Date & Time
Applications for this program have closed. This seminar examines American slavery, abolition, self-government, the Civil War, and the Constitution through the writings of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Both statesmen believed in America as the best hope for freedom they often disagreed on how to achieve it. The readings will present their respective views regarding how Americans should promote freedom for all under the U.S. Constitution.
We will consider their views about how to rid the nation of slavery, prosecute the war to suppress the southern rebellion, and incorporate the freedmen and freedwomen into post-war America. Participants will consider questions such as Why did Lincoln consider himself anti-slavery but not an abolitionist? How did they differ in interpreting the Constitution? Why did not Lincoln not agree with Douglass, initially, in making the war to preserve the Union a war to abolish slavery? Why did Douglass insist that Lincoln permit black Americans to serve in the Union army and why did Lincoln not do so at the start of the war? Why did Lincoln not emancipate slaves at the outset of the war, and what reasons did he give when he finally decided to do so on January 1, 1863? What were their goals for post-war Reconstruction?
This seminar will include first person historical interpretation of Frederick Douglass, a scholarly content lecture, facilitated discussions of primary sources from both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, as well as a lesson demonstration from a Master Teacher to provide participants with a ready-made activity for the classroom.
Please note: For the field study day, participants should be prepared to walk significant distances, including up to one mile at a time, as part of the program. Some historic sites and other locations included in the itinerary may not be fully ADA compliant due to the age of the buildings and may lack elevators or other accessibility features.
Speaker:
Lucas Morel
Professor Morel has taught at W&L since July 1999. He also teaches in the summer Master’s Program in American History and Government at Ashland University in Ohio; summer programs for the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy; and high school teacher workshops sponsored by the Ashbrook Center, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute, the Jack Miller Center, the Bill of Rights Institute, and the Liberty Fund.
In 2008-09, he was the Garwood Visiting Research Fellow at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.
Prof. Morel is a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, former president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a consultant on Library of Congress exhibits on Lincoln and the Civil War, and was a member of the scholarly board of advisors for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He currently serves on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which will plan activities to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Coming soon
The 3-day (Friday – Sunday) seminar is a new category of PD program for Founding Forward held through-out the year. Each summit will include historic interpreters, a content-lecture from a scholarly expert, a faculty-led discussion of relevant primary sources, and an appropriate field study of historic sites, archives, and museums.
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