Details: The Road from Gettysburgh

November 19, 1863 - Abraham Lincoln, following a two hour speech by Edward Everett, delivered the two minute speech known as the Gettysburgh Address. At that time, many white slave owners had declared themselves to be “true” Americans, pointing to the fact that the Constitution did not prohibit slavery; according to Lincoln, the nation formed in 1776 was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” In an interpretation that was radical at the time–but is now taken for granted–Lincoln’s historic address redefined the Civil War as a struggle not just for the Union, but also for the principle of human equality. This painting was inspired by the election of the first African American President, Barack Osama Obama, in 2008.

Civil War to Civil Rights.