And he argues that president lincoln was against slavery, but was willing to accept it in order to preserve the union. This is an hour and a half, hosted by the New York Historical society and the bryant park reading room. Thank you alex castle and paul room arrow. And thanks to the Bryant Park Corporation and the bryant park reading room, and the hsbc corporation and all those who have made it possible for me to appear here tonight. Its a particular privilege to speak here in new york city. Already, in 1860, as it remains today, new york was the nerve center of the nation. The herald, the tribune, the times, the three most influential and widely read newspapers in the United States, were publish right here. Each provides the historian with a wealth of insights, and each informs my presentation tonight. Here is what i am going to talk about. I focus on the fateful series of events in late 1860, and early 1861, when a president ial election triggered a grave crisis, and before long, a c
Republic, which is a radical experiment for its time. There were very few republics in the world. So, this is a risky venture, because it expects a lot of people. In a monarchy, the duty of the people is essentially to obey. But in a republic, the citizens must anticipate. They need to vote. They should follow issues. They should be involved in campaigns. And so, a republic asks much more of people. And this is the foundational generation for this american republic. Yet, this is also the peak period for Alcohol Consumption in america. So, there is a paradox in which the political thinking, the political ideology said we need a republic with a virtue. An electorate where the people are committed to the wellbeing, the common good of the country and should be willing to set aside their self interest to advance the common good. That is virtue. Yet, this is a time when people are drinking as never before, and you can see the statistics here that historians have come up with. In 1790, the pe
Of virginia. Ok, we have been talking in this class about the american republic, which is a radical experiment for its time. There were very few republics in the world. So, this is a risky venture, because it expects a lot of people. In a monarchy, the duty of the people is essentially to obey. But in a republic, the citizens must participate. They need to vote. They should follow issues. They should be involved in campaigns. And so, a republic asks much more of people. And this is the foundational generation for this american republic. And yet, this is also the peak period for alcoholic consumption in america. So, there is a paradox in which this is a period where the political thinking, the political ideology said we need a republic with a virtue. In other words an electorate , where the people are committed to the wellbeing, the common good of the country and should be willing to set aside their self interest to advance the common good. That is the concept of virtue. And yes, this i
Many aspects of daily life. That includes food, socializing and science. The u. S. Capital Historical Society provided video of this event. Today is the inaugural scholar series. We thought we would start with our own. Hes really one of the nations finest scholars on the First Congress. And the early period in the development of our country. We have been fortunate to have chuck as part of the u. S. Cbs society team for five years prior. Prior to that he was working on the First Congress program. He has put together a very imaginative presentation using primary sources like letters of the times. Where people wrote to one another about the science, the food, the culture and the back and forth that made early days in washington. That being said, we invite you to stay with us for your questions and answers. Chuck will do his presentation and i will work through the questions. We have a couple of questions. We may be able to do a couple of questions during the presentation, but the majority
Congress and that early period in the development of our country. We have been fortunate to have chuck as part of the uscs society team for five years, prior to that he was 27 years working on the First Congress program. And so he has put together a very imaginative presentation using primary sources, letters of the times, where people wrote to one another about the science, the food, the culture, and the back and forth that made early days in washington. That being said, we invite you to stay with us for your questions and answers. Chuck will do his presentation, and i will work through the questions and we have a couple of questions, we may be able to do a couple of questions during the presentation but the majority of our questions will be at the conclusion of the presentation. So please put your questions in and ill try to work them through both at the end and as we move forward. Thank you very much, chuck, for the work youve done to put this together and welcome to the platform. W