history knows abraham lincoln. it's my suggestion that many scholars are defending that image of leadership. >> what's the isolated, quote, school? >> the isolated quote school is the tendency of major biographers to quote -- take isolated quotes out of context and use them witho giving the context of the setting of the man. for example, they tell us -- and i won't name the historian whom i admire and respect on other grounds -- said that the -- the 1862 state of the union message -- we talked about the last best hope of the earth -- was one of the greatest statements in the history of the world. he does not tell us that lincoln was asking congress to deport black people. so we get in the peoria speech, lincoln says, you know, i love the declaration of independence. one of the great documents of all time, one paragraph. two paragraphs later, he said now, i don't want you to misunderstand me. he's talking to 10,000 or 12,000 white people. i don't want you to misunderstand me. i'm not talking about equality. i'm not

it looks at the world's response to the assassination of abraham lincoln. and how they grieved, and also sent their condolences to the united states. and then it also looks at how leaders and countries around the world have looked to lincoln for leadership and inspiration for revolutions, how leaders from democracies to communist leaders have used lincoln's words to inspire the masses. and how everyday ordinary people have been inspired by lincoln to rise to great heights. this is immigrant pageant, american pageant. and the lady playing lady liberty is golda meir when she was just a young lady. it's a nice look that covers cultures and countries all over the world. and that leads into one of our final sections, which is our look at abraham lincoln sort of pop culture. abe somehow was used to sell things as diverse as smoking tobacco and emory books for polishing silver to bottles that could be turned into banks and items like lincoln logs, itemious can buy today, and jewelry that was all bought online by our designers. there is something that people identi

so abraham lincoln is being welcomed into heaven by washington. so just days before his assassination, some of these things never would have been put together, but because of his assassination and the effect it had on the country, all of his misgivings, at least for a short time, were forgotten. and the memorialization of abraham lincoln really started with this martyrdom. we look briefly at just a few of the memorials and statutes that have been erected to abraham lincoln. and we also look at some of the celebrations like the first celebration of his birth in 1909. and we look at the positive and negative sides. we look at how many of the things that he set in motion with emancipation were unfortunately not fully realized by 1909 when celebrations were held. but african-americans were not allowed into these celebrations. and how those kinds of things spurred the birth of organizations like naacp. we look at how presidents throughout time and what we have is just a small example of how lincoln's words inspired them, how they turned to lincoln and

. >> the second point that abraham lincoln was a racist. i don't have any joy in making that, but i think truth is important. he who said -- who used the "n" word habitually, loved darkie jokes and black-face shows, who said in illinois and elsewhere that he was opposed to black people voting, sitting on juries, intermarrying with white people and holding office. two, lincoln was a racist. three, abraham lincoln wanted to deport black people and create an all-white nation. that's three. four, abraham lincoln was -- and this is the controversial point, maybe there were not five. four, that a abraham lincoln was contrary to what all historians say an equivocating, vacillating leader who prolonged the war, delayed emancipation, and increased the number of casualties. >> equivocating, vacillating. >> well, first of all, lincoln was a 19th century man, with some of the same prejudices of 19th century men. but i think that the thing that distinguished him from other men of his era was that he believed very strongly in equality of opportunity. and

visitors can learn about the life death and legacy of abraham lincoln. ford's theater society director paul tatro talks about the center's purpose and goals. and tcurator walks us through te exhibits. >> behind me is the tower of books which is a concept that really started about five years ago to visualize and showcase the unending quest to learn more about abraham lincoln. so this tower of books represents, as we all know, that abraham lincoln is the most written-about figure in world history next to jesus christ. >> over the past couple of years we've been working with the ford's theater society on developing the new exhibits here at the ford's theater center for education and leadership. public space in the lobby has to be fireproof so all these books are actually made out of aluminum for weight and flammability purposes. we've got a structure that goes onto this column and then we're building up with perforated aluminum shelving and attaching the books to those as we go. we'll eventually work our way up to 35 feet. a lot of fasteners, high-temperatu

so our final piece looks at why abraham lincoln is still relevant today through his own words. so all the words you hear in this piece are actually pieces of text that have been taken from his speeches and from his writings, and they're remixed. and the idea behind this was to give visitors a last impression of how lincoln's words are so relevant today, how the ideals that he believed in are also still relevant and really to challenge the visitor with the idea that democracy is a work in progress and it's our duty as american citizens on how to continue that legacy further. there's something about abraham lincoln and his words that allow people to connect with him and find some kind of meaning with him. lincoln is still here with us today and there's a reason for that, and it has to do with the ideals that he believed in and the principles that he followed. >> we believe that ford's theater is the location in washington, d.c., to learn about lincoln and his legacy. it's one of the things that we do better than anyone else. we are able to marry the concepts and the excellence th

