brands talk about abraham lincoln. it's part of a symposium on his life and times. >> our first speaker is david s. reynolds, distinguished professor at the graduate center of the city university of new york. he is the author or editor of 16 books, including his current biography, abe, abraham lincoln in his times. this book has received numerous acolytes, including this year's abraham lincoln institute book award and a linking prize of the -- society. it's also among the wall street journal's top ten books of the year. his previous award-winning books include, walt with men's america, and john brown, abolitionist. professor david s. reynolds is a regular reviewer for the wall street journal. the new york times book review, and the new york review of. looks speaking today on lincoln and popular culture, we welcome david s. reynolds to the program. >> thanks. thank you very much, michelle. great to be here at the 2021 a li symposium to speak on lincoln in popular culture. let me thank the institute for recognizing my bo

perhaps not as limited as abraham lincoln's. he clearly was self educated. not to the extent of lincoln. on the subject of education, one of the things that became particularly interested in, how did john brown ever come up with ideas for engaging in military operations? when you let a small group of abolitionists in kansas, he engaged in military tactics. he was thinking and terms of what we need to do. he seems to have read various books on the military. he did not have the practical experience knows that there is make these things work when confronted with folks he actually knew what they're doing. one of the reasons that it proves such fiasco was that brown figured out how to get into harpers ferry. it is fairly easy if no one knows you're coming. getting out of harpers ferry, once the melissa had been alerted, once the towns people have come against getting it is nearly impossible. anyone with any military training any formal military education, would have realized that harbors barry is not the start of morgan's labor. that raises a question of harpers f

and repeated them was abraham lincoln who recognize these letters has eight periodicals and books from 1861, onward and present a lincoln enjoys writing so much that he often share them with others. he had kept them to memory sketches which he recited spontaneously at key moments when he didn't have this in the rainy would pull out the book from either or pocket or his drawer and read from it and one evening, group of politicians appeared and in the presence of his with a pile of official papers for him to consider and he looked at the documents clearly and push them aside and he pulled down from his drawer, the pamphlet any read one of those allowed and periodically broke out into an explosive left which a witness compared to wildhorse and is native prairie. and lincoln enjoyed reading the pamphlet so much that he jumped at the evening at the end of the reading, i want him to come down here i tend to tell him that if he will communicate his talent to me, i will swap places with him read say in adoration for him. what was it about davis ross block. they made him unique and lincoln's ey

and he stepped forward abraham lincoln has this wonderful story of two men who were wrestling and the more they wrestle they wrestle out of each other's clothes into the close of the other. and lincoln shows that to show how the parties had changed places. well, this is what was taking place the democratic party then was the party of state's rights today. it's the party of a strong central government. the republican party today is the party of state's rights under lincoln and grant it was the party of a strong central government. and so grant didn't begin. i think with that point of view, but as ron is laid out in a wonderful way the advent of the clan the terrorism that they produced grant had to step forward interestingly even as his own republican party was stepping back. there's a biblical verse about people growing weary and well doing and all the republicans get the credit and they should for the 13 14th and 15th amendments by the time grant steps forward. his own party is stepping back let the south solve this problem. so iran has said ackerman is appointed interestingly a man

so now we move from abraham lincoln to teddy roosevelt. i think no president had more sporting activities than teddy roosevelt late afternoon was a time for really active enterprise. it could be a boxing match a raucous game of tennis jujitsu a horseback ride his enormous capacity for work was matched by an enormous capacity for play. he particularly loved taking friends on hikes through rock creek parks wooded area and he made a simple rule you had to move point to point. you couldn't go around any obstacle if you came to a rock you had to go off you came to preview you had to go down it so there are stories of journalists and friends falling by the wayside in these ridiculous walks that he took but the best story was told by the french ambassador jewels juicer on he was so excited on his first walk with president. he came with his silk outfit on as if he were gonna walk in the sham say he say he found himself in the woods hating every minute of this walk. finally they came to the river. he thought thank god it's over. so he later wrote j

well, not since abraham lincoln has _ speech? well, not since abraham lincoln has a _ speech?ot since abraham lincoln has a president _ lincoln has a president delivered a speech like this, declaring that there was a fundamental threat to american democracy that was internal, not external. and that encompassed the other party, and more than that, the supreme court, which sees itself as able walk, but is rescinding basic american rights as we saw in roe vs wade. this was his launch before the mid—term to attempt to retain democratic control. i attempt to retain democratic control. ., ., control. i wonder, though, listening to his speech - control. i wonder, though, listening to his speech and some of the threat there, do you think voters will get the message or is it more about the cost of living increase in front of their noses? republicans have a lot that they can speak about, the problem they are having is creating a consistent narrative because of their own internal conflict, and the presence of donald trump, who is overwhelming everything. the criminal investigations into

