Robbie Staffen Ms. Lehmann English 1-1A 27 September 2018 The Virtues That Make The U.S. Great What are the values of our nation that have stood the test of time? Both “The Gettysburg Address” and “Quilt of a Country” explore this very question. This essay will compare and contrast “The Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln, and “Quilt of a Country,” by Anna Quindlen. The first value they share is unity. Both Lincoln and Quindlen see value in our nation. By unifying our people, the United States will be stronger and go further in the future. Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” delivered after one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, stresses the importance of uniting the North and South. Lincoln tells his audience to make sure that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 28). Lincoln recognized that the only way to keep the country’s government alive was to unify the two parts of the nation. Like Lincoln, Quindlen wants the people of the United States to get along so we can function as one nation. Quindlen, though, is concerned with uniting the various cultures that make up our country today. Quindlen writes, “One of the things that [America] stands for is this vexing notion that a great nation can consist entirely of refugees from other nations, that people of different, even warring religions and cultures can live, if not side by side, then on either side of the country’s Chester Avenues” (Quindlen 5). Quindlen makes the observation that unity is one of the values that have stood the test of time in our nation. Although it looks different today than it did for Lincoln, unity still matters to our nation. Unity often leads to patriotism, another value the authors share. Lincoln and Quindlen both demonstrate a large amount of patriotism and urge their audiences to share in that as well. “The Gettysburg Address,” delivered at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, honored the fallen soldiers who fought for the North. Lincoln tells his audience that “we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow this ground” because“the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract” (Lincoln 27).He praises the soldiers for their patriotism and urges the audience to show the same dedication to the US. For Quindlen, patriotism means being proud of our nation’s diversity. Quindlen writes that “patriotism is partly taking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries, and still be able to call it by one name” (Quindlen 6). While Lincoln was proud of the soldiers who fought to unify the country politically, Quindlen’s patriotism lies in unifying our modern, diverse population. Although it takes different forms, both authors agree that the United States is unlike any other country, and that is something its citizens should be proud of. Along with patriotism, both authors value equality. Lincoln and Quindlen both want equality for our nation and want us to get along with each other. “The Gettysburg Address,” delivered by Lincoln, encourages our nation to keep fighting for equality. Lincoln starts “The Gettysburg Address” with “four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln 27). What Lincoln is saying is that our founding fathers, who created this nation, made it so that everyone could be equal. For Quindlen, equality means everyone treating each other like family. Quindlen describes the U.S. as “a mongrel nation built of ever-changing disperate parts, ... held together by a notion, the notion that all men are created equal“(Quindlen 6).” “The Gettysburg Address” and “A Quilt of a Country” both examine the values of our nation, though they do so in different ways. Abraham Lincoln and Anna Quindlen both talk about unity, patriotism, and equality in ways are similar and different. For both authors, unity is important, politically for Lincoln, and culturally for Quindlen. Patriotism for Lincoln centers on the government of the U.S. while Quindlen values our diversity, but both authors agree that patriotism matters. Equality for Lincoln means one nation were everyone looks at each other the same, on the other hand, Quindlen wants everyone to be able to look at each other without hate, butboth Lincoln and Quindlen want equality for our nation. Lincoln’s and Quindlen’s works prove that unity, patriotism, and equality are values of our nation that have stood the test of time. Works Cited Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address.” Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Quindlen, Anna “Quilt of a Country.” Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
Compare and Contrast Reflection
List one thing you've learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
I learned that you have to put the authors and page number of every quote that you use. It will look more professional in other papers I write.
Identify a specific revision you were asked to make and explain why (this can be at any stage of the writing process). How did you revise? What did you learn?
I was asked to change my tittle from Title to something else that shows more about what the essay was about. I changed it to The Virtues That Make The US. Great. That taking the time to make sure you write a tittle and Makeing sure you prove read it To make sure you don't have any mistakes.
What are the conventions of a compare and contrast essay and how did you meet those in this assignment?
You have to To tell the audience what you are compaing and contrasting, compare, then contast, and finaly write a
Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it?