The Abraham Lincoln Institute holds an annual symposium, the last several years of which were held in historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Standing on-stage under the theatre box where Lincoln was assassinated creates a wave of emotions, from intimidating, to sadness, to inspiration.
I wrote about the first symposium I attended several years ago back when it was in the National Archives. Since then I’ve attended every one. This year adds another dimension – I’ll attend my first as a member of the Board of Directors.
It looks like we’ll have a full house for the event. Speakers include Anna Gibson Holloway, William C. Harris, Michael Burlingame, Stanley Harrold, and Walter Stahr. Burlingame is a last minute stand-in for Richard Carwardine, who unfortunately was unable to fly in from the UK due to illness. Michael Burlingame is, of course, known to all Lincoln scholars for his many books, including the “green monster” (Abraham Lincoln: A Life), his two volume tome that is now every scholar’s bible for all things Lincoln. I saw Anna Gibson Holloway last weekend in Newport News, where she for many years was the curator of the USS Monitor Center, and many of the other speakers and attendees are familiar from their tremendous contributions to Lincoln scholarship. I’m looking forward to a great crowd.
I’ll have more on the symposium afterwards. Check out the ALI website for more info. While you’re at it, check out the website of the Lincoln Group of DC, of which I am a Vice President. We also have a great series of monthly dinner lectures that you should find interesting. Dinners are open to all.
David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
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