Archive for May, 2008
« Previous Entries"Impartial History…Will Write You Down as the Greatest Tyrant that Ever Lived…"
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008I think the weekly edition of Lincolniana on auction we’ve been doing has the potential to be incredibly useful. I began the program thinking this would be a good way for us to track the value of certain items in today’s marketplace, but my thinking has evolved a bit over the past few weeks.
Most of [...]
Lincoln-Douglas at 150
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008The Southern Illinoisan ran a nice story on Friday about the progress at the Lincoln-Douglas debate site in Jonesboro. We’ve been tracking their progress for over a year now and have been quite impressed with their efforts.
In preparation for their celebration, which will take place September 12-14, organizers have opened a visitor’s center. The center [...]
Odds and Ends
Friday, May 23rd, 2008A number of stories caught my eye this week, but time did not allow me to bring them all to your attention. I thought we’d might do an “odds and ends” type post this morning:
Thomas Kennedy, a Spencer County, Indiana artist, unveiled his new Lincoln Bicentennial painting on Monday. Kennedy hopes a print will hang [...]
The Crime Against Kansas
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008On Monday and Tuesday the Republican Senator from Massachusetts delivered a speech. “The Crime Against Kansas” denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the “slave power of our Republic.” Charles Sumner’s rhetoric was characteristically graphic, but two passages were particularly objectionable.
The first passage included an extended metaphor, in which Sumner compared the crisis in Kansas to “the [...]
Author Pleads Guilty to Stealing Lincoln Document
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008Hat tip to one of my favorite bloggers, Kevin Levin, at Civil War Memory, for calling my attention to this unfortunate story.
Edward Renehan, historian and author of six books, plead guilty on Tuesday to interstate transportation of stolen property for trying to resell historical documents through a Manhattan gallery.
Prosecutors said Renehan stole three documents from [...]
Lincoln on Ebay
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008Back by popular demand, we have another example of Lincolniana for auction!
This Ebay auction caught my eye last week. The item is a note, approximately 4.25 x 3.5″, purportedly written by Lincoln on March 18, 1865, less than a month before the assassination.
According to my eyes, it reads as follows:
If the service needs such an [...]
Who Would Lincoln Endorse?
Monday, May 19th, 2008The campaign season has reached an inevitable point. The conversation has momentarily shifted away from the economy, health care, and foreign policy to delegates, super delegates, and political endorsements. Hardly a week goes by without two former rivals embracing in front of a large crowd of voters.
Just last week, former presidential hopeful John Edwards announced [...]
House Divided Speech Sesquicentennial
Friday, May 16th, 2008
The folks at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum have put together an impressive program that will take place June 14-16, 2008.
They plan to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s “House Divided Speech” with a three-day long celebration, featuring commentary by historians Allen C. Guelzo and Thomas F. Schwartz, as well as performances by [...]
The Springfield Race Riot of 1908
Thursday, May 15th, 2008We’ve been on something of a Vachel Lindsay kick this week, but I’m not ready to shift gears just yet.
Let’s take a step back this morning to Springfield, Illinois in August 1908. That’s right, a full 99 years after Lincoln’s birth and 43 years after his assassination.
Twenty-eight-year-old Vachel Lindsay was living with parents in their [...]
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight in Charelston, West Virginia Too!
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008Many thanks to Dave Wiegers on the Discussion Board for calling my attention to this magnificent statue in Charleston, West Virginia.
Inspired by Vachel Lindsay’s poem, “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight,” West Virginian Fred Torrey created a 42-inch plaster model of Lincoln, pacing late at night, while cloaked in a long robe.
The plaster model was exhibited [...]