The University of Illinois Springfield hosted a scholarly symposium on April 30, 2015, in collaboration with the Lincoln Funeral Coalition and with support from The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. Brookens Library co-sponsored this as the 2015 Holtz Memorial Lecture.
“Mourning Father Abraham: Lincoln’s Assassination and the Public’s Response” featured three Lincoln scholars who described the way the public viewed Abraham Lincoln in life and death, including the variation in personal responses to his assassination. Lincoln’s call for black suffrage and the challenges of reunion were also discussed.
Speakers included:
Dr. Michael Burlingame, Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, UIS.
Dr. Martha Hodes, Professor of History, New York University.
Dr. Louis Masur, Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History, Rutgers University.
The event took place at 7:00 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium and was free and open to the public. A reception and book signing followed.