My final conversation during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was learning about Lincoln.
The following write-ups regarding the panelists are taken from the LA Times Festival of Books insert.
Richard Wrightman Fox. An alumnus of Stanford University, teaches history at the University of Southern California. He is the author of "Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History," "Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession," "Trials of Intimacy: Love and Loss in the Beecher-Tilton Scandal" and "Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography."
Martha Hodes. Is a professor of history at New York University. She has been awarded numerous fellowships, including from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Harvard University and the Whiting Foundation, and she has presented her work across the U.S., in Europe, and Australia. She's served as a consultant for film, TV, radio and museums on many aspects of American history. Her most recent book is "Mourning Lincoln."
Joshua Wolf Shenk. Is a curator, essayist and the author of "Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity" and "Lincoln's Melancholy," A new York Times Notable Book. He's written for Harper's, the Atlantic, Slate, the New Yorker and the New York Times, Josh directs the Erikson Prize for Mental Health Media and Arts in Mind, a series on art and psychology.
Here are my notes regarding the conversation.
Richard Wrightman Fox: Lincoln was often told he was ugly. During the Civil War, he made his body available to everyone. His body was withered. His funeral procession was vast with 150,000 spectators. It was 3 miles long. It took two hours to past any point. Blacks may have been the majority of people in line. Whites felt Lincoln was replaceable, another great leader would arrive. A total of a million actually saw his body. Six million saw the funeral train. Subject of Lincoln's appearance continued even in death. People reminded how ugly Lincoln was. His ugliness was seen as an ability to rise above. Lincoln felt that God had called him to greatness. He had an ability to perceive himself from afar. John F. Kennedy's funeral was similar to Lincoln's though different. Riderless horse was Lincoln's actual horse. Kennedy had no connection to his riderless horse. Lincoln's funeral was connected to Washington's. Henry Clay was put on same trail earlier. Within hours of Lincoln's death, radical Republicans were saying it as providence. Got had taken him.
Martha Hodes: Martha Hodes has taught the Civil War for 25 years. She started to link Lincoln's death to 9/11. She wanted to study how people responded to national events. People wrote that all loved Lincoln though they knew this wasn't true. The South was pleased by his death. Northern Democrats were pleased. Maids cheered, because they were worried their jobs would go to Negros. Lincoln's supporters believed his assassination had stopped the world. They mourned, but still talked about everyday life. Mary Todd was not in the room when Lincoln died. She did not want a public funeral train. She did not attend the Washington DC funeral. Lincoln had the preference that African American men would be given the right to vote as long as they were intelligent.
Joshua Wolf Shenk. Joshua Shenk writes about mental health. He read about Lincoln and his teen years. He viewed Lincoln as a god and wanted to research his melancholy personality. As a teen, Lincoln was close to suicide. Mental illness is not looked on kindly in our current politicians. He had a great desire to improve his life as well as others. He felt there was a reason for his life.
