Almost universally acknowledged by all of Lincoln's biographers is, or was, his nearly desperate need for a sense of humor.
Click play to listen. Recorded on November 7, 2009.
David Blight, professor of history at Yale University and one of the nation's foremost authorities on the American Civil War and its legacy, presents the 2009 Baskes Lecture in History. His lecture is timely, falling in the 200th anniversary year of Lincoln’s birth and in a period of renewed interest in the nation’s 16th president. Blight is the editor and author of six books, including A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Narratives of Emancipation and the prizewinning Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory.
This annual lecture recognizes a generous multiyear contribution to the Chicago Humanities Festival by Julie and Roger Baskes.
Teacher's Guide
The Chicago Humanities Festival has prepared a study guide for teachers interested in introducing this program to their students.
Download the study guide for this program.
