Introduction Abraham Lincoln may be one of the most familiar figures in American history.That familiarity can be misleading.We know the beard.The stovepipe hat.The Gettysburg Address.The Emancipation Proclamation.The assassination.The marble figure seated inside the Lincoln Memorial.But historical familiarity is not the same as historical understanding.The … [Read more...] about Abraham Lincoln: What Historians Really Know and Debate
presidential power
Abraham Lincoln and Slavery: War, Power & Change
Introduction Abraham Lincoln is one of the most admired figures in American history.He preserved the Union.He issued the Emancipation Proclamation.He supported the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery.He became the president most closely associated with emancipation and with the survival of American democracy during its greatest internal crisis.But … [Read more...] about Abraham Lincoln and Slavery: War, Power & Change
No Kings Day Debate: Is the U.S. President a Modern King?
Introduction by Ken Burns In 1776, a group of ordinary citizens declared something extraordinary: that there would be no kings in America. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the idea that sovereignty rests not in a crown, but in the people themselves.Yet, two and a half centuries later, the question echoes still: Who holds … [Read more...] about No Kings Day Debate: Is the U.S. President a Modern King?