rachel: i will go with abraham lincoln. will: i will go jackson. it is lincoln. abraham lincoln, cat guy, the guy who saved the country and founded the republican party, cat guy. guy. rachel: 3, 2, one. rachel: i don't like the founder of the republican party. pete: let that sink in. rachel: we will have to bribe have brian come in and display why abraham lincoln was a capitalist. he would know. will: a panel of experts blasting government response to covid 19 and demanding an investigation into the virus's origins. doctor marty makary is next. rachel: setting sail on a cruise, for first responders but first dj, take it away with we built this city, remember that? ♪ ♪ we just love the beat ♪ who counts the money ♪ underneath the barn ♪ snoring? because quality sleep is vital, the sleep number 360 smart bed can gently raise your partner's head to help. ah...that's better. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. don't miss our weekend special. save 30% on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed. ends monday. choosing a treatment for y

and abraham lincoln? southerners did make a lot of fun of lincoln for being a person who chopped wood. it did to the northern masses. i would say it's far more policy. in here i'll take the opportunity to address one of the questions about race. was lincoln hated because the criticism of them was racist? : : : so i think that connection between racism resettlement and policies takes us to the lincoln administration and reconstruction and gets redirected in the 20 century when it comes to people like johnson and nixon. >> i would say i'm going to offer a third option. jefferson not necessary policy that politics put himself forward as embodying his sword of small d democratic politics so he was needed in a sense for that combo. >> interesting. as is always the case there's so much more to say which is why we keep saying it. i want to thank our panelists for joining this roundtable. obviously we would much rather have done these things in person and we look forward to doing them again in person but it was a

it's abraham lincoln, i think was abraham lincoln said a house divided by itself will not stand. we are t weakened by this divisn and i would invite everyone to heal that up and to listen, and again to be fact-based. >> absolutely. could not agree more. we have time for i think one more question and this comes from karen. talking about the rapidity or the rapid miss of page and how quickly we can get some ingrained inertia. are the any best practices that you have seen from the military or from communities in san diego or the wider area that can help influence or inform other sectors and communities? >> i think, what i think a so genius about the military example is that it's so mission focused. it's just like they are just not tree huggers. yet they are driving this transition away from oil and gas where they can to support the mission. that's the best practice. you talk about becoming neutral as an organization or state or city -- carbon neutral -- i think just think call bs on the ideology in favor of facts. i think we should ride that train. i still think john amos and rave m

the concept is simply described by airfare ham lincoln -- by abraham lincoln of "a government by the people, for the people, of a -- the people" is fundamental for our two nations. your congress and our parliament or the twin pillars of our civilization and the peace among the many treasures that we have inherited from our predecessors. we, like you, are staunch believers in the freedom of the individual and the rules of a fair and just law. this support is shared with our european partners in the wider atlantic community. they are the bedrock of the western world. some people believe that power rose from the barrel of a gun. so it can but history shows that it never bodes well or for very long. in the end, it is sterile. we have known a better way. not rests on mutual agreement, -- that rests on mutual agreement, contract and -- new in significant part of yours is written down on your constitution. behind both however -- the sentiment behind both is the same. the spirit of democracy. these ideals are clear in us but they must never be taken for granted. they have to be protected and

that part's not so everything about that is, is abraham lincoln. and. then this one is to mrs. lincoln is on vacation with her son in new york city city. and this one is that the draft will go to you. so this is literally the checks in the mail tell tad the goats and father are are very well especially the goats and a lincoln. so again this is all in president's handwriting and then everything you see below that is going to be telegraph related. the date, the times and the telegraph operator. and then this is august 17th, 1864. so the background to this one is this as soon after the confederate army almost made way deep inside the nation's capital, d.c., there was politicians were very concerned that grant had taken too many troops with him in the overland campaign, and he'd kind of stripped too much from the fortifications of washington, around washington to go with him down towards richmond with his various overland battles between him and robert ely. so they were putting pressure on grant to return parts, if not most of the army of the potomac, to better protect the capital s

