september 8th. for competition rules, tips and more information on how to get started, visit the website on student can.org. goodod evening and welcome o the lincolnmy prize. i'm the senior at high school and on the advisory council at the lehrman institute of american history. i'm pleased to announce i've been accepted at several colleges including georgetown, harvard, brown, and boston university and will be deciding

to start this fall. i'm thrilled to bee here this evening with you all speaking at this event. the guild institute is one of [inaudible] we are honored to take this program online and to be joined by more than a thousand teachers, students and history learners across the country. tonight we celebrate not one but two distinguished lincoln prize winners professorss elizabeth, winner of the 2020 prize for her book use of deliverance and professor david reynolds winner of the 2021 prize for his book abraham lincoln in his time. ....

>> please note that we are going to use the chat during this program and we encourage the audience members to submit a question mechanic feature at the bottom of the screen. before we get started, program tonight will begin is traditionally does, then invitation a recent graduate and former trustee of gettysburg college in front of the lincoln and founder and the nation's leading advocate for military veterans. >> good evening printed on scott anderson, the trustee of the lincoln project on the long commute to the virtual celebration and the economy is a statute of mr. lincoln citing the inoculation that made my children, think in the family donated to gettysburg college. the sentences in front of named for thaddeus stevens, congressman and abolitionist rate was long timeru trustee of the college and provided the

land of 1932 upon which the college was built printed let us take a few w minutes in prayer prayed for god that we make to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary work of two eminent historians, elizabeth varon for her "armies of deliverance" in a sweeping narrative of the civil war the bold interpretation of the war aim for the union and the confederacy and david reynolds, "abe" and elegant book that brings abraham lincoln to life within the culture of the turbulent age, and on this occasion would take an important moment to recognize gilder who passed away this year for his monumental in the gilder lehrman institute of american history and first partner in our partner and is for continued progress that we would have good health and more than a century half after that era in the civil war we pray lord god for continued teachings of scholarships and

the search of the lincoln era partied we pray for the legacy of the men and women are lived and suffered the horrors of the wars in the injustices of oppression. but they would be a shining light in future generations of americans and we fervently prayed that the ideal and the goals which inspired abraham lincoln union and unity, freedom of a dignity for all, and stability will inspire today's leaders and the people of this great country so that from this porches of the war rebellion and the pandemic, as civil strife and terrorism, we are brought together in peace and liberty and with hope. and we ask your blessings on those who have joined us tonight. a man. it. >> thank you scoffer the elephant invitational me at my will. w i'm jim, president the gilder institute of american history on behalf of the board they can

price let me welcome you to the 30th and 31st lincoln prize awardd ceremony. in a year of gloom exhaustion and women are wariness, thank you all for taking this time to join us. covid-19 caused us to postpone our ceremony in 2020 printed tonight we combine it with the 2021 award on special double presentation. we are able to do this thanks to the efforts of diane brennan, the administrator at gettysburg college and cassie coker the manager at the institute and thank you also to the stamina and good nature of the lincoln prize jury who agreed to serve two years running and professors caroline e jenning of the university of gent and virginia and university of texas and ensure the professor and former president of the university of richmond and trustee ofun the gilder institute and heirs. gilder lehrman institute of

american history thank you all for makingol the ceremony possie normally when we have the sick event that club at nursing only about 250 people are able to attend. so the silver lining to being virtual, is that tonight we have more than 1000 people in our audience and many are teachers and students to and from every state in the union and a few from abroad. and schneider viewers will be able to hear two great historians, raising $50.00000 present to talk other award-winning books and we owe this prize who 30 years ago, working as professor of the gettysburg college had a vision to create a $50000 book prize is time when the pulitzer prize was only 5000 and the vision has shaped the fieldn of history and more broadly the whole landscape of prices ever sense. we o lost and maia foster when e died three weeks short of his 80th birthday but we will hear

a message tonight from blue, delivered by his son thomas and as many in the audience know, lou is not only a successful businessman, philanthropist and civic leader, he has himself a historian and widely published author whose many books included lincoln avenue. in 2008 and it lincoln and churchill statesman at war and to an end in 2018 and together particularly was a cofounder of the gilder lehrman institute the shaping force behind the collection which today lies at the heart of the programs and resources that this gilder lehrman institute of american history provides to network of 29000 schools in more than 7 million k - 12 students it printed tennis is a profound gratitude for all the lose helped make possible, turned out of his son thomas for a brief message of lou. after which we willil see a shot video about the history of the wicked prize. good evening. >> my name is thomas i'm happy

