News & Events

Events

As a member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, you get exclusive invites and special discounts to some of these events. Check out the discount rates and events for specific details. Become a member today.

Join the Facebook group for members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/alplfmembers/events/

A Life Worth Remembering - The Monumental Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday, January 26th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

David Wiegers will join us to discuss his 15 year odyssey to find Lincoln statues; document the stories behind them and produce high quality images of Abraham Lincoln in the United States and overseas. David will be discussing the history of Lincoln sculpture and will highlight a few individual statues that illustrate different aspects of Lincoln's like and how the image of Lincoln has evolved over the past 155 years. This will be a visual presentation not to be missed.

Conversations with ALPLF President and CEO, Erin Carlson Mast

Wednesday, February 3rd, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Join Dr. Christian McWhirter, ALPLM Lincoln Historian, as he interviews the ALPLF new President and CEO, Erin Carlson Mast. Erin will start her new position on January 11th and brings with her a diverse background in history and nonprofit management. Mast brings to the ALPLF a distinguished track record in leading successful capital projects, research and exhibits, public programming, and partnerships focusing on the history and legacies of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. She brings a breadth and depth of experience in increasing and sustaining a high level of philanthropy and partnerships and in campaign management. Mast was the CEO and Executive Director of President Lincoln’s Cottage, She spearheaded the process under which the National Monument transitioned from being part of the National Trust for Historic preservation to its own, independent 501(c) (3) organization. As part of that effort, Mast launched a campaign to increase major donor giving and secure nearly $2M in multi-year pledges for the Cottage.

Erin is looking forward to meeting our members and moving the Foundation forward towards our goals in 2021 and beyond! You can send questions ahead of time to jstout@alplm.org or ask that night.

"Four Score Speaker Series" with Thavolia Glymph

Wednesday, February 24th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Thavolia Glymph will join Dr. Christian McWhirter to discuss her latest book, The Women's Fight. In this book, Thavolia Glymph provides a comprehensive new history of women's roles and lives in the Civil War--North and South, white and black, slave and free--showing how women were essentially and fully engaged in all three arenas. Glymph focuses on the ideas and ideologies that drove women's actions, allegiances, and politics. We encounter women as they stood their ground, moved into each other's territory, sought and found common ground, and fought for vastly different principles. Some women used all the tools and powers they could muster to prevent the radical transformations the war increasingly imposed, some fought with equal might for the same transformations, and other women fought simply to keep the war at bay as they waited for their husbands and sons to return home.

Glymph shows how the Civil War exposed as never before the nation's fault lines, not just along race and class lines but also along the ragged boundaries of gender. However, Glymph makes clear that women's experiences were not new to the mid-nineteenth century; rather, many of them drew on memories of previous conflicts, like the American Revolution and the War of 1812, to make sense of the Civil War's disorder and death.

Old State Capitol Then and Now

Wednesday, February 17th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Justin Blandford, site superintendent with the Office of Land Management at IDNR, will provide an overview of Abraham Lincoln's connections to the Old State Capitol as well as an update on projects and programs. Although the Old State Capitol is a place with which many people are familiar, there are new and exciting things being planned for 2021 and beyond. Blandford will share what he feels are the most important historical moments in the building's history, explore details of upcoming capital projects that will help preserve the Old State Capitol, and discuss some of the new history education programs planned for the the future. As the superintendent for the state historic sites in Springfield, Blandford manages the network of sites that includes the Lincoln Tomb, Old State Capitol, Dana-Thomas House, Vachel Lindsay Home, Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices and Illinois Veterans Memorials. So this interactive conversation could cover any and all of the se state historic sites.

"Four Score Speaker Series" with Ed Achorn

Tuesday, March 9th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Join us as Dr. Christian McWhirter, ALPLM Lincoln Historian, interviews Ed Achorn about his latest book, Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Achorn vividly captures the frenzy in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history and the tension-filled hope and despair afflicting the country as a whole, soon to be heightened by Lincoln's assassination. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time. Visit www.edachorn.com for more information about Mr. Achorn.

The 14th Lincoln Leadership Prize Virtual Event Honoring Gary Sinise

Tuesday, April 13th

Gary Sinise, Founder, President, Chairman, Gary Sinise Foundation, is the 2021 Lincoln Leadership Prize recipient. Sinise’s stage, film and television career has spanned more than four decades. In 1974, at 18 years old, he co-founded Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. 20 years later, for his performance as Lt. Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, he received nominations for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards, and earned the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review and the Commander's Award from the Disabled American Veterans. Read more.

Details to follow.

"Four Score Speaker Series" with Dr. David Silkenat

Tuesday, April 20th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Join Dr. Christian McWhirter, ALPLM Lincoln Historian as he interviews Dr. David Silkenat, Professor at The University of Edinburgh, about his latest book, Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War. Dr. Silkenat provides the first comprehensive study of Civil War surrender, focusing on the conflicting social, political, and cultural meanings of the action. Looking at the conflict from the perspective of men who surrendered, Silkenat creates new avenues to understand prisoners of war, fighting by Confederate guerrillas, the role of southern Unionists, and the experiences of African American soldiers. The experience of surrender also sheds valuable light on the culture of honor, the experience of combat, and the laws of war.

Kate Warne, America's First Female Private Detective

Wednesday, May 5th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton developed an organization that eventually became the renowned Pinkerton National Detective Agency. The company logo featured an open eye and the motto “We Never Sleep.” With the promise of persistence in the face of danger, Pinkerton agents secured wealthy business clients such as the railroads and banks as their reputation for honesty and success grew.

Pinkerton was known for innovations in the field of detection. His advertisement in the Chicago newspapers drew interest from a widow with a background in drama. Kate Warne, America’s first female private detective, joined the Pinkerton Agency in 1856 and used her acting talent to secure information from dangerous criminals. She was exceptionally talented at insinuating herself into the social circle of suspects.

Warne’s skill was put to the test throughout the Civil War era. This plucky woman was part of the team that discovered a plot by Southerners who were determined to assassinate Lincoln before he could be inaugurated. Join us, as Kate Warne describes the steps taken by the Pinkerton agents to foil the Baltimore Plot and safely smuggled President-elect Abraham Lincoln into Washington, DC.

A 'No-holds Barred' Interview With President/General Ulysses S Grant

Wednesday, June 9th, 7pm CST (Zoom webinar)

Fellow Illinoisan, Ulysses S Grant, is one of the least understood of our American heroes. He is regarded highly by some and scorned by others. This is not unusual for him as even his good friend, General Sherman, said that Grant was an enigma even to himself.

Our program will be an interview with Grant himself, played by Larry Werline, with no question off-limits. Grant was known for his honesty so there could be some interesting answers to some of his most controversial topics.