Oct. 15, 2009

Norman – Two hundred years ago, a future president of the United States was born in a log cabin three miles south of Hogdenville, Kentucky, on the south fork of Nolin Creek in Hardin (now Larue) County.  His name and legacy lives on, including uniting a country in the depths of a civil war.  His name was Abraham Lincoln.

Two eminent historians will visit the University of Oklahoma Norman campus to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.  Daniel Walker Howe will present “Lincoln’s Opposition to the Mexican War,” on Thursday, Oct. 22 and Jean H. Baker will present “Lincoln in the White House: An Intimate Portrait,” on Thursday, Nov. 5.  Both presentations will begin at 7 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave., Norman.  Both presentations are free and open to the public.

Howe won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 and Baker is the author of eight books, including an award winning biography of Mary Todd Lincoln.

According to Robert L. Griswold, chair of the History Department and associate professor of history,  these scholars and their topics specifically were chosen not only for their wide-ranging scholar achievements but because they could present important dimensions of Lincoln’s life seldom seen by the general public.  “We wanted our offering to be distinctive from the other high quality programs commemorating Lincoln around the country,” said Griswold.

Funding for this series of lectures has been made possible by the Friends Of the College of Arts and Sciences, Barbara B. and William G. Paul Enrichment Fund, James H. and JoAnn H. Holden Enrichment Fund, Office of the President, Departments of Communications, History and Human Relations, The Carl Albert Center, African and African-American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies Programs.

For more information or accommodations on the basis of disability, contact Ben Keppel at bkeppel@ou.ed or (405) 325-6058.