it was at this time he was in washington that tyler met president-elect abraham lincoln. he came away from lincoln very impressed. lincoln was quite unimpressed with john tyler he returned the favor. once virginia seceded from the union in 1861, tyler won election to the provisional kind congress and eventually sought election to the permanent congress, he won. this is the best example of how politics retains its hold on him. how he was addicted to politics. he died before he would take a seat in congress he died january of 1862. but he should have stayed out of it. i'm very critical of him for the decision to get back into politics. critical because it really tarnishes historical reputation beyond repair. he was starting to enjoy a little bit more of the statesmen like settlement the american people had for him. a lot of bad feelings that had developed on him being banished from the whigs ranks had seceded in historical memory a little bit. getting involved in the politics again , coming up of retirement and part of the confederate government ruined all of that. he renoun

washington abraham lincoln and ulysses s grant but he didn't stop there. he went on to say of second rank or benjamin franklin. alexander hamilton andrew jackson of second rank so this is the way theodore roosevelt understood ulysses s grant in 1900 i'm so pleased that in 2022. we are restoring him to his rightful place as my editor said when we talked about doing a grant biography don't you think grants do for an upgrade? yes, he is. thank you very much. dr. white you are as good a storyteller in person as you are when you read the book. president grant comes alive both in the challenges and in the opportunities today we gather as part of our understanding of public memory the capital historical society is dedicated. to ensuring that our public memory is presented in a way to inspire inform patriotism? mr. blanton, thank you for your work. thank you for your creation and dedication to recreate this statue to the glory it belongs. we thank senator blunt for sponsoring us to be here for sponsoring the legislation. we thank senator brown. congresswoman ann w

abraham lincoln lost. when did politics start claiming they could not lose? we have a victim hood culture that since fec -- that is inspecting heart of the national soul, i spent a lot of book critiques left wing woke victim hood coolture. the way that woke left wins is not with a bang but a whimper. getting the other side to copy their methods, and idea are not losing an election when you lose it, whether a democrat or a republican is the beginning of a national decline. not so much it is just a threat to d democracy. but for me, a stom of a deeper victim hood culture that mails to recognize hardship is not the same thing as victimhood. it is a shame that republican party has copied methods of its opponents rather than rising to the occasion. i wrote the book to light a fire under their seat. trey: you wrote there are only two ways to win a culture war, defeat the other side, or infection it with your own values. >> i drew analogy in my book to take war on terror. part of what distinguishes you from the other side, you are not willing to adopt the method of

abraham lincoln to grant the grant for yosemite valley to the state of california for as a public park in. it was in trust for the whole nation. we wish to emphasize all of the reform i've been talking about was contingent on the dismantlement of slavery and a fraction fatally fractured political system. replacing. that system forever without a union victory aided by the mobilization of approximately 180,000 black soldiers, legislation for yosemite and for that matter, as the template of all national parks that followed might never have been. in fact if the legislation for the assembly grant had been introduced, perhaps just a few years earlier, in the prior. it would have been vetoed and not passed. like all the rest of the republican legislation for land grants, it just would have failed with the rest of them. the 1864 yosemite act as as ethan is described, drew its inspiration from central. and near the end of the war. relocated to california. frederick olmstead was asked to write that report to guide the future management of yosemite as a public park. but he took opportunity not on

at this time while it was in washington for the peace conference the tyler met president elect abraham lincoln. he came away from lincoln dirty unimpressed. lincoln was quite unimpressed with john tyler. he returned the favor. once virginia seceded from the union and april 1861. tyler won election to the provisional confederate congress. and eventually sought election to the permanent congress. he won. this is the best example of how politics retained its hold on him. how he was addicted to politics. he died before he could take a seat in the congress. he died on january 18 1862. but he should've stayed out of it. i'm very critical of him for this decision to get back into politics. critical because it really tarnished his historical reputation beyond repair. he was starting to enjoy a little bit more of the statesman like sentiment that the american people had for him. a lot of the bad feelings that have developed over him being banished from the week ranks while he served as president has receded in historical memory a little bit. getting involved in politics again, coming out of retirement,

and abraham lincoln threatened to hang these confederate privateers men because he viewed them as nothingre than so. jefferson davis said, well, hold on, abe. we didn't say that. he wrote a very formal letter. he said, if you start hanging confederate privateers men, we are going to hang one for one. union soldiers that we have in our prisons. so lincoln never went through the hangman's and actually the congress of the north of the union passed a resolution that allowed abraham lincoln to issue letters of mark to the congress. they never went through with it. and after about a year and a half, the confederacy stopped issuing letters of marque because it wasn't having much an impact on the war and the alabama and the shenandoah and other confederate raiders doing a much better job of it. so after the american civil war, we still have privateers on the books. and although we don't talk about it, the book there is a small underway today and there was a bill issued. what's the word presented introduced in congress a couple months ago that wanted to revive american privateering an issue letter