to share these words of my father with you on the occasion of the gilder lehrman prize and we all know how much our work together in this common cause means to him read and are grateful for your continued support and imagine now, my father's unmistakable presence and voice before you. the distinguished friends of the gilder lehrman is to do with institute find ourselves grateful to you for so many thank you so pretty your investments, your encouragement, your relief in our educational purposes. we gathered tonight to celebrate a mark in history, one of the greatest stories ever told and we gather especially to honor my cofounder of the institute, richard gilder, my dear friend you know how dedicated we are to the study in h the teaching of

american history printed we truly aspire to the goal that every american citizen of whatever age, will know and embrace the priceless patrimony we have inherited and generations of past. let it also be said that we are committed to this mission unselfconsciously, because we believe with a study the teaching of american history, is one indispensable moral formation of confidence and responsible a american citizens. gilder and i both history majors they fully believe the teaching and studying of american history must be opening the garden path to every immigrant and citizen so that age can become an american in full and thus the founding of the gilder lehrman institute of american history thank you very much.

♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ >> at a time of unprecedented and strife and conflict, president abraham lincoln pick the brains of national leaders. every united and fractured america partied named in honor of the 15 present, the price started in 1919 and been standards before the years on abraham lincoln in the american civil war soldier, for the american civil war hero. while the inspired leadership of lewis lehrman and lincoln prize committee is considered within 3200 workers and awarded more than $1.5 million in prices over the last three decades partied may award has scholar such as, robert and others.

filmmaker stephen spielberg in honored with the another prize with documentary, the civil war argued as well as many others. the gilder lehrman institute of american history price has set this center for scholarly awardc to a bright light of the legacy of lincoln and his accomplishments as well as the civil war. and although america may change and grow, but the memory and the words of abraham lincoln remain fresh. but now the charity for all, let us strive onn to finish the work we are in and invited the nations and to do all which we cherish and just into our nation. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ the gilder lehrman institute of

american historyat make it. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ >> it is my privilege now to introduce the president of the gettysburg college, bob, distinguished lawyer editor blog review student at the law school a federal prosecutor and bob was for several years senior vice president and general counsel of harvard university where he led many university wide initiatives and was president the trusted advisor bobby came 15 president of the gettysburg college in july of 2019 and midst of his first year as president that covid-19 struck and bob is been heroic and very successful in his efforts to lead the college through this challenging time and bob is also a member of the

lincoln prize and i can tell you from personal observation he is an eloquentde participant in the deliberations. to offer fewer markets about the prize in the college, here is president of bob. >> good evening everyone, president gettysburg college and is truly an honor to join you tonight the special celebration. our collegesra had a long and strong relationship with the gilder lehrman institute of american history forget of any year's has been a joy to be so intricately involved in the selections of this presentation of the lincoln prize in the arteries such as elizabeth varon and david reynolds in the lincoln prize not only recognizes the work of exceptional scholarship, but it also has a way of shining a light on our shared path and offering assault new understandings for how we navigate the challenges our world today. system in the speaks powerfully to the education we seek to

provide for our students. in the college we provide our students with what we call consequential education one grounded in the belief that knowledge of the past, endeavors is critical to the formation of a well reasoned and creative response to the present. and is precisely because ofpo or past and we found our community at theth intersection it of a defining moment in american history that we at gettysburg college, have a special compassion and obligation to how the future of our democracy particularly in these most consequential times. as you know, history of the gettysburg college is deeply entwined with the events of 1863 great events that tested our most fundamental values and indelibly shape the course of our nation. on july 1st, 1863, our fathers

then known as pennsylvania college stood in the midst of the union and confederate forces in the great battles slipped through the heart of our campus at her primary building at the time the hall whichch served asn academic and residential space for students which sees by confederates and used as a field hospital to treat the wounded soldiers. and remains at the heart of our campus today, is where my office is located and served as a vivid reminder to me every day of how much this institutions history informs our values and aspirations for our future. following the battle, the college story turned into aow mn by the name of david mills, a graduate of the class of 1861 and wills personally invited president to say that a few appropriate remarks at the dedication of the national cemetery and he and his wife posted lincoln in the evening prior in the next morning, on

