Lincoln's speeches used well-chosen words for his audience. Score was associated with biblical vocabulary. It also turns into clever wordplay with the forefathers.

Each of his paragraphs has a central theme and one $5 word that sells it: proposition, battlefield, and consecrated. It's somber measure was perfectly timed.

As for whether his speech writing and rhetoric skills were indicative of all in the 1860s, Lincoln was far more skilled than the average American.

If you'd like an example of the vernacular of Lincoln's contemporaries while they talk about the Gettysburg Address there are some really great first-hand accounts in this book.The first hand accounts start around page 166. The rest of the book is an incredibly thorough analysis of the speech from a historical standpoint.

Edit: I posted from R/all and didn't check the sub. I I have a love for historical linguistics, but recognize I am out of my depth when discussing Civil War history. I hope I was able to shed a little bit of light on your question and provide you with a useful primary source document for linguistic comparison. The politicians and clergy were especially interesting

No problem. I didn't realize that it was /r/AskaHistorian until after I posted and that it might not fit the rules. Since it was posted, I thought I would let you guys decide. Love this sub!