There are many myths about Lincoln barely writing the Gettysburg Address before arriving to give it, however this is not the case. I think the Gettysburg Address is so short because of Lincoln wanting to to deliver a memorable speech. He summed up the founding of the union, the current struggle it was facing (the Civil War), and its potential future. His masterful delivery of the speech, stating that the lost lives of the soldiers should not be in vain, contributes to it being so short yet so memorable.