november 19, 1863, are college students and faculty walk in the town square and followed president lincoln into the national cemetery. to hear his iconic address firsthand. and today, our students retrace the steps each to a tradition of the first year and when they arrived at the cemetery, our students and their earliest days here lincoln's words and they reflect on what those words booming to them over the next four years as a member of artist think of academic community indeed how they can leave and live the promise of their words. and it's clear to consequential educations are inspired by consequential places and our colleges indeed are situated one of the most hospital places in our country. and leaders like lincoln and eisenhower and so many others, throughout our colleges history

have had a profound impact on who we are today. in the change that we believe is possible. it's a legacy enforced by faculties like jim downs, and the chair of civil war era studies in history. and it simply strengthen of events like our annual lincoln lecture in the civil war institute conference which they speak out in the summer and in short, students come here to our college to this place surrounded by history an opportunity to build in themselves and in each other to the responsibility and resolve to pick up the great and unfinished work of making a better world.. indeed, consequentially educated people create in themselves consequential lives. we are honored that the gilder lehrman institute of american history price continues to play an important part in these efforts. and again, on a congratulate

elizabeth varon and david reynolds for the superbwl publication and also to gilder for what he did in his distinguished life and i wish to thank the vision and leadership and commitment to improving our understanding of the world through the study of our past. lastly, big thanks to all of you so much for joining us in the special event. and i look forward to connecting with you at the gettysburg college in the years ahead and take care now. >> thank you bob printed i'm a senior at the high school in new york city and a member of the student advisory council at the gilder lehrman history and i'm pleased that the been accepted into three colleges including communication university manhattan college and hoping to find soon which college to attend in the fall and i'm honored to introduce our next guest.

martha, professor is a professor history at new york university and winner of the 2016 gilder urprize and professor will be presenting a finalist in the 2020 lincoln prize and take it away martha. >> thank you sebastian and good evening and my name is martha and is my honor tonight to introduce a finalist of the 2020 lincoln prize. these were chosen by jersey jury of distinguished scholars of a pool of more than 100 books dominated the price using names of finalist for the award and historians join an elite group that includes the very best writings over the last 30 years. in our first finalist is a 2020 was eric for his book, how the civil war ended the construction and renamed the constitution which creates the arc of three

foundational instruction amendments the 13th and 14th and 15th amendments on the second finalist was matthew, for his book the golden slavery, human bondage and the bridge of modern visual put with explores the world and shaping the public's understandingbl of slavery in the 19th century. on the third finalist was stephanie, for her book, daily worker properties god, life with the owners in the american south. which examines white women precipitation in the sled marketed and how they used for economics and socialist events forth and advantages and finalist mcginnis for his book, the case a liberty interest story of slavery and restitution in america. which tells the extraordinary story of henrietta woods and enslaved woman who fought for justice and reparations.

benefit finalist was jesse, for her book, a grown buck might pump a story of mary mildred williams and the abolition movement which looks at how photographs of enslaved a seven -year-old child who passes white galvanized white sympathies for the abolitionist cause. essex finalist is joseph, for his book, illusions of emancipation in the space and freedom and equality in the twilight of slavery. which examines emancipation and its aftermath through the perspective and experiences of african americans. in the seventh finalist in the 2020 prize was david, for his book raising the white flag, help surrender define the american civil war which impacts the social, political and cultural meanings of surrender. and congratulations to all of the 2020 finalist and now i'm going to turn things back over to the present of the gilder

lehrman institute of american history pretty. >> present the 2020-foot lincoln prize is now my pleasure to introduce my fellow trustee john. he's a tremendously successful businessman civic leader and philanthropist and heads-up more gorgeous and and good thoughts and the causes thann you can imagine among them are variousio times, the national park foundation, heie reckoned bonneville cross university of virginia board of visitors, and for 15 years, the historical commission. kayla give that up to accept a presidential appointment as chair of the national advisory council on historic preservation where he served for nine years predict john is agt longtime trustee and generous supporter and where partnership the first lady bush, hee created the national institute are teacher of the year program operating in all 50 states and the now in his 17th year and he is also the founder of the john center of civil war history with its

illustrious faculty and programs. when the jury selected a historian from uva is one of the 2020 lincoln prize, we immediately asked john if he would represent us presenting the prize. in here to do that right now is a good friend, john. john: good evening everyone and thank you jim for that very fine introduction. tonight it is my honor to join you to present the 2020 lincoln prize on behalf of gilder and lehrman established in 1990 the prize is awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in english on abraham lincoln's the american civil war soldier or the american civil war hero coming in tonight the 2020 lincoln prize is awarded to elizabeth varon for her exceptional book, "armies of deliverance", a new history of