abraham lincoln knew some books perfectly well. he would not have made this reference lightly without weighing it in every particular. what's more interesting perhaps is the aftermath of this story, emily who had been in atlanta. many of the confederate dead are buried in atlanta. she had been there and now needs to get back home in kentucky. to be some consolation to her mother and to stop being a burden on her relatives. she has three children, one a babe in arms. she secures a pass from lincoln to return to kentucky, but she stopped at fortress monroe where she is asked to take the oath of allegiance which she feels she just can't do. so if you can imagine, these guards are in a bind. they have a pass from the commander in chief to allow emily to go through, but they have an order that no one goes through without taking an oath of allegiance to the federal government. in a bind they don't know what to do. emily suggests why don't you telegraph abraham lincoln. they do. he sends back four words -- send her to me. so in december o

lincoln called "forced into glory, abraham lincoln versus the white dream." this is about a minute and a half. i want you to listen, please, to what he had to say and then give us your perspective. >> okay. >> all over the country now people are engaged in packaging information on lincoln, putting together exhibits on lincoln, doing this and doing that about lincoln. it's a whole industry that employs hundreds of people, probably thousands of people. and it's important from that way, he's also a religion, and as i indicate in that same chapter, in "the new york times" before this book was published, that lincoln is such a god that the ordinary rules of evidence don't apply to him. and also the third point i think is important. he is one of the keys to america, americans see themselves in lincoln, american politicians tend to measure themselves by lincoln. he is a secular saint. and i know that, and i know and i said that what i'm proposing here that we look at lincoln is painful, painful to whites and to blacks, but i think it's necessary for the health of th

we forget that abraham lincoln hated slavery every bit as much as frederick douglass did. i know i'm going to get cards and letters for that. but he also loved the constitution of the united states. he did not want to destroy one by destroying the other. and he continued along those lines with the idea that in fact by halting slavery's demise or spread rather he would truly be hastening its demise. one forgets that aside from haiti, gradual emancipation was the norm for emancipation in the 19th century. that's what people looked at. and they thought that's exactly what they were doing, and they would not compromise about that one bit. or at least lincoln and miss republic his republican party would not do so. this is deeply, deeply important and i think has been kind of shoved aside to the extent to which only the most -- what jim calls the purist idea of the radicalism of equality that comes into play is the only worthy one.st idea of the radicalism of equality that comes into play is the only worthy one.est idea of the radicalism of equality that comes into play is the o

a story of a positive impact on the lincolns. this time on abraham lincoln himself. this is emily todd. she was born in 1836. she was by common consensus the prettiest of the todd girls. i find this court case in kentucky of a couple who kidnapped her when she was 3 years old and they haul a couple before the judge and ask why they did it, and they said, well, look at her. she's just that cute. not much of a defense, frankly. now, unlike david, emily was very close with the lincolns before the war. now, they didn't meet her -- lincoln didn't meet her until 1847 when he came through lexington on his way to congress. lincoln was clad in a long black cloak, a mammoth fur cap. emily is a little girl then, and she's just terrified. she thinks this guy looks like the giant of jack and the beanstalk. she hides behind her mother's skirt while the giant makes all of his introductions around the room. finally he peers around betsy and he spies emily, and he sweeps her up into his arms, and he says, ah, here's little sister. and that's the name that he will use for her for the

troubled waters as tension rises with tehran while at the uss abraham lincoln sales to the straits of hormuz. this valentine's day, the duchess of cambridge has them lining up in liverpool. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it is not often that a foreign vice-president gets an oval office meeting with the president, a lunch at the state department, and enough media attention to dwarf the heads of state. but then again, this is the future leader of china. today, xi jinping made the rounds in washington pledging friendship while conceding the need for civil rights. >> the man getting the red carpet treatment is 58, his daughter goes to harvard, and one of his favorite films is " saving private ryan." so much else is unknown. on valentine's day, the first day in the oval office. a chance to see how he feels about iran, syria, and america's growing presence in china's backyard. >> we are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships, to enhance our trade and commerce, and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr.

