GettysBlog

The Words That Remake America

We have read and discussed Lincoln's words at the various Reading Project events.  We have noted and appreciated his rhetoric and phrasing:  "all men are created equal," "new birth of freedom," and "government of the people, by the people, for the people."  But we have not mentioned the words that have the potential to truly remake America: apathy, indifference, ignorance, and intolerance.

As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words.

Was it apathy then that kept more students from coming to hear Garry Wills' talk last night? Was it indifference that motivated so many students to leave Barton Hall before the group discussion was over a few weeks ago?  Yes, it was hot in there, but why were these students so uninterested in this discussion?  Especially in an historic election year when these topics and Lincoln's words have resonated in our daily news headlines.

Democracy is participatory. In order to function properly it requires an informed citizenry to educate itself about the issues and problems it faces, and to act on those issues.

Democracy is a privilege, just as a Cornell education is a privilege. Both require you to think.  Both require some effort and hard work.

As we finish with our daily postings to this blog, I hope that our readers will keep Lincoln in mind. Next year we will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and Cornell will be celebrating his life and accomplishments with a major exhibition in Kroch Library.

I have enjoyed discussing Lincoln with you all. Keep reading. Stay curious. Know better.

[Flickr image of Mount Rushmore by lmbaker3.]

Garry Wills at Cornell

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 150 Years Later
September 17, 2008 - 7:00PM to 8:00PM
Garry Wills, historian and author of Lincoln at Gettysburg will be speaking on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

LOCATION: Statler Auditorium
SPEAKER: Garry Wills
ADMISSION: Open to Public, Alumni, Students, Faculty, and Staff.
ADMISSION INFO: Free, but tickets are required. Tickets may be picked up at the Willard Straight Ticket Office beginning Sept. 11.

Sponsored by University Lectures Committee and the Office of the Provost.

For those of you wanting to read more of Garry Wills' writing, here are a few recent New York Times Op Ed pieces and his essays from the New York Review of Books:

McCain's McGovern Moment, September 3, 2008                                                         

Two Presidents Are Worse Than One, January 26, 2008

Garry Wills at The New York Review of Books

Come hear about the most famous debates in American political history.

The power to "remake" the world?

The old adage that "the pen is mightier than the sword" may be difficult to accept as we observe all the armed conflicts around the globe at the moment.  But you don't need to believe in the superior power of the pen to consider the possibility, as Wills puts it, that words are sometimes necessary "to complete the work of the guns." Yet how is it that words get their power?  To answer this question, if Wills is right, we must delve into the origins of "linguistic might," and we should expect that the more powerful the words in question, the more complex their origins are likely to be.  Wills leads us on a dense and sometimes complicated exploration of the literary, religious, philosophical, and socio-political roots of the Gettysburg Address.  In addition, his own language occasionally requires us to pick up a dictionary.  But if we stick with him, we can come to a deeper understanding of how 272 words helped to bring to completion what the massive death and destruction of the battle of Gettysburg (and indeed the American Civil War as a whole) could not do alone.

Does the power of words have anything to do with the greatness of political leaders?  We may not think so, especially if we believe that the careers of great leaders are best defined by the decisions they make and by actions they take in light of those decisions.  But what if the full measure of some political greatness will escape us until we understand the role that language and rhetoric might play in decision and action?  Wills has been influential in making the case that this is a reasonable assumption to bring to reflection on Lincoln's career and legacy.  But over the course of his career, Wills has extended this approach to discussions of the broader importance of language and its uses in political contexts.  You may find it interesting to look at a May 2008 article entitled "Two Speeches on Race," in which Wills makes some provocative comparisons between presidential candidate Barack Obama's speech on race and one of Lincoln's speeches delivered in the months before he won the presidency.  Whatever you might make of these comparisons, it is important to ask whether Wills's views in Lincoln at Gettysburg might help us reflect on the sources, power, and value of contemporary political language in the broadest sense.

