With the phrase "new birth of freedom", Lincoln meant that after the Civil War the nation would be reestablished with a new, broader definition of liberty.
These words were spoken in the Gettysburg Address, the most famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln. It was pronounced in the city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Although Lincoln's carefully worded speech was secondary to other speeches of the day, it has been considered later as one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind, or, at least, one of the most famous and cited of the modern era. Invoking the principles of equality of men enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln redefined the Civil War as a new birth of freedom for the United States and its citizens.