Air Date: 062306
Subject: The Intellectual Side of Abraham Lincoln
Books: Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President
Guest: Allen C. Guelzo
Summary: Professor Allen C. Guelzo of Gettysburg College discusses his new book Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President and the intellectual side of Abraham Lincoln.
Brett’s Summary: Professor Guelzo and Gerry discussed the intellectual side of Lincoln in this latest episode of Civil War Talk Radio.
Guelzo started off the hour by discussing how a paper he wrote on Lincoln eventually was expanded into Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President. Talk moved to why he admires Lincoln so much. Part of his reply mentioned Lincoln’s resilience in the face of adversity. Another part spoke of Lincoln’s desire to succeed, his ambition to be remembered for great things. Lastly, Guelzo admires Lincoln’s success when coming from a disadvantageous background, something he can personally identify with.
The second 20 minute portion of the show discussed Lincoln on religion, an always controversial topic. Guelzo discussed how Lincoln’s ideas on religion changed throughout his life. Raised in a strict Calvinist Baptist household, Lincoln rebelled against religion as an adolescent and was even known to have written a pamphlet questioning the divinity of Jesus Christ. As Lincoln grew into adulthood, he was known be friends and acquaintances as a nonbeliever, something which was used against him in his political career. Lincoln never did join a church, but he did grow to question his beliefs as he lost loved ones and as the Civil War broke out. Lincoln even said he believed God had spoken to him in reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, a fact confirmed in the diaries of at least two of his cabinet members.
The last portion of the episode was spent discussing Harry Stout’s book on the moral history of the Civil War, a book Gerry had many issues with. The topic came up because Gerry interviewed Stout several weeks ago.
Civil War Talk Radio airs most Fridays at 12 PM Pacific on World Talk Radio Studio A. Host Gerry Prokopowicz, the History Chair at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, interviews a guest each week and discusses their interest in the Civil War. Most interviews center around a book or books if the guest is an author. Other guests over the years have included public historians such as park rangers and museum curators, wargamers, bloggers, and even a member of an American Civil War Round Table located in London, England.
In this series of blog entries, I will be posting air dates, subjects, and guests, and if I have time, I’ll provide a brief summary of the program. You can find all of the past episodes I’ve entered into the blog by clicking on the Civil War Talk Radio category. Each program should appear either on or near the date it was first broadcast.
Check out more summaries of Civil War Talk Radio at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog.
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