mcclellan was very disrespectful to abraham lincoln. he told his wife the president was an idiot and that he was no more than a well-meaning baboon. is this true? >> george mcclellan had, you know, prewar experience with abe lincoln when mcclellan was vice president of illinois central railroad and able lincoln was a lawyer working on cases for the railroad. and they actually spent time together traveling to different points along the railroad working on court cases to get rights-of-way and so forth. and he managed to get along fine with lincoln during that period and he enjoyed abe lincoln's propensity to entertain people around a fire in a little tavern or a hostel around the way with anecdotes based on his experience as a backwoods lawyer. but when lincoln was elevated to president and mcclellan became his subordinate, then the essential, social impediments if you will that mcclellan took with him from his upper middle-class background began to show. and he began to regard lincoln as an interloper. we would not i think in our u.s. hi

we forget abraham lincoln hated slavery every bit as much as frederick douglass did. i know i'm going to get cards and letters for that. he also loved the constitution of the united states. he did not want to destroy one by destroying the other. and he continued along those lines with the idea that, in fact, by halting slavery's demise, spread, he would truly be hastening his demise. one forget aside from haiti, gradual emancipation was the norm for emancipation in the 19th century. that's what people looked at. they thought that's exactly what they were doing and would not compromise about that one bit. at least lincoln and his republican party would not do so. this is an anti-slavery legacy which is deeply, deeply important and i think has been kind of shoved aside to the extent to which only the most what jim calls the purist idea of the radicalism of equality comes into play as the only worthy one. jim recognized something about this or has recognized something about this transition in his own work. lookinging back to 1994 he observed had lincoln done what aboliti

frank plankton reports from the "uss abraham lincoln." >> reporter: a warship approaches the "uss abraham lincoln" monitoring the super carrier. such encounters don't only happen at sea. in the air, u.s. fighter pilots often see iranian planes. lieutenant timothy breen says one of his jobs is making sure the iranians don't overstep their boundaries. >> we have a responsibility both to our coalition partners and also to the world, just to help make sure that freedom of navigation is going along smoothly and that people can feel safe transiting international waters. >> reporter: the abraham lincoln's presence guarantees movement of goods. the navy says it's not looking for a confrontation with iran, it is prepared. the carrier's catapults can launch four f-18 hornets in about a minute. the shooter, lieutenant commander mike givens make sure they get in the air safely. >> right here, we'll set the setting for the catapult which just determines how fast it will come off of the catapult. >> reporter: a floating town with about 6,000 personnel on board, the "abraham lincoln" has several mainten

mcclellan was very disrespectful to abraham lincoln. he told his wife the president was an idiot and that he was no more than a well-meaning baboon. is this true? >> george mcclellan had, you know, prewar experience with abe lincoln when mcclellan was vice president of illinois central railroad and abe lincoln was a lawyer working on cases for the railroad. and they actually spent time together traveling to different points along the railroad working on court cases to get rights-of-way and so forth. and he managed to get along fine with lincoln during that period and he enjoyed abe lincoln's propensity to entertain people around a fire in a little tavern or a hostel around the way with anecdotes based on his experience as a backwoods lawyer. but when lincoln was elevated to president and mcclellan became his subordinate, then the essential, social impediments if you will that mcclellan took with him from his upper middle-class background began to show. and he began to regard lincoln as an interloper. we would not i think in our u.s. his

at 9:00, a discussion about abraham lincoln and the freedom of the press. at 10:30, steven barry between lincoln and his in-laws the todd family. american history tv airs each weekend here on c-span3. >>> we got started because there are a lot of conservative thinkings that work across issues. before cap there had been no single progressive thinking organization that works on economic policy, domestic policy, international security. >> ceo for the center for american progress on the mission of the washington, d.c., based think tank. >> we often think there is an ideology between arguments made in washington with very little facts behind them. part of our job is to make the arguments and the factual argume arguments. i do think sometimes when the facts don't argue for our position, we reexamine those positions, because we unfundamentally believe the most important thing is to be right about what your views are. >> a look at the center for american progress sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q & a. >>> there's a new website for american hist

up next actress holly hunter and liam neeson with the words of abraham lincoln. >>> abraham and mary lincoln. she was short, he, a skbrint. -giant. she went to college, he went to one-room schoolhouses, she spoke french and he spoke indiana. she liked the best clothes, he liked the same old clothes. he grew up admiring henry clay, she knew henry clay. the lincoln family hated slavery, the todd family owned slaves, they met in springfield, illinois. >> one d was good enough to spell god, the todds needed two. >> he told me, ms. todd, i want to dance with you in the worst way and that's the way he danced, in the worst way. >> on the issue of poetry and politics, they had nothing in common. whatever you have read or heard before, it was mutual attraction and admiration than never waned. and this in their exact words, their family photos and other period pictures is their story beginning in 1858. >> i have come to the con conversation -- >> in our little country in springfield in the days of my girlhood, we had a society of gentlemen who have since been distinguished in the political wor

which is also very important for us to understand who abraham lincoln was as a person.