a book on abraham lincoln coming out next february. his work is going to be important to our conversation here tonight. as will the work of one lindsay chervinsky an expert on the cabinet, presidential history, presidential institutions, a senior fellow for the president university at southern fellow university. a professorial lecturer at public affairs of george washington university. also an open rank fellow for the international study for jefferson studies at monticello. doctor lindsay chervinsky is the author of the award-winning book the cabinet, george washington in the american american institution. joseph j. ellis it's one of the nation's leading al author of more than a dozen books, alice was awarded the pulitzer prize for founding brothers the revolutionary generation. he won the national book award for american sphinx, his biography is thomas jefferson. his most recent book, the cause, the american revolution and its discontents comes out tomorrow. all of our guests are great friends of mount vernon. we are so pleased to be

all of this is then presidential historian jon mea meacham, the author of "then there was light abraham lincoln and the american struggle." thank you for joining us. good evening to you, sir. this felt like a lot bigger than a portrait unveiling to me and to most americans, michelle obama stressing the peaceful transfer of power. she said once our time is up, we move on. it's hard not to think about that in the context of the former president 45, his attack on our democracy. >> it's impossible not to think of it. she uses the word tradition to hand on sand one of the strengts of the american public has changed in scope but it has been the nature of the people who rise to the pen knicle of power they try to model the best of american character and that's the kind of things mrs. obama and president obama were talking about. it's you do your duty, you fulfill your term, you try to fulfill your oath and you pass it on. and that has been broken in recent years. this is a 40-year, i think, about 45-year tradition that we saw today. i think i'm right president carter is the first president that asked

abraham lincoln has bravely both rejected compromise in the secession winter of 1860 61. was an entirely rational deal on the table to preserve slavery, extend the missouri compromise line and just kick the can down the road. which is what we had done again and again and again in the united states. lincoln said no. his top advisors did not want him to go to war over -- but he said no and in 1862, in the midterm elections we republicans lost something like 23 seats in the house. they lost their working majority in the house. think about that for a second, abraham lincoln lost a clear majority in the house of representatives in 1862. and so they lost the governorships of new york and new jersey. and we forget this, the civil war now feels in memory like an episode of star wars right. it was good guy versus bad guys. not the case. in the sense that there was a significant element in the north that wanted to end the war, that were not ferociously anti slavery and thought lincoln was too anti slavery. it was fighting this war for a cause that they didn't really care about. and

but i always say that when i went as age six to see the presidential side of the birthplace of abraham lincoln as a six-year-old. what made the biggest impact on me was the replica of the log cabin that they have there in the replica of the lincoln memorial and the next thing that made such an impact on me. they said this is a tree that was here when abraham lincoln was born and somehow just knowing that there was something living there from when he was born just made such an impact on me. so also as a native, kentucky and i have to think both about and mrs. lincoln, and we talked in one of the earlier panels, of course about all of us having to deal with different kinds of media, but she was really savaged in the media was she not during the civil war and so can we talk about that and and then maybe also get into the larger discussion of how first ladies have dealt with media and the changes in media. so i open that up to our group and i start with the dolly connection because this was her this was maybe a fatal decision on mary todd lincoln, by the way. i love that story because that really

abraham lincoln said of douglass, there is no man in the country whose opinion i value more than yours. and that lincoln second inauguration douglass sat near the president. how came to be on the side of the president is a story told in the color of abolition. our featured book for today's program. linda hirshman describes how the team of douglas william garrison and maria weston chapman successfully promoted the anti-slavery cause in the 1840s. by the early 1850s, however, douglass joined with those who actively engaged in politics to achieve abolition and rejected the nonpolitical means espoused by garrison and chapman. new york times review. william g. thomas the third cause the color of abolition. a fresh, provocative and account of the abolition movement. and in the boston globe review, lydia molen declares hirshman the book is a wonderful cataloging of americans white and black, who devoted their lives to ending slavery. then the hirshman is the author of reckoning the epic battle against sexual abuse and harassment of the new times bestselling sisters in how sandra day o'connor,