Since the 1930s to honor the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. And this year we have a special opportunity to hear from an extraordinary speaker. And in introducing him i would like to repeat something that he said at the First National Republican Convention that he attended as a young man in 1884. He was part of a reform wing of the Republican Party, and they had an insurgent candidate to be temporary chair of the convention, taking on the candidacy of the Republican National committee. That candidate happened to be the africanamerican congressman from mississippi, john r. Lynch. Here is some of what our speaker said. It is now less than a quarter of a century since in this city, chicago, the Great Republican Party organized for victory and nominated Abraham Lincoln of illinois who broke the fetors of the slaves and rant them asunder forever. It is a fitting thing for us to choose to preside over this convention one of that race whose right to sit within these walls is due to the bl
I want to thank representative gerald connollys office for aranging the room, the 11th district of virginia for electing representative mcconnolly since hes been generous enough to be doing this and i want to thank the History Center for doing are had the work. The national History Center offers these briefings because everything has a history and when some of those everythings are within the realm of public policy, then its our obligation as historians to provide the Historical Context essential to inform, debate and decision making. That obligation forms the sole position in these briefings. Were not here to convince anybody of any particular legislation. Were here because understanding the implications of change and hence shaping its direction requires understanding it changes that have brought us to this juncture in the first place. And weve discussed in these meeting rooms the histories of immigration, Civil Military relations, executive orders, social security, commerce in outer
Land. She also talks about her research on the Point Reyes National seashore which used to be a Ranch Community before designated a National Park in 1960s. Her class is about an hour and ten minutes. So today, were going to be talking ant landscapes and preservation and sort of how we change the places your intention is not only understand the history of these protected spaces, but to make the process of preservation more visible. To make it more easier to understand the history of parks and how they have changed over time and sort of more importantly, why they have changed over time. Most of us when we think about preservation, we think about something saying the same. Yet perreservation changes thin. In the context of space here in the u. S. , theres this p presumption that Public Ownership is the best way to protect a landscape. We even see the miniseries by ken burns from a ways back on National Parks. It was called americas best idea, which is taken from a quote from wallace stign
Fruit long after their passing. It is also important to remember the contributions of any and play ands and sizes vital role to supporting the work we do here at the center, and that includes student research, fellowships, travel, and public programming and public education. Thank all of our friends at the center who are here today, and this eating an event on the topic of civil religion, i salute you as well. For those of you who are just learning about the centers work or if this is one of our first times if this is why your first times attending our talks, we want to make sense of the past, the current moment, and to shape our shared future. I would encourage you to become a friend of the center. There are envelopes touted around the room, stuck to the bottom scattered around the room, stuck to the bottom of your shoe. There are assignments as a table at the tables on the entryways that you can take with you. I would be remiss if i did not think the outstanding staff that works at t
The Lincoln Group has existed since the 1930s to honor the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. And this year we have a special opportunity to hear from an extraordinary speaker. And in introducing him i would like to repeat something that he said at the First National Republican Convention that he attended as a young man in 1884. He was part of a reform wing of the Republican Party, and they had an insurgent candidate to be temporary chair of the convention, taking on the candidacy of the Republican National committee. That candidate happened to be the africanamerican congressman from mississippi, john r. Lynch. Here is some of what our speaker said. It is now less than a quarter of a century since in this city, chicago, the Great Republican Party organized for victory and nominated Abraham Lincoln of illinois who broke the fetors of the slaves and rant them asunder forever. It is a fitting thing for us to choose to preside over this convention one of that race whose right to sit withi