harold holzer, go ahead. guest: there has been a robust anti-lincoln tradition that insists the war was fought for in cities reasons that have nothing to do with slavery and had everything to do with the economy and vague notions of economic dominance there were going to be imposed by industrialists in the north. history does not bear this out. history bears out lincoln really desired to see this union of states continued, for majority rule to continue, and for slavery to be eradicated. this idea he used power for the sake of power, i think it is absurd. to show how far we have come thanks in part to lincoln, the bible that president obama has taken two oaths on, it was not really lincoln's bible. it was one they scurried around to find on inauguration day. it was the bible used in the supreme court. it was read every morning in court. the bible president obama took his oath on is the bible that roger taney relied on to say that african-americans should never be citizens. host: how was lincoln viewed by the p

harold holzer, go ahead.uest: there has been a robust anti-lincoln tradition that insists the war was fought for in cities reasons that have nothing to do with slavery and had everything to do with the economy and vague notions of economic dominance there were going to be imposed by industrialists in the north. history does not bear this out. history bears out lincoln really desired to see this union of states continued, for majority rule to continue, and for slavery to be eradicated. this idea he used power for the sake of power, i think it is absurd. to show how far we have come thanks in part to karen jacobs, -- in part to lincoln, the bible that president obama has taken two oaths on, it was not really lincoln's bible. it was one they scurry around to find on inauguration day. it was the bible used in the supreme court. it was read every morning in court. the bible president obama took his oath on is the bible that roger tawny relied on to say that african-americans should never be citizens. host: how was

as well we have harold holzer, and i think this is his third or fourth time on. senior vice president for external affairs at the metropolitan museum of art, co-chair of the u.s. lincoln bicentennial commission, may it rest in peace. has authored or co-authored 44 books on lincoln and the civil war and is a specialist in imagery and the go-to guy for the media on anything lincoln. he has a nice artifact collection, too, for that matter, and hopefully we'll get you on artifact whisperer. he's won the never vines freeman award here at the chicago round table, three achievement awards from the lincoln group of new york and also the james robertson young readers' award from the round table of new york, and that really goes right to the book he's done today, which is his latest book, "how abraham lincoln ended slavery in america: a companion book for young readers." it's a division of harpercollins,224 pages, illustrated, and it's $16.99, and we can get you this signed as well in first edition. well, thank you both for joining us here at the shop, and have a ton of qu

of you still with us, a special treat -- an excerpt from a conversation with lincoln historian harold holzer and actor sam waterston who played lincoln twice -- once in the 1988 gore vidal tv miniseries "lincoln," and again in the 1993/94 lincoln center theater production of "abe lincoln in illinois." in this segment, waterston takes us behind the scenes and shares his preparations for the role. sam, when you first knew you were going to play lincoln, were you intimidated? >> actually, i was kind of protected by my own ignorance. and it wasn't really intimidating until i began to do the research. i went to the library of congress. and i was standing there, looking around. there were thousands and thousands of card files all over the place. i didn't know where to begin. and a nice woman came up to me and said, "you look lost, can i help you?" and i said, "yeah actually, i was wondering if you had anything here about lincoln. and she said, "well, actually, we are the lincoln library. and may i ask you why you're interested?" and i said, "well, because i'm going to be playing him." and she said

after that on a "washington journal" with harold holzer. tomorrow on "washington journal," will rahh examine the politics and public debate surrounding the automatic budget cuts. "u.s.a. today" reporter talks about squrt lapses at the center for disease and prevention. "washington journal" is live at 7:00 a.m. earn on c-span. >> i was fascinated by her feminist view, you know, remember the ladies or your going to be in trouble. she warned her husband. you can't rule without including what women want and what women have to contribute. this is 1700's, she's saying that. >> abigail adam, this monday night on c-span's new history series. she was outspoken about her views on slavery and women's rights. she provides a unique window into her life with john adams. join the conversation on abigail adams on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. >> four years ago, rob reiner spearheaded the legal battle against proposition eight would ban same-sex marriage in california. mr. reiner recently visited the commonwealth club of california to discuss his car

after that, harold holzer on the resurgence of interest in the life of abraham lincoln. then another chance to see the dedication ceremony for the rosa parks statue in the rotunda. tomorrow on "washington journal" huffington post reporter sabrina siddiqui will talk about the debates surrounding the automatic budget cuts and how it is affecting americans views toward government. alison young talks about her recent articles on security lapses in labs at the centers for disease control and prevention. they could pose bioterror threats. then, a discussion about the centennial of the 1913 women suffrage march in washington d.c. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern, on c-span. >> i was fascinated by her feminist view. remember the ladies or you are going to be in trouble. she warned her husband. you can't will without -- rule without concluding what women want and what they have to contribute. this is the 1700s. >> abigail adams, this monday night on c-span's new history series -- "first ladies, influence and image." she was outspoken about her views on slavery and w