Lincoln Bicentennial

Michael Bishop

In the course of our national life there are occasions when we, as citizens, should pause to contemplate the lives and examples of those who have come before us. One such momentous occasion looms ahead: the two hundredth birthday of Abraham Lincoln on 12 February 2009. As is the custom when great national events are to be celebrated, the United States Congress has taken an active role in preparing for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) was created by Congress and charged with planning a fitting and proper celebration of our greatest president's two hundredth birthday. The fifteen-member bipartisan Commission, cochaired by Senator Richard Durbin, Congressman Ray LaHood, and noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer, is a diverse group of political leaders, jurists, scholars, and collectors united by their admiration for Lincoln and devotion to his ideals. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Commission is planning to celebrate the life of Lincoln through educational initiatives, film projects, traveling exhibitions, a new penny, a commemorative coin and stamp, and a joint meeting of Congress, to name a few.

The Organization of American Historians is well represented among the membership of the ALBC. James O. Horton of The George Washington University and president-elect of the OAH is a member, as are Darrel Bigham of the University of Southern Indiana, and eminent Lincoln scholar Gabor Boritt of Gettysburg College.

The Commission is aware that it cannot plan such an important celebration without the assistance, ideas, and enthusiasm of both experts and the general public. Its Advisory Committee, made up of more than one hundred historians, businesspeople, artists, and actors, has already contributed immensely to the effort. Hundreds of valuable suggestions have already been received through our website <http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/>, and we encourage everyone to visit and submit their ideas for the bicentennial celebrations.

The bicentennial in 2009 will not be the first major public observance of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. In 1909, the Lincoln Centennial Commission marked the one hundredth birthday of the Great Emancipator through a variety of celebrations and was responsible for the placement of the Lincoln profile on the penny. The work of the Commission led eventually to the construction of the Lincoln Memorial. In 1959, the Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission published educational pamphlets, sent Lincoln scholars around the world to teach about his life and example, and placed the image of the Lincoln Memorial on the penny. The work of these two commissions, which was far more extensive and consequential than can be adequately described here, is further illuminated in Merrill Peterson's brilliant Lincoln in American Memory (Oxford University Press, 1994).

Scholars uncomfortable with the "great man" approach to history would do well to remember that any discussion of Lincoln must automatically lead to study and debate over some of the most important and perplexing historical questions. The study of Lincoln is much more than the veneration of a murdered saint; it is also an examination of American slavery and race relations. If commemorating the life and career of Abraham Lincoln brings forth "the better angels" in American society, the bicentennial celebration will have proven worthwhile.

The commission seeks not only to celebrate the accomplishments of Lincoln, but to remember him as he truly was. It is important to remember that Lincoln was a deeply controversial president, and that a significant percentage of the American public opposed his war policies. Even as the very existence of the nation was threatened, opponents of the war called for a negotiated peace. Lincoln was vilified in the press and portrayed as a baboon and a bloodthirsty tyrant. While his administration occasionally resorted to draconian measures such as suspending the writ of habeas corpus, Americans were for the most part entirely free to criticize their president and his policies. Though Lincoln may have strained against it, he did not break the Constitution.

Perhaps the most important component of the upcoming bicentennial observances will be education. The sad statistics are there for all to see: young Americans are often stunningly ignorant of their own history. Such historical amnesia threatens the ability of young people to mature into responsible citizens, and a lack of appreciation of our shared past makes it more difficult to knit together a unified society in an increasingly multicultural age. Under the able leadership of Darrel Bigham, the Education Committee of the ALBC has already gathered remarkable ideas for teaching the story of Lincoln. Through teacher training initiatives, the formulation of stimulating lesson plans, and creative use of film, television, and the Internet, historians can help bring Lincoln alive to new generations of Americans.

The commission looks forward to the enthusiastic support of the Organization of American Historians as we seek not only to celebrate the life of a great American, but also to renew interest in the subject of history among students and the public. Your ideas and enthusiasm are vital to the success of our work, and we ask that you contact us with any thoughts or questions at <http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/>.

Michael Bishop is executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission