EDWARD EVERETT ON THE MERITS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

EVERETT, EDWARD. (1794-1865). American statesman and orator; gave the ‘other’ speech at the dedication of Gettysburg cemetery. Choice Autograph Quotation Signed, “Edward Everett”.  One page 16mo. Boston, March 22, 1864. Accompanied by handsome signed line engraving of Everett. Everett writes:

 

“Washington was the greatest of good men & the best of great men. Edward Everett”

 

Edward Everett, who was called “our Cicero” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, graduated Harvard at the age of 17, quite young even for the time. He then went to Göttingen University, becoming the first American ever to receive a PhD. Following this, Everett went on to teach at Harvard and then served in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1835, Everett was elected to a one-year term as Governor of Massachusetts, a post he would be re-elected to for four consecutive years. During this time Everett acted as a staunch supporter of Horace Mann’s education reforms, including the founding of the Lexington Normal School, the first teacher’s college in the United States in 1839. Subsequently, after serving as president of Harvard from 1846-49, Everett was elected to the United Sates Senate in 1853. Acting as a moderate in times of increasing national polarization, Everett traveled around the country delivering speeches hoping to build a sense of nationalism among his audience; the most famous of these speeches “The Character of Washington” was delivered a total of 135 times. Following the attack upon Fort Sumter, Everett became a strong supporter of the war. Embarking on another speaking tour, Everett rallied support for the Union cause. Everett delivered what was to be the crowing achievement of his speaking career at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. This two hour speech was, ironically, overshadowed by the brief oration of the day’s second speaker, Abraham Lincoln, who delivered his famous “Gettysburg Adress.” 

 

$250.00