America and Gettysburg- Greg Knapp

The different ways that the Gettysburg address was presented were quite interesting. I started off with listening to Johnny Cash’s address. I was able to quickly pick up on the music playing in the background. I was never able to pay attention to the address. Not that I didn’t care but it was presented in such a boring way that I found it hard to keep concentrated. However, the acoustic guitar paired with Johnny Cash’s voice made it very easy for me to pay attention and actually grasp the concept of the address. Next, I looked at the power point which I found to be short and almost disrespectful. When it was put into six short power points, I think it took away the true meaning of the address. I think that this is one thing that has to be presented through sound in order to fully grasp the speech.

The reading in convergences brought up some things about the Declaration that I did not know of. The book talked of how the document was spread across the colonies. You would think that they were using modern technology to spread it. It spread very rapidly because of the importance to “New America”. They also talked about how the copy in the National Archives Museum is actually the third version due to revisions. Even in 1776, revision was a very important factor when drafting papers or documents. Congress got their hands on it and went to work. Jefferson was very against this and even sent his edition to friends. This shows early disputes over papers. Revisions are important in every aspect of writing. Even when dealing with documents that formed this nation.