Oct. 29, 2009

Norman – Nearly 150 years ago, a certain family with two youngsters moved into the White House and began to make their mark on history with triumphs and tragedies.  The family would become one of the most well-known families in recent history: the Lincoln family.  One historian will give insight as to life in the White House during the Lincoln administration at a free, public presentation on the Norman campus of the University of Oklahoma.

Jean Harvey Baker, professor of history at Goucher College, will present “Lincoln in the White House: An Intimate Portrait,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 5 in Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.

The lecture is part of the 100th year celebration of Lincoln’s birth. 

Baker is the author of eight books, including a revisionist biography of Mary Todd Lincoln and several books on the Civil War and on suffragettes in the United States.  Ben Keppel, associate professor of history who has been working on this series of lectures, says that Baker’s “skill at using personal biography and family history to see the currents of American politics marks her as a pioneer in the study of politics as culture in the United States.” 

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.