Lincoln Forum to Host “Zoom Symposium” in November, Then Return to Gettysburg For In-Person Forum in May 2021

Originally published October 2020 · p. 10

The Lincoln Forum, compelled to postpone its 25th annual symposium at Gettysburg because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced it will host a oneday, live symposium on Zoom Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Eastern Time. The all-star lineup will include best-selling historian H. W. Brands discussing his forthcoming (October) joint biography of John Brown and Abraham Lincoln, The Zealot and the Emancipator; writer Ted Widmer on his widely praised new book on President-elect Lincoln’s 1861 inaugural journey, Lincoln on the Verge, in a conversation with Forum Chair Harold Holzer; and journalist Edward Achorn, whose 2020 book Every Drop of Blood examines Lincoln’s second inauguration, in a conversation with Forum Chairman Emeritus Frank J. Williams. The event will be free on Zoom to all up-to-date Lincoln Forum members. Applications for new memberships or renewals can be obtained on the website (www. thelincolnforum.org), or from Forum Treasurer Henry Ballone ([email protected]). “On one level, it is heartbreaking for us to interrupt an in-person tradition that dates back to 1995,” commented Chairman Holzer. “But the good news is that we have found a way for the Forum family to get together this fall to hear extraordinary historians, explore relevant issues, maintain our connections to each other and to the Lincoln field, and in the bargain protect our health and safety while the COVID crisis remains unresolved. Looking at the bright side, we are hoping this free event will attract more participants, and more new members, than ever.” Holzer added that the Forum would host a live springtime event May 21-23, 2021, at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg, and promised it would feature a delayed celebration of the organization’s silver anniversary. The 2020 Zoom Forum will also feature a panel hosted and moderated by Forum Vice Chairman Jonathan W. White on “How Should We Now Teach Lincoln and the Civil War?” Joining Professor White, who teaches at Christopher Newport University, will be: prolific author William C. “Jack” Davis, who taught at Virginia Tech; the University of Virginia’s John L. Nau III Professor of Civil War history Caroline E. Janney; Oberlin College Assistant Professor of History and American Studies Tamika Nunley; and Professor Emeritus Craig L. Symonds of the U.S. Naval Academy, who taught Civil War courses at Annapolis and the U.S. Naval War College for more than 40 years. Said Professor White: “As our culture begins to reflect huge changes in how we regard history and memory, the time is right to ask several generations of college instructors how most effectively to teach the Civil War to younger generations of students. It is crucial that we engage young people in the importance of understanding American history, and I am