August 1 is the beginning of the DAR American History Essay Contest . The DAR essay topic this year is The Ideals of the Gettysburg Address. This year's question is: “What message did the Gettysburg Address communicate to our war-torn nation in 1863? How are the ideals articulated in the speech still relevant for our country today?” Students have from August 1-Dec. 15 to research and write their essay.Local History Librarian Mary Hanel has compiled a list of websites and books that may be helpful to student essay writers. She recommends using these subject headings to retrieve the most relevant books using our online catalog: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865, Gettysburg Address; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865, Gettysburg Address-Juvenile Literature. Use United States-History-Sources to find books that collect and critique the great documents of United States history like the Gettysburg Address.
The Library of Congress has a webpage on the Gettysburg address and an exhibit webpage.The International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE, have a webpage on the topic.
The Library's Research Databases webpage has useful research material on the Gettysburg Address. Try these databases: AP Images, General OneFile, Literature Resource Center, History Resource Center: US, Student Resource Center Gold and World Book Online Reference Center.
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