The First Thanksgiving

President Lincoln's Proclamation Secretary of State William Seward drafted Abraham Lincoln's proclamation in 1863 establishing the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving and praise "to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." Seward's prose was not nearly as poetic as Lincoln's, but the fact that the president and his chief advisers could look to the Almighty and give thanks in the middle of an awful civil war is most assuredly a testament to their ultimate faith in the grand experiment called The United States of America. The full Lincoln proclamation is here. A happy and blessed Thanksgiving. And, thanks for visiting The Johnson Post.

More Lincoln...at Cole and Ustick

Lincoln As War Leader Mark this post down as "shameless self promotion." On October 15th at 7 pm, I'll be at the marvelous new Boise neighborhood library at Cole and Ustick for a talk on the Abraham Lincoln as a war leader. A big and happy crowd (above) gathered at the new library a few weeks back when it opened. The Library has been nice enough to host both of my Idaho Humanities Council Speaker's Bureau lectures on the great Lincoln. The upcoming talk explores how Lincoln, with virtually no military experience, invented the role of "Commander in Chief" and became a better military strategist than most of his Civil War generals. Here is a link to more on the event. Hope you will consider attending.

Speaking of Lincoln

Acclaimed Lincoln Scholar Will Speak in Boise October 29th Harold Holzer has been in high demand this year. The bicentennial of the birth of the 16th President of the United States has found Holzer lecturing, often several times a week, from coast to coast. The outstanding Lincoln scholar will be hosted by the Idaho Humanities Council on October 29th. If you have not made plans to attend - you should. It will be a great event. Holzer - his day job is Senior Vice President for External Affairs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - is the co-chair of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and has received the National Humanities Medal. His latest of many Lincoln books is focused on Lincoln President-elect and deals with his struggles with succession even before reaching the White House. The four months between Lincoln's election and his taking office were among the most important days in the nation's history. Holzer's book - Lincoln at Cooper Union - is a fine piece of work that explains Lincoln's rise as a national political figure following his famous speech early in 1860 in New York City. Once again, the Idaho Humanities Council has hit a home run with a great speaker on a great topic. What a run the Council has had: Doris Kearns Godwin, David McCullough, John Updike, Frank McCourt, David Halberstam, Stephen Ambrose to name just a few of the incredible writers and scholars who have graced the annual Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities. If you love history, literature and the American story - this event is a must. See you there.

Talking on Lincoln

Idaho Humanities Council Features Lincoln Scholars Yours truly will have the pleasure of speaking twice in Boise in the next few weeks on two aspects of Abraham Lincoln's remarkable presidency. The talks will take place at the Main Boise Public Library at 7 pm on September 10th and at the outstanding new library at Cole and Ustick at 7 pm on October 15th. Here is a link to the Boise Library's site with more information about the events. The talks, helping to commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of the 16th American president, were developed as part of the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau. On September 10th, the subject will be Re-electing Lincoln focusing on the pivotal election of 1864. I will make the case that it was the most significant presidential election in the country's history with literally the future of the nation depending on the outcome of the voting. On October 15th, I'll delve into Lincoln as War Leader. Lincoln had no real military experience and found that he had to invent the role of "commander in chief." Ultimately he became a better military strategist than most of his generals. If you find Lincoln as endless fascinating as I do, come on down to the Library!