Renowned Lincoln scholars' speech to air on C-SPAN

Renowned Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield is scheduled to appear on C-SPAN 3 on Saturday, May 14, at 11 p.m. (CDT) and on Sunday, May 15 at 9:30 a.m. (CDT).

The network is expected to air part of Burlingame’s speech on “Lincoln & Secession: The Evolution of His Strategy”, which was delivered at Union League Club of Chicago on March 4, 2011. The speech was given as part of The Lincoln Inaugural Sesquicentennial, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of his oath of office.

When southern states seceded from the Union during the winter of 1860-61, Lincoln intended to take a hard line by reclaiming forts, court houses, mints, arsenals, and other federal facilities commandeered by secessionists. Persuaded to take a softer line, Lincoln refused to compromise on two essential matters: he would not sanction the expansion of slavery into the territories, nor acknowledge the legitimacy of secession. Dr. Burlingame explains why Lincoln changed his mind and why he rejected the one compromise likely to prevent war.

Burlingame’s two-volume biography Abraham Lincoln: A Life was the recipient of the 2010 Lincoln Prize. Burlingame received his Ph.D. in 1968 from Johns Hopkins University and joined the history department at Connecticut College in New London, where he taught until retiring in 2001 as the Sadowski Professor of History Emeritus. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois Springfield in 2009.

C-SPAN 3 is available locally on Comcast Cable channel 447 in Springfield. The channel is also available online at www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN3/.