One hundred and fifty years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that began with the words “four score and seven years ago …” The 271-word Gettysburg Address is arguably the most famous speech in American history.
Now, filmmaker Ken Burns wants to further immortalize Lincoln’s famous speech by having Americans record themselves as they read those famous words. His Learn the Address project kicked off with this short video of famous faces reciting the address.
The video fittingly features all five living presidents, who are joined by politicians and popular media personalities like Taylor Swift, Robin Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Gates, and Nancy Pelosi. Their recitations are combined in a brief one minute, 46-second long video to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s address.
The Learn the Address initiative “[encourages] everyone in America to video record themselves reading or reciting the speech,” and invites them to upload their video to the site. All of this leads up to Burns’s new documentary for PBS, The Address.
The new 90-minute film, which will air spring 2014, gives history behind and context around Lincoln’s famous speech. It also tells the story of The Greenwood School in Putney Vermont, where students are encouraged to memorize and recite the Gettysburg Address every year.