世界经典英语演讲赏析教学课件2. Abraham Lincoln-Gettysberg Address.ppt

The Governing Concept of “Government of the People, by the People and for the People” In this speech Lincoln set forth his governing concept in a brief and clear manner, which is actually abided by all the administrations in the US, that is, government must be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. This concept is brief and concise but with profound connotations and far-reaching significance. Here, Lincoln used three prepositions to vividly describe the quality of government: The Governing Concept of “Government of the People, by the People and for the People” of: refers to affiliation, stating that government is affiliated to people, not the opposite. by: refers to doers, stating that, all government power is implemented by the people (or representatives elected by them). Government officials are, so to speak, elected by the people to implement the executive power on behalf of the people. for: refers to goal, meaning that government has the goal of the people as their goal, not the opposite. What’s more, if the people are willing to have this government, that’s OK. Otherwise, the government has no right to force the people to accept it. The Governing Concept of “Government of the People, by the People and for the People” In the concept “of the people, by the people, for the people”, the most important is “by the people”. Without it, “of the people” and “for the people” would have lost its basis. To test if a government is really “a government of the people and for the people”, the only criterion is to see if it is governed “by the people”, i.e. whether the government power is implemented by representatives “really” elected by the people. American Dream in Two Senses 300 years ago, when the British immigrants sailed across the Atlantic aboard Mayflower to Maryland, looking for a piece of pure land