Attending my first lecture at Cornell: “The Lincoln Presidency: Last Full Measure of Devotion”
One of the greatest benefits of living near a world-class university is the opportunity to attend great public lectures. My first lecture was by Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian James McPherson. The University’s library is exhibiting the Gettysburg Address (one of five copies in Lincoln’s own handwriting…for this week only), as well as original manuscripts of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment signed by Lincoln and members of Congress.
The Lincoln Presidency: Last Full Measure of Devotion
I visited the exhibition briefly before the lecture and plan to revisit tomorrow when I have more time to spare. The lecture itself was a short but intelligent analysis of Lincoln’s presidency, how he extended the powers of the executive office to accommodate war-time emergencies, and the evolution of his policy, national strategy, and military strategy.
I think I have been missing the intellectual atmosphere provided by a university of this caliber. There are certainly things to enjoy outside of the ivory tower, but it is very easy to neglect intellectual pursuits in a world filled with so many different and often very social forms of entertainment.
So, in the two years here at Cornell while my wife pursues her MBA, I’d like to rebuild the intellectual life I had at Brown and Sophia…