the civil war. elizabeth varon is a a leading historian of the civil war era, and we are very fortunate to have her leadership in intellect and the now center for civil war history located at the university of virginia predict the had an interest in study of the civil war since i was a young boy. and all started with civil war battlefield tours on family trips predict that is a young undergraduate starting at uva in the fall in 1964, i was surprised when registering for classes that there were no history classes and the 19th century america and over the years, i made up my mind that if i ever had the capacity, i would work to establishment of 19th century history classes at uva. i'm very proud of the work of the now center at uva and the role that it has played in the study of the market civil war

read elizabeth varon's played a significant role in helping to shape the programming at that now center and she is a very talented and dedicated teacher at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels and she has trained a number of excellent doctoral students at uva and many have saw the commission to the uva program specifically to with her worried she has published books throughout the american civil war than -underscore her impressive range of interest and she has received numerous accolades and recognition for her books. and for writing and teaching and made a significant impact and she has played a critical role in sustaining uva's outstanding reputation in the field of civil war era history. and tonight, we recognize and celebrate her outstanding scholarship of the civil c war

era, her book provides a thorough and insightful and very readable history of the war is self reading and congratulations to our 2020 lincoln prizewinner, doctor elizabeth varon for "armies of deliverance", a new history of the civil war and congratulations liz and thank you everyone. >> thank you so much and john and i am profoundly grateful for this award and the opportunity to address you all tonight. and extend my congratulations to my fellow honorary david reynolds into all of the wonderful finalist if there was ever a moment to celebrate the public mindedness of the gilder lehrman institute of american history and its supportr for us country's history education, evelyn is down we've been reminded again and again that we need to make our collective scholarship and teaching accessible to the general public. and resolve issue is at the heart of the market civil war, the legacies of slavery and

freedom are the issues that are times, and americans needed history educators k - 12 teachers and librarians, museums and national parks, colleges and universities describing generations of student teachers. and i set out to write this "armies of deliverance" as a public outreach in mind is anme interpretive conveying the analytical insights inhe the modern sensibilities of civil war party scholarship in the 31st century. the title ofit the book, capturd this argument that the theme of deliverance is a key to understanding the war aims of abraham lincoln and of the union. union soldiers marched off to war in 1861 in believing their mission would save the southern people from confederate destitute.ve and deliverance i argue proved

to be very adaptable political theme of federal followers like union cause and enabled abraham lincoln broad coalition for winning the civil war. and tried in the book to explain emotional feel of deliverance rhetoric particularly in the path of soldier motivation. i trieded to explain how it was that union persisted in believing that they've saved the south even in the face of massiveve evidence that the confederates did not want to be saved predict my book concludes ultimately the deliverance rhetoric of the union when the war left field to convince the confederates to accept the piece or the black freedoms on the union's terms. as i researched the book on the deliverance, three particular insights of modern scholarship was essential to my thinking the first is that the union and the confederacy work complex political constructs and internally divided of race and class and gender midcity and

religion and someone inza our generalizations about the work must account for that complexity to give you a striking example. we can have a common shorthand into the equate the south but we should not do so, because it's profoundly distorting the insightro confederate southern d black southern units were crucial to the union's history and indeed a major aim of my book was to highlight the role of black southerners and lnlincoln's coalition it in the ways that deliberated when in fact the break torres and now this was a powerful impetus by events in my hometown of charlottesville, virginia. even before the shocking violence of august 2017, researchers and educators in charlottesville have been hard at worklo uncovering a history f black unionism in the region predict any efforts to recover this history were doubled after

the attacks in our city the efforts have made a difference in recognition of the fact that over half of the populations county in virginia was on the eve of civil war the fact that many meant unthought in a union regimen in our city now celebrates march 3rd, as liberation and freedom day to mark the moment in 1865 when the forces took possession of charlottesville and brought liberation to the region read the message here of course is the public history conductive collectively by a wide range of students and educators and researchers has afforded us within a lens. and a second way in which modern scholarship informed of my book was in the conviction that our grand narratives are more compelling when they include a wide range ofof voices and experiences and blend a range of

historical methodology and political cultural and so on and more than ever now, civil war integrates the events of the battleth front in these various methods for studying the past and i was determined in "armies of deliverance" to leave the experiences the voices from women throughout the narrative and not only for the various roles they played as nurses, reformers and spies and teachers and so on before the commentary on political commands. [inaudible].