we forget abraham lincoln hated slavery every bit as much as frederick douglass did. i know i'm going to get cards and letters for that. he also loved the constitution of the united states. he did not want to destroy one by destroying the other. and he continued along those lines with the idea that, in fact, by halting slavery's demise, spread, he would truly be hastening its demise. one forgets aside from haiti, gradual emancipation was the norm for emancipation in the 19th century. that's what people looked at. they thought that's exactly what they were doing and would not compromise about that one bit. at least lincoln and his republican party would not do so. this is an anti-slavery legacy which is deeply, deeply important and i think has been kind of shoved aside to the extent to which only the most what jim calls the purist idea of the radicalism of equality comes into play as the only worthy one. jim recognized something about this or has recognized something about this transition in his own work. looking back to 1994 he observed had lincoln done what abolition

for my part, abraham lincoln signed the homestead bill into law in 1862. in 1864, i helped mr. lincoln gain at least one state into the column of abolition emancipation. that is the state of tennessee that you're visiting today. you heard some of these words earlier. i'm going to give you just a short excerpt. in october of 1864, word got out that i as military governor was about to issue an emancipation proclamation for the slaves in tennessee. this created a large gathering at the state capital.and stepp them and used some of the following words. colored people of nashville, you have all heard by which he claims that a large portion of the slaves in the states still in rebellion declared forever free. for reasons which seemed wise to the president, this proclamation did not apply to you or your native state. consequently, many of you were left in bondage. the feather still gald your limbs. the time has come for the last festivities of it to be removed. therefore, i, without reference to the president or any other make and standing here on the steps of the capale to witness, i

and so this tower of books represents, as we all know, that abraham lincoln is the most written about figure in world history, next to jesus christ. we believe that ford's theater is the location in washington, d.c. to learn about lincoln and his legacy. it's one of those things that we do better than anyone else. we are able to marry the concepts and excellence that we bring to theatrical productions, to the museum experience. we will teach our oratory programs in this facility. we will use this facility to do our teacher training. all of those things are jumping off who lincoln was, as such a brilliant leader. that center is what that is all about. >> visit their website at ford'stheater.org. >>> history bookshelf features popular american history writers of the past decade and airs on american history tv every saturday at noon eastern. this week on history

abraham lincoln bicentennial foundation chairman harold holtzer discusses lincoln and the freedom of the press during the civil war. and we wrap it up at 10:30, lincoln and the todd family. author and history professor steven barry discusses the relationships of president abraham lincoln and the todd family. the brothers and sisters of first lady mary todd lincoln. american history tv in prime-time beginning tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. here on c-span3. and live this weekend on our companion network c-span the national governor's association 2012 winter meeting being held here in washington. our coverage gets under way at 10:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow with an opening news conference. later in the day, a couple of breakout sessions looking at state economies. and our coverage continues on sunday, with a look at education and childhood hunger, as well as homeland security, and the role of the national guard. live coverage of the annual national governor's association winter meeting this weekend on c-span. >> it is our cause to dispel the foggy which avoids hard decisions in the delusion

his name was abraham lincoln. and we fell into conversation. and i introduced myself and told him that i was from northeast tennessee. and he replied he had relatives in northeast tennessee and perhaps i knew some of them. he identified his great uncle issac as having a farm. which his father thomas lincoln had worked as something of a hired hand in the 1790s. he also identified another great uncle by the name of mortici. where i replied greenville is my hometown. and your great uncle in fact performed the wedding ceremony for me and my wife elisa in 1827 as well as we served on the town council together. and i reassured mr. lincoln that he was in good hands in erm thes of politics that his great uncle had gained a great many more votes than i had. but like many young men who came into congress there with goals. and each of us had a cherished goal we wanted to achieve in that congress. mine was the introduction of a homestead bill. for mr. lincoln, it was the introduction of legislation which would have provided for compensated emancipation of

there are all kind of stories and questions about abraham lincoln's birthright. the biggest stretch i've ever heard has him the son of calhoun because nancy once worked in a tavern where calhoun may have gone during the time he was riding the legal circuit, but that's a real stretch. i think lincoln was the son of thomas and nancy. >> emory thomas, congratulations again on winning this year's person of the year. >> thank you so much. >> for 1862 as the 150th anniversary of the civil war is celebrated and remembered. so your nomination of robert e. lee wins it with the audience at the library of virginia. we thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> and we want to remind you in case you missed any of the program today, the interviews, the nominations by the historians. we'll show it all to you again this evening at 6:00 p.m. eastern here on american history tv on c-span3 and you'll get another chance to see it at 1:00 a.m. eastern on sunday. up next, we're going to take you to this week's ground breaking dedication of the smithsonian museum of culture and it's ex

