO ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD GETTYSBURG ADDRESS EVENT
On February 12, 2009, America will mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, Illinois is at the forefront in national celebrations honoring the sixteenth president, arguably the greatest of any of our nation’s presidents and one of the most revered leaders in history. During the celebrations in Springfield on February 12, the ALPLM will call attention to one of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, the Gettysburg Address. Delivered at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, the speech has become famous worldwide for its simplicity and elegance. Calling for "a new birth of freedom" and the end of slavery in 1863, Lincoln’s words still resonate today, challenging us to realize the ideals laid out by our founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and fought for by our service men and women—that all men are created equal. Together with the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Illinois State Board of Education, the ALPLM urges all school children to take part in a simultaneous reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address at 9:30 a.m. CST on February 12, 2009.
To facilitate our goal of a large-scale, state-wide, simultaneous reading, the ALPLM is calling upon the Illinois National Guard to assist us in this endeavor by inviting Illinois Guardsmen to participate in the reading in their local schools. We are asking individual members of the Guard to contact schools in their community (their children’s schools, their alma maters, or any school of their choice) and organize a reading with the students in that school. The role of the Guardsman is to act as ambassadors of the program by:
 Contacting school teachers and principals at a school of their choice to make them
 aware of the program;
Visiting the school in uniform on February 12, 2009;
Discussing with the students the ideas Lincoln set forth in his famous speech;
Leading the students in the simultaneous reading; and
Delivering supporting materials provided by the ALPLM to the school and its
participating students.
The ALPLM will provide the following support materials via an online webpage:
Registration form to be completed by Guardsman and submitted to the ALPLM;
Overview of the organized state-wide program to share with principals and teachers;
Talking points to share with the students;
Link up online to join the live webcast of the reading from the Plaza of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum at: www.PresidentLincoln.org, which may
be played in the school where internet access is available.
Text of the Gettysburg Address from which students can read.
Please note: It will be the responsibility of the individual guardsman to arrange for
photocopies of the Gettysburg Address text to be supplied to each student.
In addition, Guardsmen may request a Gettysburg Address Teacher Resource Package, a compilation of education resource materials created by the ALPLM and available as a donation to each participating school library. The package will include:
Commemorative poster of the Gettysburg Address;
"Lincoln: His Life and Legends" Four Poster Series;
"Lincoln’s Legacy Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources CD";
Lincoln: Self-Made Man, essays on Lincoln;
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