for example, one thing i found interesting was douglas freeman, the biographer robert e. lee. he spends a lot of time leading up to world war ii and during world war ii trying to turn robert e leeld winto a relevant figure for americans in the second world war. he talks about his military strategy and otherr plans he has. even douglas freeman at one point writes this essay,, antique knowledges that lee is an important symbol. so is abraham lincoln. essay, antique knowledges that the power of abraham lincoln was so much that even somebody like douglas freeman had to acknowledge that at this moment, the historical figure who seems most relevant to what we're doingure is abraham lincoln. >> fdr being overly cautious, if you look at hisdr bei resultt was the same in those states. epeople might vote for segregationist congressman and governors, but they adored fdr. >> i think you are right about that absolutely. one more? yes, i do have one more. >> this was a wonderful talk. nderi always thought fdr embracd jefferson more than lincoln. did he connect the two? i always felt that je

douglas freeman at onee point writes this essay, he aknowledges that lee is an important symbol. but so is abraham lincoln. the power of abraham lincoln was so much that even somebody like douglas freeman had to acknowledge that at this moment, the historical figure who seems most relevant to what we're doing is abraham lincoln. >> fdr being overlyme i if you look at his results, it was the same in those states. people might vote for segregationist congressman and governors, but they adored fdr. >>>> i think you are right about that absolutely. one more? yes, i do have one more. >> this was a wonderful talk. i always thought fdr embraced lincoln. more than did he connect the two? i always felt that jefferson was more in the forefront than lincoln. efin important.on was definitely the fdr spoke at the dedication of the jefferson memorial in the 1930's. 's.1943. thank you. it is not as if jefferson was t being overlooked. he does take opportunities to infuse jefferson in things he talks about. momentso think about. when he connects the two. si don't think so. to current events kind

so for example you know, one thing i found interesting was douglas freeman who was the biographer of robert e. lee, he spends a lot of time in the 19 -- leading up to world war ii and during world war ii trying to turn robert e. lee into a relevant figure for americans in the second world war. he talks about his military strategy and other ideas and plans he has so he kind of tries to elevate robert e. lee but even douglas freeman at one point writes this essay and he sort of acknowledges and says, lee is an important symbol but so is abraham lincoln. it is like the power of lincoln was so much so that even somebody like douglas freeman had to acknowledge, yes. at this moment the historical figure who seems most relevant for what we are doing is abraham lincoln. >> i would just point out f.d.r. being overly cautious, i think if you look at his vote results from '32 through '44 it was the same in those states. people might vote for segregationist congressmen and senators and governors but they adored f.d.r. >> i think you are right about that. absolutely. that means take one more but

about his military strategy and other ideas and plans, and he tries to elevate him, but even douglas freeman says "lee is an important symbol, but so is ab ra hamm lincoln. it was so much that even someone like doug last freeman had to acknowledge that yes, at this moment it feels more relevant. >> fdr being overly cautious, it was the same in those states, people might vote for segregationist congressmen, senators, and governors, but they adored fdr. >> i think you're right about that, absolutely. maybe i don't have one more. >> this was a wonderful talk. i have to be honest. i always thought that fdr embraced jefferson more than lincoln, did he connect the two at any point, i was looking fiercely for any speeches, but i felt like jefferson was more on the forefront than lincoln but maybe not. >> he was definitely important. so 1943, thank you. so he did speak at the jefferson memorial. it is not as if she being overlooked. i'm trying to think of moments where it elevated at least for roosevelt and other people not just in the new deal administration, and when i think about popular culture,

journalists, like bruce catten, glen tucker, burke davis, douglas freeman. poe, et cetera like shelby foot and robert penn warren were naturally drawn by their instincts for drama to take on the task of writing civil war history. much of their work is still riveting but they didn't often compromise suspense and drama by devilling too deeply into the nuances of motives or the debates of validity over the debates of one source over another. they told a go story and to some extent they made it less complicated to make it less challenging for readers. neither shelby or claimed to be historians. they both called themselves story tellers. probably the first and most important lesson i learned from the '60s onward was how incredibly complex and nuanced and entangled is the story of the coming of the war. and the deeper one looks into it, the deeper the search has to go. to this day, i suspect no one still has definitively explained it, and definitive explanation may be impossible as are so many things when human beings are at the helm. i had no idea in 1969 how ine