( CNN ) -- In what might be one of the oldest corrections in the history of journalism , the editorial board of a Pennsylvania newspaper has retracted its predecessor 's famous panning of President Abraham Lincoln 's Gettysburg Address as `` silly remarks . '' `` Seven score and ten years ago , the forefathers of this media institution brought forth to its audience a judgment so flawed , so tainted by hubris , so lacking in the perspective history would bring , that it can not remain unaddressed in our archives , '' the editors of The Patriot-News wrote Thursday , evoking the opening words and style of Lincoln 's most famous speech . Back then , the editors of the Patriot & Union newspaper -- an ancestor of today 's Harrisburg paper -- thought so little of Lincoln 's `` silly remarks '' that they hoped `` the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them , and that they shall be no more reposted or thought of . '' Oopsie . History did n't cooperate . While mildly received on its delivery , the November 19 , 1863 , speech marking the consecration of the national cemetery at Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , has gone on to become one of the most famous pieces of writing in the American canon -- inscribed on monuments , taught to schoolchildren and frequently surfacing in cultural references . `` Four score and seven years ago , '' Lincoln wrote in the speech 's famous opening line , `` our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation , conceived in liberty , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal . '' Filmmaker Ken Burns recently urged all Americans to learn and recite the speech , calling the address `` some of the most important words ever spoken . '' Americans reciting the Gettysburg Address . And so , on Thursday , the newspaper set the record straight : . `` The world will little note nor long remember our emendation of this institution 's record -- but we must do as conscience demands , '' the newspaper wrote . `` In the editorial about President Abraham Lincoln 's speech delivered Nov. 19 , 1863 , in Gettysburg , the Patriot & Union failed to recognize its momentous importance , timeless eloquence , and lasting significance . The Patriot-News regrets the error . ''
Pennsylvania newspaper called Lincoln 's words ` ` silly , '' 150 years ago . That newspaper 's editor has retracted its editorial . The 150th anniversary of the speech is November 19 .