Press Release

Contact:  Sheryl Hayes
Sheryl@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA
22903-4629
PH: 434-924-3296
FAX: 434-296-4714
For Immediate Release

“How Violence Helped Make a Stumbling President Lincoln into a Visionary”

William W. Freehling, VFH Senior Fellow, discusses the path of Lincoln’s moral vision

William H. Freehling, VFH Senior Fellow, will present “How Violence Helped Make a Stumbling President Lincoln into a Visionary.” In his talk, Freehling will contrast President Lincoln’s dubious governance in the secession crisis with his surpassing brilliance late in the war.  The event, part of the Spring 2006 VFH Fellows Seminar SeriesVisionary Voices in the Midst of Violence, will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 4-5:30 p.m. at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Freehling will present that the Lincoln of the secession crisis put roadblocks in the path of emancipation, missed his chance for a possible compromise that might have at least delayed the Civil War, and failed to protect his forts in the least provocative way.  But in the climactic Fort Sumter crisis, Freehling contends, Lincoln showed that immense pressure at a time of violence can bring out the best in a person; and his slowly evolving emancipation policy demonstrated that same growth.  Freehling asserts that Lincoln’s ultimate moral vision was especially grand when viewed from the perspective of where he began.  

William W. Freehling, VFH Senior Fellow, has held professorships at Michigan State, SUNY, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Kentucky.  Freehling has written four books on the American Civil War, three of them prize winners. His Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina (Oxford University, 1965) was awarded the Nevins and Bancroft Prizes.

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), based in Charlottesville, is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the humanities, and to using the humanities to address issues of broad public concern.  The VFH Fellows Program is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and private donations.

In all its programs, the Foundation works to make scholarship accessible; to promote understanding and discussion of enduring and contemporary issues; and to broaden the range of educational opportunities available to all Virginians.

VFH Fellows seminars are free and open to the public and are held at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville.  Presentations begin at 4 p.m. and are followed by refreshments and an informal time for discussion and questions.  

For more information on the seminar visit www.virginiafoundation.org/fellowships.  For directions to the VFH, visit virginiafoundation.org or contact aspencer@virginia.edu, 434-243-5526.  For media inquiries about the seminar topic, fellowships, or other VFH programs, contact Sheryl Hayes at 434-924-3296 or Sheryl@virginia.edu

###