Ken Burns: The Address

The film tells the story of a tiny school in Putney Vermont, the Greenwood School, where each year the students are encouraged to memorize, practice and recite the Gettysburg Address. In its exploration of the Greenwood School, the film also unlocks the history, context and importance of President Lincoln's most powerful address.

The Greenwood School students, boys ages 11-17, all face a range of complex learning differences that make their personal, academic and social progress extremely challenging. The Address uncovers how President Lincoln's historic words motivate and engage these students a century-and-a-half after President Lincoln delivered a speech that would go on to embolden the Union cause with some of the most stirring words ever spoken.