Photo & video credit: Courtesy of CNN
“The biggest misconception of Lincoln is that he was perfect.”
“CNN is proud to be sharing this special screening in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. This will be a six part series that will begin airing on CNN on Sunday night, February 14th at 10:00 PM,” said CNN’s John Avlon and author of Lincoln and the Fight for Peace on the ZOOM premiere of Lincoln: Divided We Stand before introducing a prolific panel of political historians – John Greenspan, curator of political history at the Smithsonian National Museum of American history; Harold Holzer, legendary Lincoln scholar and author; & professor Michelle Mitchell from New York University.
About the series: This is a six-part series that takes a holistic approach to the remarkable and unexpected story of Abraham Lincoln by delving into his complicated inner world, seamlessly interweaving his tragic personal life with his history making political career. Through a mix of expert interviews, cinematic recreations, rare artifacts, and never before broadcast photos and letters, LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND will take viewers on a transcendent journey into the life and times of this iconic U.S. president. The first in the series is called Rising Star, exploring the early years of Abraham Lincoln and the lesser known aspects of his life before political stardom, from his hard, frontier roots to his courtship of a complicated woman who will later push him to great political heights.
“Lincoln is the forever American. He is a President for all seasons, but in some seasons more than others and this is a truly remarkable moment in American history where I think we need a Lincoln more than perhaps we have in recent years,” added Avlon.
“Sometimes we reach for history because we want to be assured that it’s been worse before and we’ll get through it and indeed it has, and we will, but, one of the things that struck me just listening even to the debates in the House of Representatives around impeachment was how often Lincoln was referenced by politicians on both sides of the aisle to advance their own arguments.” Michelle Mitchell
“He built great achievements in bringing people who were really at odds with him politically – people who were far to his right conservative Democrats, who nonetheless fought for his side and sometimes voted for him and abolitionists who thought he wasn’t going far enough. So Lincoln is really a testament to building the largest possible coalition to maintain the union and democracy in America.” John Greenspan
“I think we’re not teaching the nuances or even the basics of 19th century American history in secondary schools. We’re not preparing people to perform any kind of deep analysis or debate about these representational works. It’s a frustrating time for Americans. They want their history to be perfect and then want their future to be better. And I understand that, I think that working on the future is probably more important than rewriting the past.” Harold Holzer on monuments
If you like history, you will love this series. It is particularly interesting learning about the early life of Lincoln and how that shaped his future.
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