Oregon Humanities Conversation Project: “Lessons from Lincoln: Is Bipartisanship Possible?”

Thursday, March 7, 6:30 pm
Free and open to the public
Co-hosted by Peace Committee of the New Generations Rotary Club

Does Abraham Lincoln’s adept use of bipartisanship during the Civil War offer guidance in dealing with the polarizing controversies of the twenty-first century? This conversation, led by independent scholar and Lincoln expert Richard Etulain, will look at what today’s leaders might learn from Lincoln’s handling of slavery, emancipation and civil rights, political patronage, and reconstruction during the Civil War era. Can these lessons serve as a model of bipartisan behavior as we debate health care, immigration reform, tax policy, and conflicting sources of government power? Richard W. Etulain is professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico, where he taught American history and cultures and directed its Center for the American West. His most recent book is Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era (2013).