Government Of The People By The

This is the closing line of the Gettysburg Address, delivered on November 19, 1863, and it stands as one of the most celebrated definitions of democracy in the English language. Lincoln never used the word "democracy" in the speech; instead, "government of the people, by the people, for the people" was his own formulation to express the concept. Five handwritten copies of the speech survive, and the Bliss copy — made at the request of historian Alexander Bliss — is the version generally considered authoritative. The phrase is inscribed alongside the Second Inaugural Address inside the Lincoln Memorial.