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Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin-Prediscussion
BooksAdmin:
Team of Rivals
by
Doris Kearns Goodwin
"More books about Abraham Lincoln line the shelves of libraries than about any other American. Can there be anything new to say about our 16th president? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. - ..... Doris Kearns Goodwin has written an elegant, incisive study of Lincoln......." - New York Times
The Team:
William H. Seward
Salmon P. Chase
Edward Bates
Links:
NPR Review
Wilmot Proviso
Dred Scott Decision
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Fugitive Slave Law
Discussion Leaders: Ella & PatH
Ella Gibbons:
CHICAGO 1860. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION. WIGWAM HALL.
It was here that Abraham Lincoln won the nomination for the presidency despite the fact that three other candidates, rivals for the position, were powerful men, educated men, wealthy men from the states of New York, Ohio and Missouri.
It is here that Doris Kearns Goodwin, begins her wonderful book, TEAM OF RIVALS, a book that took her ten years to research and complete and the one she claims is her best book and her very best character to write about in all her 30 years as a historian. This Pulitizer Prize author writes so enjoyably that you will feel you would recognize these men, their wives, sweethearts, children and friends if you met them today.
COME JOIN US IN MARCH when we begin the book.
Meanwhile………
FEBRUARY, do you remember when we used to celebrate President Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th? Lincoln's Birthday is still a legal holiday in the states of Illinois, Connecticut, California, Missouri, New Yorik, New Jersey and Indiana.
Come post your anecdotes of Lincoln; personally I grew up in a house on Lincoln Street in a small town in Ohio and I have gazed in awe at the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in Washington. How about you?
PatH:
Welcome to the "Team of Rivals" pre-discussion. This is a truly addictive book. We will find ourselves caught up in the politics and personalities of a century and a half ago, and see how relevant they are to present times. Please come in, let us know you’re joining the discussion, and stay to chat. The formal discussion begins March 1, so plenty of time to get the book and get ready to go.
Ella Gibbons:
GOOD MORNING, PAT!
Here we are online and ready to meet anyone who drops by; I hope we have some company.
This month is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln and the country is celebrating this in myriad ways. Our newspaper lists books, movies, and TV programs all celebrating this event, plus local and national exhibits.
In Ohio, our statehouse and historical society are both celebrating with events throughout the month and there is a new Lincoln exhibit at the Smithsonian which is the first major exhibit in about 50 years and features some items never seen before.
So, Pat, what state are you from and what, if anything, is your state doing?
PatH:
I'm from Washington, DC, and now live in a Maryland suburb of DC. You're right, Ella, there's plenty going on.
The Smithsonian, as you have mentioned, has a fine new exhibit:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1210
This site has a virtual tour. They also have an exhibit of documents from the Lincoln Library in Springfield, IL.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1251
(Note--The Museum of American History is part of the Smithsonian.)
Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was shot, is celebrating too:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1210
Ford's theater has been renovated so it is a theater again, and productions with vaguely appropriate themes are staged there.
I'm not sure what Maryland is doing. They aren't as big on Lincoln as DC. I mean to go down to see the Smithsonian exhibit, but given the current track record of my fellow Seniorlearners of slipping on the ice, I'm going to wait for better weather.
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