Dowling Gettysburg Address+Composing America

In the Composing America article from convergences the writer exposes that we celebrate the independance of our country on a day that a typed document was created, but we give so much attention to a calligraphy edition, which was written a few months later. I think the reason behind th caligraphy version being so praised and being put on display for americans is that it is the most antique looking, and seemingly official. Even though independace was declared prior to this copy being made it's appearance makes it seem the most official with all the signatures and the fact that it is hand written. The different copies are all written differently and the writer even points out some mistakes in the most "well known" version.

The Gettysburg Address powerpoint presentation by Norvig makes the speech seem very bland. It takes away a lot of the importance of the speech. It is simply bullet points which would seem to be a guide of what Lincoln was thinking when preparing the speech rather than what the speech actually said. As for Johnny Cash's audio of the speech he first introduces it, and then recites the speech with music in the background. The music adds a very different sound than simply just hearing the words. It almost makes it seem more effective. It would definitely catch people's attention more than simply words on a piece of paper, and possibly more than a simply speaking the words.