Three Presidents: Jackson, Lincoln, and Grant

The 2011 Humanities Lecture Series.  Three lectures by presidentail historian, Sean Wilentz.  Jackson on Tuesday, February 22, 5pm.  Lincoln on Wednesday, 5pm.  And, Grant  on Thursday, 5pm.  All lectures in the Women's Building, Formal Lounge.  Call 314-935-4200 for more information.

This year the Annual Humanities Lectures Series, jointly sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and IPH, will feature three lectures on U.S. presidents by noted Princeton historian Sean Wilentz to be given during the week of February 21, 2011. Wilentz is the author of The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (2005), The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 (2008), Chants Democratic: New York City and the Rise of the American Working Class, 1788-1850 (1984), Andrew Jackson, part of the American Presidents’ series edited by the late Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (2005), and most recently, Bob Dylan in America (2010).

Wilentz’s three lectures are as follows:

1.  Andrew Jackson: Three Presidents—Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S. Grant—were the most important political figures amid the three great political transformations of the mid-nineteenth century: the rise of party democracy, the triumph of an American nationalism that repudiated secession, and the abolition of slavery and pursuit of interracial democracy.  All three men contributed to advancing the democratic nationalism that brought about slavery’s eradication and the experiment of Reconstruction. This opening lecture lays out these propositions and then examines Jackson’s connections to democracy, nationalism, and slavery, culminating in the nullification crisis of 1832-33.

A short reading accompanying this lecture is available here: Jackson, Proclamation 43.

Tuesday, February 22, 5pm, Formal Lounge, The Women’s Building, Washington University

2. Abraham Lincoln: This lecture focuses on Lincoln’s connection to democracy, nationalism, and slavery and argues that Lincoln entwined democratic nationalism with adamant antislavery by the time he was inaugurated president in 1861. In taking issue with the idea that Lincoln initially prized the Union over antislavery, the lecture will pay special attention to Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address.

A short reading accompanying this lecture is available here: Lincoln, 1861 Inaugural Address.

Wednesday, February 23, 5pm, Formal Lounge, The Women’s Building, Washington University

3.  Ulysses S. Grant: The final lecture focuses on Grant, one of the most reviled presidents of the nineteenth century.  In coming to his (partial) defense, the lecture will examine Grant’s version of democratic nationalism amid the violence of Reconstruction, with particular reference to the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.

A short reading accompanying this lecture is available here: Grant, Special Message.

Thursday, February 24, 5pm, Formal Lounge, The Women’s Building, Washington University

All lectures are free and open to the public.  We cordially invite you to attend.  Receptions will follow each lecture. Please call 314-935-5576 or email cenhum@wustl.edu  to RSVP and receive a parking pass.