Finally, why should you be interested in Wills's discussion of the Gettysburg Address if you are either not a citizen (naturalized or native) of the United States, or if you are perhaps an American citizen who is impatient with those who fail to focus on questions of global importance?   Well, if Wills is right, the power of Lincoln's words was partly a function of his conviction that America's national purpose was rooted in ideals of equality and democracy that have value for all human beings.  Consider, too, that Lincoln's words influenced the labor movement in nineteenth century Germany and political movements in mid-twentieth century India, and they resonate in the language of twenty-first century defenders of human rights around the globe. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru kept a cast of Lincoln's hand on his desk, along with a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, to remind himself to combine Gandhi's compassion with Lincoln's capacity for strength and unity.  A 2007 conference on Lincoln focused on his relevance as "A Humanitarian as Broad as the World," and an international conference to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2009 will be entitled "Lincoln Without Borders."   Might this long-standing global interest in Lincoln suggest that his words have the power not only to remake America, but to help remake the world?

During New Student Orientation, on the day before the small group discussions, three distinguished Cornell faculty members will help us understand the power of Lincoln's words:  Professor Edward Baptist of the history department will deliver a talk entitled "A Nation Not Like Any Other Nations," Cornell President Emeritus and Professor of Classics Hunter Rawlings will talk to us about "Lincoln and the Athenian Tradition of State Funeral Orations," and Professor Tad Brennan of the philosophy department will deliver a talk entitled "Any Nation So Conceived."   

This faculty panel discussion will be held from 3:30 to 5:00 on Sunday August 24, 2008 in Barton Hall.  I look forward to seeing you there and then to learning more about your approach to Lincoln in the essays you will submit during the small group discussions on Monday August 25.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education,  Michele Moody-Adams

150th Anniversary of the Lincoln Douglas Debates

On August 21, 1858 a then relatively unknown Abraham Lincoln first debated Stephen A. Douglas in Ottawa, Illinois during their campaign to become a U.S. senator. Their seven debates that summer and fall have become the gold standard for political debates. See the multimedia slideshow Debating Douglas on the National Stage, 1857-1858 (Requires RealPlayer) to learn more about their historical context and significance. 

You may recall that earlier this year Hillary Clinton challenged Barack Obama to a Lincoln - Douglas style debate during the primary season. I wonder if the American public would have found this interesting or not, since the 1858 debates featured an hour-long presentation by the first speaker (Lincoln and Douglas alternated going first), an hour and a half response by the second candidate, and then a half hour rejoinder by the first speaker. Would you be willing and able to watch a three hour political debate? How would the second-by-second 24 hour news cycle handle this kind of marathon?

Lincoln lost this election, but gained valuable national exposure. Two years later he defeated Douglas and others to become our 16th president. It was during these debates that Lincoln started honing and perfecting the rhetorical skills that we have been reading about this summer.

Our author, Garry Wills, will be speaking about the Lincoln - Douglas Debates when he visits Cornell on September 17th. 

See you all in Barton Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Welcome to Cornell!

Image: Lincoln and Douglas, November 3, 1903. Creator: Jaspard, J. M. Image Source: Chicago Historical Society

Before Lincoln: Some Remarkable Aspects about the Relations between Chile and the United States by Claudia Gilardoni

Did you know that 51 years before the Civil War, the 4th of July was celebrated with great pomp in Chile?

In 1812, the American Independence Day was commemerated in Chile at the Tribunales Palace, with fancy dessses and all the glamour of 19th Century diplomacy. Mr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the American consul in Chile, prepared the event, which was attended by all the best of Chilean society. The first Chilean newspaper, La Aurora de Chile, published the details of this social gathering and Fray Camilo Henriqez, the founder of the newspaper, wrote a special chronicle entitled "A Memorable Example." At that time, American citizens in Chile were mostly craftsmen and three of them held positions in the newspaper: Mr. Samuel B. Johnston, Mr. Simon Garrison and Mr. William Burdidge.

Chilean patriots, who were to play an important role in Chile?s first attempt at independence (the period known to us as Patria Vieja), had strong connections with the United States. Jose Miguel Carrera, a prominent figure popularly known as the "Roads Prince" because he was such a great horseman, had even been introduced to President James Madison.