even as the soldiers were surrounded by evidence of the war's toll. they had in other words deeply internalized the idea that they could change southern hearts and minds. the third and final illustration at the ways in which my book reflects modern scholarship was its rejection of false equivalence between the union and the confederacy. frederick douglass famously 1978 said there is a right side and a wrong side and which ought to cause us to forget. armies of deliverance is" meant to help us appreciate the meaning of douglas' famous

words. insisting the right side won the war, deviled list wasn't claiming that it's blameless and spent his life fighting a two front war. rwhat he meant was it was a war of ideas between the old and the new. it was bitter because the ideas that drove it were so sharply opposed. one would like to imagine they could readily agree the right side won the war but the equivalency and the idea they are deserving made a comeback so

i'd like to close by asking educators to guard againstin and refuteer. even after we've accounted for the excesses of the cost for the human suffering and cruelty on both sides it remains irrefutable that on the issue of slavery, union and confederate ideology were starkly opposed. union ideology, free labor majority rule and its insistence that slaveholders should no longer ruleho the country as a framework in which change and progress were possible, not

inevitable, not easy but possible. figures like frederick douglas e. tubman in the face of immense adversity cracked open the door to change. confederate ideology with its defense of slavery and of the supremacy of slaveholders flatly rejected the possibility of progress. they were the enemies of change and they sought to close the door of freedom and chain it shut. the union caused invoking the world ideas based upon the declaration of human rights the world ever heard or read and the confederacy was based upon the denial of all rights. false to us still to fulfill the promise of the victory. >> i am a junior in high school

and member of the guilder lehrman. larry is a businessman and civic leader and a member of the lincoln prize award that determines.r. we are honored to have him with us tonight. please tell us about the 2021 finalists., >> thank you. it is a privilege to be here with you tonight. in the year marked by the national crisis the scholarship dealing with the legacy reminds us unity as possible through great leadership and it is my honor to acknowledge the 2021 finalists w whose work contribus to advancing that legacy. the 2021 lincoln the prizeis alice baumgardner for hr

book runaway slaves to mexico and the road to the civil war which examines how the abolition of slavery and its increasingly radical antislavery policy helped in the united states. the second finalists for t the 2021 prize is colossal ambitions and post civil war world how leading confederate thinkers in the digital nation and its relationship in the united states, its place in the americas and a role in the global order. the third finalists for the prize of the civil war battle that provides a comprehensive new history and contribution during the civil war and underscores how women were essentially and fully engaged. the fourth finalists for the

prize is kenneth, weather, climate and the civil war which investigates the ways in which the weather and climate to shape the outcomes of the battles and campaigns. congratulations to allnd the finalists and now i will turn things back over to introduce the next guest. >> the next speaker is valerie rockefeller presenting the award to the guilder lehrman lincoln prize center. a trustee at the institute for five years and one of the most s.active and generous supporter. ala former classroom teacher who now serves on the board at columbia university, valerie is a civic leader who chairs a private foundation advancing social change that contributes to a more sustainable and peaceful world. valerie will now introduce the winner of the prize.

>> the 2021 lincoln prize professor david reynolds a rhode island native that received a degree from amherst college and uc berkeley who taught american literature and studies at northwestern university, bernard college, new york university, rutgers and brew. since 2006 he's been a professor at the center of new york where he teaches english and american studies. he's the author or editor of 16 books and books have won the bancroft prize, christian golf award, ambassador book award and outstanding book award. one is a finalist for the national book critics circle award. it's a beautifully written life as lincoln said in the cultural and social context of his time. the bookll review described it s a loosely rendered exhibition of the character plot of the prism of the cultural social forces swirling through america during

his lifetime. "the wall street journal" named it a biography that captures lincoln and all of his historical moments. through the innovative research, reynolds has the key roles in his life and the knowledge of the religion, literature, human and politics and its rich and unprecedented detail. it is a pleasure that i on behalf of the institute of american history present the 2021id lincoln prize to david reynolds. congratulations now i turn over to professor reynolds to tell about his book. >> thank you so much for those kind remarks and thanks to the institute for the wonderful recognition. to all the others on the

