Lincoln: The 16th president offers lessons in uniting a divided nation
As the country looks toward the inauguration of Barack Obama, some are wondering how he will fulfill his vow to bring people together, especially after such an angry, bitter campaign.
With race used as wedge issue in the election of 2008, perhaps it's not surprising to hear Obama so often quoting Abraham Lincoln -- another Illinois-lawyer-turned-politician whose presidency changed the way Americans talked about race.
"I think he's taking Lincoln's lead," said Ronald C. White Jr., a Lincoln historian whose book, "A. Lincoln: A Biography," will be published in January.
"Even on the night of his victory speech, he quoted Lincoln's first inaugural address: 'We are not enemies, but friends.'"
Lincoln's words will be celebrated this week in Gettysburg, and his legacy as a redeemer and unifier is being remembered as the bicentennial of his birth approaches Feb. 12.
Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address 145 years ago Wednesday, and the town of Gettysburg will commemorate the day.
This year, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is expected to speak during the ceremony at the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and the U.S. Mint will unveil the design of the Lincoln bicentennial commemorative coin.
On Thursday, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Jack Kemp are the featured guests at a town hall meeting at Gettysburg College to discuss equality and race -- an event sponsored by the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
Read entire article at York Daily Record
With race used as wedge issue in the election of 2008, perhaps it's not surprising to hear Obama so often quoting Abraham Lincoln -- another Illinois-lawyer-turned-politician whose presidency changed the way Americans talked about race.
"I think he's taking Lincoln's lead," said Ronald C. White Jr., a Lincoln historian whose book, "A. Lincoln: A Biography," will be published in January.
"Even on the night of his victory speech, he quoted Lincoln's first inaugural address: 'We are not enemies, but friends.'"
Lincoln's words will be celebrated this week in Gettysburg, and his legacy as a redeemer and unifier is being remembered as the bicentennial of his birth approaches Feb. 12.
Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address 145 years ago Wednesday, and the town of Gettysburg will commemorate the day.
This year, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is expected to speak during the ceremony at the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and the U.S. Mint will unveil the design of the Lincoln bicentennial commemorative coin.
On Thursday, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Jack Kemp are the featured guests at a town hall meeting at Gettysburg College to discuss equality and race -- an event sponsored by the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.