Final Report to Congress
Introduction to The Digital Lincoln: A Proposal Regarding the Future of the ALBC Web Site
Dear Friends and Supporters:
In September, it will be three years since I was appointed the ALBC Executive Director. At my final interview, Senator Durbin spoke about the importance of the Internet as democracy’s best learning tool and the Web site as an ideal vehicle to expand Lincoln’s legacy. All the Commissioners have been in complete support of a Website as a legacy with growth potential.
If the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth inspired the creation of a civic cathedral of marble, the 200th anniversary could send his words and deeds everywhere.
The ALBC has been wrestling with that responsibility ever since. We have met with some success: on February 12th, the Web site received over 22,000 unique hits per minute. The National Teach-In webcast reached over 250,000 students from all 50 states and eight nations.
Now in the final year of the Commission as we contemplate the Web site’s future and development, we seek the advice of all Lincoln stakeholders. How can we serve you? What can the Web site become?
We have proposed some ideas for you to test. I am indebted to David Early, Hasan Aloul and Bryan Jack for their dedication to the Web site. Jennifer Rosenfeld, too, has suggested creative ideas for the Web site. Perhaps the Web site will:
- Be a gateway to scholars, enabling them to easily and economically conduct research.
- Build collaborations between Lincoln-centered museums, libraries, schools, universities, historic sites and cultural organizations.
- Create opportunities for civic engagement.
- Follow Lincoln’s example and include laughter with learning and entertainment with education.
America is changing rapidly. We are a nation drawn increasingly from every part of the globe. Communication is therefore essential. Due in part to the Internet, reading habits are changing. Learning styles are changing. We are much more visual than verbal, yet so many blog and send text messages often. Is there a Lincoln that can capture this new energy?
Currently, the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications hosts the ALBC Web site. We are most appreciative for its support. We thank Vernon Burton and his staff for its maintenance of the Web site.
After the ALBC sunsets next year, the ALBC Foundation (a 501c3) assumes the responsibility for maintaining the Web site. It will need a home, preferably at a research university, library, or college with graduate students dedicated to Lincoln, technology, and the humanities. The Web site needs a board(s) of advisors, including scholars, educators, technicians, designers, and visionaries.
Please let us know your vision for the ALBC Web site. Navigation will be easier but content and big ideas will make Senator Durbin’s belief in the value of the Web site a reality.
Please take the time to let us know your interests. Please freely forward this to others. We seek a dialogue.
I can be reached at (202) 707-6998 or emack@loc.gov and David Early can be reached at dear@loc.gov. We look forward to hearing from you.
To read the Web Site vision paper, click here.
Introduction to the Interim Report to Congress of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
February 12, 2009, marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, considered by both historians and ordinary Americans to have been the greatest American president. Though nearly 140 years have passed since his tragic death, Lincoln remains the central figure in American history. The solemn words engraved in his memorial remain true: “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”
Abraham Lincoln rose from poverty to the heights of political success, but his ambition inspired him to do far more than merely hold office. Lincoln assumed the presidency during the worst crisis in American history, and successfully led his fractured country to reunion and “a new birth of freedom.”
The war that engulfed the United States in 1861 had been brewing for decades, and threatened to extinguish the light of democracy in the world. The American political system was still a fragile experiment, viewed with distaste and skepticism by many in Europe and beyond. Lincoln knew that democracy would be forever discredited if a disaffected minority, having lost a political battle, could simply withdraw from the process entirely. His faith in representative government, and his realistic appraisal of human nature, allowed him not merely to save the Union but create a nation.
And yet, Lincoln wished not only to save his country, but also to make it, in his words, “worthy of the saving,” a place where all would have the right to rise. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, setting in motion a legal process that would destroy American slavery forever. This noble act, controversial both then and now, committed the United States to the long, difficult struggle for racial justice. The Commission wishes to highlight the role of Lincoln in ending slavery, and encourage a profound and substantive discussion of his legacy to a country still troubled by matters of race.
At the close of his first Annual Message to Congress, on December 3, 1861, by which time the Union had been torn asunder, Lincoln wrote, “The struggle of today, is not altogether for today—it is for a vast future also.”
As he predicted, the reverberations of the Civil War and the struggle for human rights persist today. The Commission believes that Lincoln’s legacy is as vital now as it ever was, and wishes to share that legacy with new generations of Americans and citizens of the world.
The proposals contained in this report were developed in committees, fashioned after careful discussion and debate, and reflect the opinions of the Commission as a whole. However, this report is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all potential bicentennial activities. The Commission fully expects that new ideas will continue to be conceived and implemented between now and 2009.
Finally, the Commission wishes to express its gratitude to the Congress of the United States for having the wisdom and foresight to commemorate the birth of President Lincoln in so fitting a manner. Commissioners and staff members are conscious of their solemn duties: to educate the public about Lincoln, to encourage discussion about the issues with which he grappled and we still struggle, and to plan a tribute worthy of its subject.
To read the Interim report in its entirety, click here.