committee i truly appreciate it. congratulations on the book. on the background of my book, i want to mention lynn nesbitt circulated aok book proposal and one copy i and i realized i had a book inside oft me for years and years. scott pulled it out of me and thanks also to where i teach at the university of new york for stimulating the scholarly environment from the student cohort to the faculty members to

the administration. thank you so much and particularly to professors and colleagues in the history program and david. i couldn't believe it it it gave me such wonderful insights and so forth and i, outside of this i want to thank douglas wilson and the wonderful american nest who f wrote the wonderful manuscript and all my family that t stuck by through thick ad then it was a great challenge and great fun. working on her book on creativity andan science of the humanities and when my

manuscript was finished she sat down and read through chapter by chapter and was a wonderful commentator so thank you so much. walt whitman and his wonderful poem, his eulogy written after the douglas lincoln describes lincoln as the great western star eliminating a landscape and in a sense that's what lincoln was always to me. this kind of beautiful, wonderful star but also a little bit removed and someone inaccessible. i didn't see him very well attached to his contemporary culture and then i spent years thinking about it as the greatest literary period in american literary history.

emerson, thoreau, hawthorne, walt whitman and then a such suh wonderful figures as frederick douglass. beecher stowe, just too much going on in a wonderful period. in they didn't know about lincoln at all but they said both. he said i wish you would step aside in the house and this is at the time low and behold four

years later here comes abe sold as a honest abe and lincoln didn't particularly like that name or mr. president or mr. lincoln. he preferred lincoln but he did say they knew i wasn't going to get elected without the image. it's about the intersection between him and basically what got him elected which was his knowledge on contemporary america. there's all ranges of culture from the lowest to highest. lincoln could recite shakespeare by the page and many other

poets. not to brag because these lines meant something to him. anded he liked humor and everything in between. sappy parlor and so forth so he strongly believed it was shaped by conditions that stated he believed in the individual's capacity to shape so my book is about that interchange between him and how that guided him into the presidency. he was compared often to the

famous tightrope walker that went back and forth across niagara falls, no neck, backwards, forwards, on stilts, pushing a wheelbarrow, many curtains portrayed the few times he compared himself and people would say can't you go faster and he would say would you tell him to t tilt this way or that way, to the left or the right. i had to stay centered here. if i don't, some would go to slow or too fast and if i don't something bad is going to happen for example the border states. if we lose kentucky, we would lose everything. so i have to stay centered. and it was also confronted in the culture that is turbulent, rowdy and fragmented. he once called america full of

mobs that were attacking african-americans and immigrants and they call for a strict respect of positive law in that case such as spiritualism. he was very much aware of this but he said we have to concentrate on one and it was a possible spread to the west that was opened up.

for the deliverance it became a war to get rid of slavery which lincoln lived to see the passage of the 13th amendment. he then began the first to publicly endorse the vote for african-americans so he loved poetry and on april 1965 when he was on a boat from virginia to washington and that's the day lee surrendered to grant and everyone was saying mission

accomplished. he was thinking of the 800,000 people that died in the civil war. that's where his thoughts were it wasn't so much about how great the north is but it was an outreach in poetry and after all the most channeled concentrated language with meaning so wonderfully and his greatest speeches are postponed, short like the gettysburg address, second inaugural address is 700 odd words but this is really poetic and what lives with us today with malice towards men, of the people, by the people and for the people. this is still language that

survived. since he loved poetry so much i would like to recite langston hughes who in 1926, shortly, about four years after the memorial langston hughes wrote this poem. the lincoln monument. let's go see old abe is sitting in the marble in the moonlight. sitting lonely in the marble the moonlight. quiet for 10,000 centuries. quiet for a million years. quiet and get a voice for ever against the timeless walls of

time. thank you. >> i would like to remind audience members iff you have a question you can use it with the q-and-a bottom of the screen. first question is for you. why did you become a historian? >> that is a wonderful question. i was inspired by my parents who both immigrate to the country from turkey and germany and they felt they wanted to get to know the place which happened to be northern virginia so they took me to the smithsonian institute and various sites init the regi. i remember the smithsonian

captured my imagination at a young age exposed to the artifacts and sites and their own love for history and a sense that u.s. history was an important as fascinating as their own backgrounds were. they really inspired me to be in the story and again cites museums. there's just no substitute for getting to see and hold artifacts and imagine your place and so on. fororians are grateful

