University News

Photo credit: Alusic Inc. 2009
[Download Print-Quality Image]

"Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime" Lecture Oct. 27

October 26, 2010

Share |
Printer friendly version

MACOMB, IL – One of the nation's leading authorities on Abraham Lincoln is the Honorable Frank Williams, former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and a distinguished lawyer. Williams will present "Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 in Morgan Hall 109 on the Western Illinois University-Macomb campus. The lecture is open free to the public.

Williams is the author of "Judging Lincoln" (2002), co-author of "The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views" (2008) and 10 other books on Lincoln; a member of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.

In a review of "Judging Lincoln," William C. Harris, professor emeritus of history at North Carolina State University and an award-winning Lincoln scholar, wrote: "'Judging Lincoln' is a collection of nine essays that Williams has written during the past quarter century. The book includes 47 illustrations from his marvelous collection. While the topics of the essays differ, Judge Williams ties most of them to the influence of the discipline and rules that Lincoln learned as a lawyer. Williams reminds us that the law was a means to politics for Lincoln. The law provided Lincoln with the kind of broad background that enabled him to achieve his potential as a political leader. In the process of his growth, Lincoln blended 'the traditional differences between the law and politics into a singular democratic vision' that he followed into the presidency."

Justice Williams' Oct. 27 lecture is the second of three special presentations complementing the traveling exhibition "Lincoln: the Constitution and the Civil War," which is on display in the Leslie F. Malpass Library Garden Lounge at Western Illinois University until Nov. 19.

The final lecture will be presented by Bruce Levine, the J.G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History and Professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11 in Morgan Hall 109. His topic is "Abraham Lincoln as a Revolutionary Leader."

The exhibition, "Lincoln: the Constitution and the Civil War," was organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. High school and middle school teachers interested in bringing classes to view the exhibition should contact WIU Assistant Professor of History and Lincoln Project Director Timothy Roberts at (309) 298-1053, or e-mail TM-Roberts@wiu.edu to make arrangements for group visits.



Related Releases
Sept. 16 - Traveling Exhibit of "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War" at WIU
Oct. 7-Nov. 19

Oct. 12 - Abraham Lincoln as a War President" Panel Oct. 13

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing