Lincoln Forum Presents 2019 Achievement Awards to: Michael Beschloss, Sidney Blumenthal, and the ‘Looking For Lincoln’ Heritage Coalition
Originally published February 2020 · pp. 32–33
GETTYSBURG, Penn.—The Lincoln Forum has presented its three annual achievement awards. The 2019 honorees are leading presidential historian Michael Beschloss, Lincoln biographer Sidney Blumenthal, and the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, which coordinates and promotes the 43-county Abraham Lincoln historic region in Illinois. Beschloss earned the prestigious Richard N. Current Award for lifetime achievement. Blumenthal won the first annual Lincoln Forum Book Prize. Looking for Lincoln took home the annual Wendy Allen Award for institutional achievement by a Lincoln or Civil War organization. The awards were presented during the 24th annual Lincoln Forum symposium, held Nov. 16-18 at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg. This year’s Forum drew a record crowd of 349 attendees.
Lincoln scholars, Richard Nelson Current himself (2002); actor Sam Waterston (2003); Ulysses S. Grant authority John Y. Simon (2004); the award’s sculptor of record, John McClarey, together with an honorary award for founding chairman Williams (2005); historian Doris Kearns Goodwin (2006); novelist Jeff Shaara (2007); documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (2008); Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (2009); historian Mark E. Neely Jr. (2010); battlefield guide extraordinaire Ed Bearss (2011); Reconstruction scholar Eric Foner (2012); playwright and scenarist Tony Kushner (2013); the late dean of Lincoln reenactors James Getty (2014); Lincoln assassination authority Edward Steers Jr. and prolific Civil War historian William C. “Jack” Davis (2015), with an honorary award to Forum founding vice chair Harold Holzer; Civil War historian James I. “Bud” Robertson Jr. (2016); master biographer Ron Chernow (2017); and prize-winning historian David Blight (2018). The Current Award comes in the form of Decatur, Ill., sculptor John McClarey’s bust portrait of Abraham Lincoln. At this year’s ceremony, at the behest of Richard Current’s widow, Marcia Ewing Current, the Forum re-gifted the actual award once earned by Dr. Current himself, McClarey’s impressionistic statuette, Freedom River, to Mr. Beschloss. “Dick always admired Michael,” Ms. Current wrote. “And as we search for appropriate repositories for his papers and many awards, we could think of no more deserving scholar to own the prize named for him, and given to him, than this year’s award winner.” Beschloss thus became the first Forum award recipient to take home two Current awards in a single year.
Current Award to Beschloss Presidential scholar, author, and CNN commentator Beschloss was the 2019 Forum keynote speaker, addressing the crowd Nov. 18 on “President Lincoln and Other Wartime Presidents,” drawn largely from his recent best-seller Presidents at War. Before beginning his talk, Forum Chairman Harold Holzer presented Beschloss with the 24th annual Current Award, named for the late “Dean of Lincoln Scholars” Richard Nelson Current, the Bancroft Awardwinning author of such classics as The Lincoln Nobody Knows and Lincoln and the First Shot. In presenting the award, Chairman Holzer called Beschloss “history’s fact-checker-in-chief. Holzer hailed him “for providing evolving drafts of the American story that expose both common threads and fault lines, and doing so with uncommon wisdom, felicity, and conviction; and for helping us to explore with thought-provoking contributions to the history bookshelf, the true meaning of— and need for—great presidential leadership, in peace and war, and every circumstance in between.” Added Holzer: “Just Google Michael Beschloss to find how high a standard he holds for himself and those we Americans elect to lead us. But that is not to detract from books that truly make a difference: disquisitions on the elusive nature of wartime leadership and power, and rigorously take the measure of leaders who, for better or for worse, are tested in the crucible of war. “Where he has focused the most intensely on Abraham Lincoln, slavery, and rebellion— in Presidential Courage and Presidents of War,” Holzer concluded, “Michael Beschloss has revealed our 16th president to be politically deft, morally balanced, militarily ingenious, and a master of self-restraint—one of the virtues he believes most important to sustained and inspiring leadership.” Previous winners of the Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement are: historian Gabor Boritt (1996); C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb (1997); “historian of the century” John Hope Franklin (1998); U. S. Senator Paul Simon of Illinois (1999); biographer David Herbert Donald (2000); historian Garry Wills (2001); historian James M. McPherson, with an honorary award to the dean of
The inaugural Lincoln Forum book prize, a juried award that brings a $1,000 check and a certificate, was won by writer Sidney Blumenthal for the recently published third volume in his acclaimed multi-volume Lincoln biography: All the Powers of Earth: 1856–1860 (Simon & Schuster). Following the presentation, Blumenthal addressed the Forum on “‘A House Divided:’ How Lincoln Emerged Out of the Whirlwind to Become President.” Blumenthal was making his second Lincoln Forum appearance. He has enjoyed a diverse career as a political advisor, journalist, and historian, most recently as the author of the multi-volume biography series The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, which now includes, in addition to the award-winning third volume: A Self-Made Man, 1809–1849 and Wrestling with His Angels, 1849– 1856. Over the years, Blumenthal has also worked as a magazine writer, an editor, White House aide to President Bill Clinton, and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton. His other books include The Permanent Campaign (1980) and The Clinton Wars (2003). “The Forum is absolutely delighted to recognize Sidney Blumenthal’s extraordinary achievement in crafting a masterful series of new books about the life and times of Lincoln, even in mid-series,” commented Chairman Holzer. “Although he still has two volumes to go to complete The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, his first three entries, particularly the third and most recent, shed such light on his subject and the environment in which he rose that the jury clearly felt the author deserved our inaugural prize. Sidney brings the insight of a political veteran and the craftsmanship of an artist to his work, and provides an eloquent and affirmative response to the eternal question: is there anything new to say about Lincoln?” The newly established prize honors books published from February to February and considers biographies, monographs, works of synthesis and interpretation, edited collections of original papers, and documentary editing projects published in the English language. Judges for the Forum’s first book prize were: Dr. Thomas A. Horrocks (Chairman of the Book Prize Committee), historian, author, and Lincoln Forum executive committee member who has held administrative posts at both Harvard University’s Houghton Library and Brown University’s John Hay Library; Dr. Michelle Krowl, author, Lincoln and Civil War specialist at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, and Secretary of the Lincoln Forum; and Daniel R. Weinberg, author, manuscripts expert, Forum board member, and longtime proprietor of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago. Dr. Horrocks made the official presentation to Sidney Blumenthal on November 17.
Wendy Allen Award to ‘Looking for Lincoln’ The Wendy Allen Award for institutional excellence went to the Illinois-based coalition dedicated to enhancing the communities and landscapes of central Illinois through recognition and support of their significant natural, cultural, and historical legacies. The 2019 presentation was made by Forum Vice Chairman Jonathan W. White, who said: “Looking for Lincoln’s work with local historic sites brings Abraham Lincoln to life for visitors of all ages. The coalition is a wonderful model of how historic organizations can work together to preserve the legacy of our nation’s greatest president. We honor them tonight for their work engaging the public with the story of Lincoln’s three decades in Illinois.” The award was accepted by Sarah Watson, executive director of Looking for Lincoln and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. “We are honored to receive this award for our efforts in preserving and telling the story of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois to visitors and residents alike,” she said at the Nov.
Blumenthal Wins First Forum Book Prize
17 presentation ceremony. “We would like to thank the Lincoln Forum for its support of our efforts.” Harold Holzer added: “Looking for Lincoln has taken hallowed ground and made it accessible to more and more visitors. As one who has often enjoyed the thrill of walking alongside Lincoln’s Illinois pathways, I cannot overemphasize the importance of ‘place’ to history, and the importance of Looking for Lincoln in leading the way to these places for all Americans.” The award is a limited-edition print portrait of Lincoln by Gettysburg’s noted Lincoln artist-in-residence, Wendy Allen, a member of the Forum’s advisory board. In previous years, the Forum’s award for institutional excellence has gone to such organizations as: the Friends of Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D. C.; President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington; the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Ill.; The Lincoln-Douglas Society of Freeport, Ill.; the Ulysses S. Grant Association in Starkville, Miss.; the Lincoln Shrine in Redlands, Calif.; The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York City; the Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Ill., the Gettysburg Foundation, and last year’s winner, The International Lincoln Organization at LSU/ Shreveport.
Scholarships, Essay Contest Winners For more than 15 years, the Forum has also managed an annual Platt Family Essay contest, which offers college students prizes of $1,500, $750, and $500 for essays on a carefully selected theme. This year’s essay question was: “Abraham Lincoln: Our Greatest President?” Essays were submitted by 144 students from around the country. First prize and $1,500 was awarded to Hannah So of Georgetown University; second prize and $750 went to Cassidy Durland of Mesa Community College; and third prize and $500 went to Brett Cornwell at New Mexico State University. Excerpts from the winning essay were read aloud at the final morning session of Forum XXIV and will be published in the May 2020 Lincoln Forum Bulletin. The 2019 Platt Family Essay Contest jury was composed of Don McCue, director of the A. K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, Calif.; Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University; Daniel Weinberg of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago, Craig L. Symonds, visiting professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI; and Gerald Prokopowicz, professor of history at East Carolina University. In addition, the Forum provides annual teacher and student scholarships—this year to three students and four teachers.
Lincoln Forum Opens Competition for 2020 Book Prize The Lincoln Forum is now accepting submissions for its annual book prize. To honor outstanding scholarship on the life and career of our nation’s 16th president, The Lincoln Forum offers an annual prize of $1,000 for a distinguished book published during the 12 months ending in February 2020, in which Abraham Lincoln is a central figure. The book prize will be presented at the 25th annual symposium of the Lincoln Forum, to be held November 1618, 2020, in Gettysburg, Penn. The winner of the inaugural prize, announced on November 17, was Sidney Blumenthal. General rules of submissions for the 2020 competition are: 1) Biographies, monographs, works of synthesis and interpretation, edited collections of original papers, and documentary editing projects, published in the English language, are eligible. 2) Only books published during the period from February 2019 through February 2020 will be considered. 3) One printed copy of each entry, along with a cover letter nominating the work for the award, must be sent to each committee member and labeled “Lincoln Forum Book Prize Entry,” no later than March 1, 2020. Entries will not be returned.
Names/contact information of committee members are: Thomas A. Horrocks, Ph.D. 11A Brewer Street Cambridge, MA 02138 [email protected] Michelle Krowl, Ph.D. 129 S. Park Drive Arlington, VA 22204 [email protected] Christian McWhirter, Ph.D. 1324 Community Drive Springfield, IL 62703 [email protected] Daniel R. Weinberg Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc. 824 W. Superior Street, Suite 100 Chicago, IL 60642 [email protected]
The winner of the book prize will be announced by The Lincoln Forum at its symposium and via its website, other social media, and a variety of news outlets. The winner will be invited to present a paper at the Forum symposium, with expenses paid that cover travel, hotel accommodations, and symposium registration.