those. >> thank you so much professor. next is for you professor reynolds what surprised you in doing your research? >> great question. i think what surprised me was too many of our opinions of lincoln are just formed from today's perspective. we really have to understand him in his own time. one can cherry pick here and there particularly in his early speeches which was kind of a racist environment against stephen douglas. i was surprised in your closeness but from springfield when he lived in the

neighborhood where there were some 20 african-americans right through the presidency and sojourner truth, the african-american feminist and-a martin delaney is beyond black lives matter but a real radical and they found him the most prejudice person they had met and they were quite honest about that h so it kind of helps for e to understand why he does become the first president to endorse the vote for african-americans. >> thank you so much for that answer. the next question is for you. what did researching and writing the book illuminate about the changing hearts and minds and the polarization?

>> i think that in a sense this brings us back to lincoln who put forth the vision of the reunion that grand would eventually take up after the disastrous presidency of andrew johnson in which he attempted to blend a sort of desire of commitment and principle. we see him midway through the war promulgated a policy of amnesty to confederates who seem ready to change their hearts and minds. it's a policy that is well less known but very, very important. and i would essentially ask conservatives to pledge future loyalty to the union and lincoln

hoped to re-create the core in some of these occupied states. during the pledges of future loyalty so that was an olive branch if you will but at the same time, lincoln stood by his principles. emancipation made confessions to the independence there were some who are willing to go that far and lincoln wasn't willing to accept peace on his enemies terms. i made the case grand and lincoln were on the same page and that is to say we can be magnanimous butl we occupy the moral high ground and it's to accept your repentance.

the message back is that confederates would consider the demand for change as a form of punishment. the next question is from dawna. professor reynolds, how much more civil war history is yet to be discovered? >> i'm a great believer in what herman said. all subjects are infinite and the more we learn about a subject, the more infinite it becomes. book after book it reveals more and more dimensions and let me tell everyone now more than ever

there's a lot to be discovered because many newspapers, books that you would have to travel out,t, california, here, they ae everywhere they are online and youu can search them through databases. we could be at the dawn of a new scholarship. i teach at the graduate center mining archives and a lot of online archives are just wonderful so there's a lot of promise out there. we have time for one more question and we would love to hear from both of you. professor, let's start with you. was there an instance when you changed the course of the research or writing this book?

>> i would say, yes, i was looking at the union motivation. i studied the south a great deal, so for me, the learning curve was i read a lot of public deliverance discourse, so i was tempted initially to sort of dismiss as propaganda the kind of things politicians say to those with a certain kind of case and to promote their own power and success. so when i saw those echoes, the private sources of the rhetoric i realized.

as david said we have a wonderful access to both public resources but also to digitize letters and diaries we can compare and we always do in the cross referencingfe that's at te heart of the work, compare and contrast with the private ones, the retroactive pronouncements. >> let's hear from you, professor.ou did you change your mind in the course of your research? >> i think i changed my mind at the very beginning. originally i edited a book for norton and there's so much

intersection and howti they explain the activities and thoughts but i broadened it and it became a biography that tries to encompass so much of the culture that he knew. we have the local school culture, the church, whatever and how thattr intersects with this whole broadening for me was a major change. >> thank you so much, professor. to everyonee in the audience we appreciate the questions and i'm sorry we didn't get to answer more of them. i'm going to turn things over as

wea close out the program. >> what a great q&a. thank you for taking questions from the audience. most prizewinners have been featured on the online program where authors discuss their books in depth. if you enjoyed tonight's program and want to learn more, we encourage you to view both. they will be in the chat. we are also sharing links for the bookshop.org page where you can purchase army of deliverance and abraham lincoln and his time as well as copies of the e finalists books. the guilder lehrman institute has a whole range of public programs and resources for teachers, students and history lovers. we hope you will check out the website for more information on upcoming programs and to get further engaged. in particular we would like to invite everyone here tonight to join us one month from today for the annual gala happening online for the first time ever. you can learn more if you would like to.

last, we would like to thank the donors whose support allows us to provide this program for free. this helps to ensure that the scholarship situated in the mainstream of american history education and we are deeply grateful for your support. if you've enjoyed tonight's program and want to support the prize, you can do so on the link on the check. thank you for joining this evening and congratulations again, professor reynolds. i hope everyoneen has a nice evening and we hope to see you at another event soon.

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