August 8-9 — Attend the conference on “Indiana’s Lincoln.”
Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and became a statesman in Illinois … but between the ages of 7 and 21 he lived in Indiana, and that definitely makes him a Hoosier. Explore why that is important for understanding Lincoln.
When: Friday August 8 and Saturday August 9
Where: Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St. Indianapolis
This comes from the Indiana Historical Society:
With the help of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Indiana Historical Society is presenting the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration and Conference, which includes free performances, exhibits and activities as well as a conference Aug. 8-9, 2008.
- The two-day celebration will kick off at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, at the west entrance of the Indiana Statehouse, where there will be a reenactment of Lincoln’s February 1861 Indianapolis speech with noted Lincoln interpreter Fritz Klein at the Indiana State House. Music will be provided on-site by the Red Bank ReUnion Band, an Evansville group that performs patriotic and popular 19th century music in period costume with period instruments.
- On Friday afternoon, more free Lincoln-related family activities will be available just a few blocks away at the History Center from 1-4 p.m. The IHS will offer music, crafts and its Freedom: A History of US and The Faces of Lincoln traveling exhibitions, in addition to a self-guided Lincoln walking tour.
- Friday evening marks the beginning of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Conference. Lincoln enthusiasts, educators and scholars can attend a dinner and lecture at the History Center with scholar, author and Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission co-chair Harold Holzer.
- The Bicentennial Conference will continue on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., featuring a keynote address by Edna Greene Medford, associate professor of history at Howard University and author of Lincoln, the War and Black Freedom as well as other Lincoln-related writings.
- The conference will also include several concurrent sessions for: libraries and local historical organizations, facilitated by Joan Flinspach (CEO of the former Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne); schools and educators, led byIHS education staff and Martin Tuohy (National Archives and Records Administration – Great Lakes); and history enthusiasts, directed by Holzer and Medford.
Cost to attend the Bicentennial Conference is $40 for the Friday evening dinner and presentation (cash bar), $35 for the Saturday sessions, or $70 for Friday and Saturday combined.
For more information or to register, contact the IHS at (317) 232-1882 or (800) 447-1830. Information is also available at www.indianahistory.org.
Why does Provocate think you should attend this event?
It’s Abraham Lincoln! A Hoosier! And look who’ll be speaking and doing:
Bios of Presenters
Harold Holzer has authored, coauthored and edited twenty books on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, including The Lincoln Image, Lincoln Seen and Heard, Dear Mr. Lincoln: Letters to the President and Lincoln at Cooper Union. His forthcoming book to be published by Simon and Schuster, Lincoln: President-Elect, explores the short, but integral time in Lincoln’s life as he transitioned between Illinois politician to President of the United States. Holzer, who is vice president for communications and marketing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, lives in Rye, New York.
Edna Greene Medford is an associate professor of history at Howard University where she alsoserved as the Director of Graduate Studies in History from 2004-07. Previous to her tenure at Howard University, she served as the Director of the History Component of New York’s African Burial Ground Project (an interdisciplinary study of the enslaved and free black population of colonial New York). Medford’s Lincoln related writings include, The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (co-authored with Harold Holzer and Justice Frank Williams), the article “Abraham Lincoln and the Constitutional Dilemma of Emancipation” in the OAH Magazine of History (January 2007), and an essay entitled, “’Beckoning Them to the Dreamed of Promise Land of Freedom’: African Americans and the Emancipation Proclamation,” in Lincoln in War and Peace among other works.
Fritz Klein is known internationally for bringing Lincoln to life. Klein has been seen in The New York Times, on The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, C-Span and USA Today and in a variety of films. During summer 2007 Klein portrayed Lincoln at Mount Rushmore.
Martin Tuohy has served on the staff of the National Archives and Records Administration—Great Lakes Region in Chicago since 1992. He has an AB in history and an MA in United States history. Tuohy is the author of several essays published by The Hoosier Genealogist, and is currently writing a book about African American coal miners in the 1870s Midwest.
Joan Flinspach has been President and CEO of the Lincoln Museum, Fort Wayne, Ind., since 1993. In 2000 she was appointed to the federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and serves as the commission secretary. She is also a member of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and chairs the Libraries, Museums and Historic Sites Committee.
Red Bank ReUnion Band from Evansville features 19thcentury musical performances ranging from patriotic to popular to Civil War selections. The group is passionate about making music and committed to sharing history with people of all ages. Dressed in period costume they perform music of the Civil War era using period band arrangements and appropriate instruments. The music arrangements come from the Brass Band Journals of the 1850s, the Library of Congress and historical society collections.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
There will be a lot of Lincoln Bicentennialism in the coming year, you’ll have plenty of chances to attend more events. A must-see for Lincolnologists is Rhode Island Chief Justice Frank Williams on October 7: a Lincoln scholar who celebrates what some would consider the dark and unfortunate side of Lincoln, the suspension of the Constitution to prosecute the Civil War. Today Williams plays an important role shaping the military tribunals for “enemy combatants.” It will force us to ask “What would Lincoln do in the war on terrorism?”
Know before you go:
Visit the webpage for the Lincoln-Indiana Bicentennial — He’s a Hoosier, really! In particular, check out the teacher resources, very helpful.
For more information …
You’ll be in the right place after the conference: the Indiana Historical Society has a nice collection of Lincoln material, including several good books. They will cheerfully sell you stuff, help you make it a Buy-centennial.
