Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposiums

“The Latest in Lincoln Scholarship”

Twelfth Annual Symposium

Abraham Lincoln Institute, Inc. (ALI), provides free, ongoing education on the life, career, and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ALI offers resources for educators, governmental and community leaders, and the general public through symposia, seminars, lectures, and special events.

National Archives II
College Park, Maryland

March 21, 2009

Co-sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Institute, Inc., the National Archives, the Foundation for the National Archives, the Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C., and the generosity of individual donors; and, endorsed by the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Michael Burlingame › The Life of Abraham Lincoln: New Findings, Fresh Perspectives

Burlingame describes how he discovered new information in various sources for his two volume Abraham Lincoln: A Life (2008). Burlingame also cites specific examples from the biography.

PhD, Professor Emeritus of History, Connecticut College

Key Publication: Abraham Lincoln: A Life

Ari Hoogenboom › Lincoln’s Fox: A Companion in Time of Crisis

This presentation covers the strong friendship between President Lincoln and the knowledgeable and optimistic Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Fox, a raconteur par excellence.

PhD, Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Key Publication: Gustavus Vasa Fox of the U.S. Navy: A Biography

Lewis Lehman › Lincoln at the Turning Point: From Peoria to the Presidency

Lehrman describes how Lincoln’s anti-slavery speech at Peoria on October 16, 1854, influenced the next decade of Lincoln’s life and the nation’s future.Chairman, The Lincoln Institute

Co-founder, Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History and the Lincoln & Soldiers Institute, which annually awards the Lincoln Prize.

Russell McClintock › Lincoln, the North, and Secession

McClintock recounts Lincoln’s controversial decision to risk war rather than permit secession within the larger context of Northern attitudes and actions during the secession winter.

PhD, History Teacher, St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Key Publication: Lincoln and the Decision for War: The Northern Response to Secession, based on McClintock’s Nicolay-Hay Award-winning dissertation.

James Oakes › Becoming Lincoln: Making of an Emancipationist

Oakes discusses how Lincoln “grew,” not only in the presidency but long before, on a path from mainstream Whig to wartime emancipationist, while retaining, importantly, some conservative views.

PhD, Professor of U.S. History, Graduate Center, City University of New York

Key Publication: The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics ~ Winner: 2008 Lincoln Prize