LINCOLN ON THE VERGE: Professor Ted Widmer
Prof. Ted Widmer will discuss his new book, Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington, and the way his research produced a number of new ways of looking at the story of Abraham Lincoln. He will also explain the crucial role that two Massachusetts natives played in saving Lincoln's life on his way to assume the presidency. By saving Lincoln, it could be argued that these two New Englanders -- one a railroad executive, the other a mental health advocate -- saved the republic at the darkest moment in our history. Ted will also be happy to entertain questions about ways in which the crisis of disunion in 1860-61 resembles and differs from our current divided condition. And there may be a few comments about the 2020 elections and the pandemic along the way.