In 1815, as a revolutionary fighting the for Chile's independence, Mr. Carrera travelled to the United States to seek military and financial assistance for his cause. David Porter, a North American army official helped him out and a year later Carrera obtained funds, four ships, all kinds of armaments and even soldiers. With this military treasure he returned to Chile and contributed enormously to our Independence, which was finally obtained in 1818.

David Porter was the father of two distinguished navy officers of the Secession War: David Dixon Porter and William D. Porter.

While doing some research for this note, I found a captivating book about Chile and the USA: The First North American Mission in Chile, by Guillermo Cruz Feliu.

Creating Equality

Flying home yesterday I spotted these t-shirts in the Denver airport. This city will be hosting the Democratic National Convention later this month and you can feel the politics in the hot, dry air out there. No, this is not a political endorsement. I want to focus on the words printed on these shirts. They come from Barack Obama's speech on race from March 18, 2008:

"This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.”

Obviously, Obama is referring to the opening lines of the U.S. Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

But Obama is also referring to the unfinished work Lincoln presents in the Gettysburg Address, which is itself referring back to the self-evident truths of the American Declaration of Independence: "All men are created equal." As Garry Wills states on page 146-147 of our book:

"The Gettysburg Address has become an authoritative expression of the American spirit--as authoritative as the Declaration of Independence itself, and perhaps even more influential, since it determines how we read the Declaration. For most people now, the Declaration means what Lincoln told us it means, as a way of correcting the Constitution itself without overthrowing it."

These four texts--the Declaration, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, and the Obama speech--track the progress that we have made in turning rhetoric into action, and in creating a nation where all people are indeed created equal.

We also need to remember that that other senator from Illinois, Mr. Abraham Lincoln, was about to launch his campaign for re-election when he gave his speech in Gettysburg.  I wonder if there were any t-shirts for sale at the train station there?

Is the Gettysburg Address funny?

We have been reading and discussing so many serious and somber subjects this summer--death, war, funeral orations, cemeteries, rhetoric, and philosophy--that I thought it was about time to lighten things up a bit. The Gettysburg Address is serious and somber, but it is also an icon of popular culture and as such it is sometimes treated as a target of satirical humor.

Let's try to imagine Lincoln giving his speech in the era of the 24 hour news cycle. Barack Obama's speech on race back in March set the news pundits and punsters in action and many allusions to Lincoln were made. See what you think of If Ann Coulter had liveblogged the Gettysburg Address and also The Daily Show with John Stewart's: The Dialogue Begins. (The Gettysburg segment is towards the end of this clip.)

Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address have appeared on The Daily Show before. Back in 2001, there was this "newly discovered" tape of Lincoln rehearsing this speech.

On the web you can find The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation and Bob Newhart's Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Ave routine. There is also Lord Buckley's jazz speak poem version of the Gettysburg Address. (Full text lyrics of the performance.)

We must also remember that Lincoln was known for his sense of humor and personality. See Lincoln's Humor for a sampling of his wit.

I leave you today with the late great comic, George Carlin, and his routine, "We Like War." Carlin was a connoisseur of words. Here he offers some very interesting perspectives on the American Revolution and the Civil War. (Please be advised that Mr. Carlin does use some of the words that made him famous and that cannot be said on television.)

Lincoln Event at Cornell Tonight

As a prelude to our Fall discussions and other events related to this year's Reading Project, a noted Lincoln scholar will be speaking at Cornell this evening. For those of you reading these postings from the Ithaca area, please join us at this talk.  Here is the press release for this event:

A leading authority on Lincoln and co-chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Harold Holzer is an award-winning author, former journalist and press secretary, and frequent television guest. His latest book, Lincoln: President-Elect (Simon & Schuster, fall 2008), examines the four months between Lincoln's election and inauguration when he made the most important decision of his coming presidency: that there would be no compromise on slavery. Holzer's appearance coincides with the beginning of Cornell's 2008 Reading Project, which will focus on Lincoln.

Location:  Alice Statler Auditorium, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Free and open to the public.