The Annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium is set for March 22, 2025, at historic Ford’s Theatre in downtown Washington, DC. The full day program starts at 9 am and runs to 5 pm.
All tickets are free but please register in advance on the Ford’s Theater website: https://fords.org/event/abraham-lincoln-institute-symposium/
ALI has been organizing this annual symposium for many years, first at the National Archives and now at Ford’s Theatre. 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.
Ford’s Theatre is both a working theater and a national historic site. The box where Lincoln was assassinated is maintained in the condition that it was that night, and Lincoln scholars and the general public alike make pilgrimages to the site. There is also a museum on the lower floor. Standing on the stage gives somewhat of an existential feeling, as if you are transported back in time to that fateful night. For nearly a decade, Ford’s has also generously provided the theater space to the Abraham Lincoln Institute for its annual symposium. I was honored to have been one of the five speakers for the 2023 symposium, during which I presented about my book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, and in particular, how Lincoln helped modernize America. This year, 2025, I will again be on stage, this time to introduce one of the speakers.
In 2025, there is another stellar group of scholars to discuss various aspects of Lincoln’s life, the times, and the tensions.
2025 Symposium Speakers
Hilary Green
Unforgettable Sacrifice: How Black Communities Remembered the Civil War
Manisha Sinha
The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, 1860-1920
Jon Grinspan
Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War
Harold Holzer
Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration
Michael Vorenberg
Lincoln’s Peace: The Struggle to End the Civil War
After the final speaker, there will be a panel of all the speakers moderated by one of ALI’s prominent members.
For more information about ALI, check out their website at https://lincoln-institute.org/
[Photo compliments of Ford’s Theatre]
Coming in February 2026: Unable to Escape This Toil
Available now – Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.
Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.
You also follow my author page on Facebook.
David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
