Monday, June 09, 2008
“Lincoln” and “Douglas” to debate at USI
 As presumptive presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama discuss holding debates in the Lincoln-Douglas style, Lincoln and Douglas interpreters Timothy Connors and George Buss will present “A Discussion with President Lincoln and Judge Douglas” on Thursday, June 19, at the University of Southern Indiana.Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held their famous debates (primarily about slavery) in 1858 throughout the state of Illinois as they fought for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Although Lincoln lost the senate seat (then elected by the state legislature), his performance in the debates catapulted him into the national spotlight, his party’s presidential nomination, and the presidency. As Illinois and the nation celebrate the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the Lincoln-Douglas debates this year, Connors and Buss will participate in a “Debate Reunion Tour” in all seven original debate communities. Connors is the director of speech and theatre and Buss is the district director of Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) at Freeport High School in Freeport, Illinois. “A Discussion with President Lincoln and Judge Douglas” was written by the late Richard F. Sokup, a Freeport native and Douglas interpreter for 45 years. Held in conjunction with USI’s Lincoln Institute for Teachers, “A Discussion with President Lincoln and Judge Douglas” will begin at 7 p.m. June 19 in Rice Library Room 0017 and is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Historic Southern Indiana, an outreach program of USI, the fifth annual Lincoln Institute for Teachers, “A House Dividing: Lincoln and the Emergence of Modern Politics,” will be held June 19-20. Teachers from all grade levels and disciplines come to USI to learn from top Lincoln scholars. This year’s institute focuses on the year 1858 as a turning point in American politics and will explore such events as the impact of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the rise of Republican Party, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Since 2008 is a presidential election year, another focus is the nature of political discourse in our current political process as compared with the early days of the modern two-party system in the Civil War era. For more information, call Historic Southern Indiana at 800/489-4474. Wendy Knipe Bredhold News and Information Services wkbredhold@usi.edu 812/461-5259 |
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