aircraft carrier abraham lincoln got under way, led by a destroyer and a missile cruiser, high-powered protection, the carriers run through the strait of hormuz. as expected, the iranian military came out for a look. an f-27 plane makes a leisurely pass. shortly after, the bridge on the lincoln crackled to life. >> looks like he's out two miles. >> reporter: an iranian patrol boat was closing in fast. within two miles of the carrier, iranian boat finally backed off. lincoln's commander, captain john alexander says his biggest worry is that incidents like this could eventually lead to a fatal miscalculation. >> they have the ability to take a shot at me at some point and that's what i worry about. >> reporter: it's a legitimate concern. we've now entered the most dangerous stretch of waters here for the american forces. just beyond that horizon is the largest gathering of heavily armed revolutionary guard fast boats, iranian submarines armed with torpedos and an entire shoreline of anti-ship cruise missiles. the iranians have already threatened to shut down the strait of hormuz and atta

he called abraham lincoln the most powerful slave catcher at one point in the land. he hated the colonyzation in the country. especially him being the czar. and one point calling lincoln the colonyzation preacher. he hated that meeting lincoln held in august of 1862. the five black ministers from the washington d.c. area. no black abolitionists invited. he told us we would not be having this but for your people. >> we apologize. we solved part of the problem with the video signal, but the audio is having difficulty. that is david blight speaking about his person of the year selection for 1862. this is an event happening at the university of virginia at richmond. it is put on not the university, but the library of virginia. it is put on by the library and the museum of the confederacy. we are working on getting you a better signal. we are working on that. we are taking your comments online as well. for the past year or so, american history tv has been looking at the 150th anniversary of the civil war. the civil war ran from 1861 to 1865. over the course of the next fi

troubled waters as tension rises with taiwan not -- with tehran as the uss abraham lincoln sales through the straits of hormuz. this valentine's day, the duchess of cambridge had them lining up in the poll. -- in liverpool. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it is not often that a foreign vice-president gets an oval office meeting with president obama, a lunch at the state department, and enough media attention to dwarf most heads of state, but then again, this is the future leader of china we are talking about. today, xi jinping made the rounds in china while conceding the need for civil rights. >> xi jinping is known to be a fan of hollywood war films. in the oval office, a first date. a chance to see how we feels about iran, syria, and a growing u.s. presence in asia. >> we are a growing nation and we are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships and to enhance our trade and commerce and nature that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi said that he was here to reinforce the vacations' and friendship but that the d

troubled waters as tension rises with taiwan not -- with tehran as the uss abraham lincoln sales through the straits of hormuz. this valentine' day, the duchess of cambridge had them lining up in the poll. -- in liverpool. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it is not often that a foreign vice-president gets an oval office meeting with president obama, a lunch at the state department, and enough media attention to dwarf most heads of state, but then again, this is the future leader of china we are talking about. today, xi jinping made the rounds in china while conceding the need for civil rights. >> xi jinping is known to be a fan of hollywood war films. in the oval office, a first date. a chance to see how we feels about iran, syria, and a growing u.s. presence in asia. >> we are a growing nation and we are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships and to enhance our trade and commerce and nature that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi said that he was here to reinforce the vacations' and friendship but that the di

and the abolitionists were quite critical of abraham lincoln. first for his slowness to move against slavery and once he had actually begun to move against slavery, his gradualism and conservatism on the question of racial equal rights. my early work reflected that critical perspective on lincoln but i came to appreciate much more once i got into looking at all sides of these questions, the political and military. the kinds of pressures on lincoln from all sides, right, left, middle, north, south, border state and the skill he navigated through these political mine fields and military mine fields during his presidency and experience as commander in chief. i also came to see the interconnection between what i had originally been interested in, slavery and its abolition and the political context in which that process took place. and eventually the military context in which both these social protest movements and the political experience of the 1860s took place. i was particularly struck by something lincoln said in his inaugural address, when he p

. >> well, let's start with portraiture and a picture of abraham lincoln next to an introduction by president obama. how did it become involved in the commemorative issue? was it coincidental he chose to refer to this photograph in his comments, or were you planning on using this in your front cover all along? >> we were planning on using it as the cover. once the curators showed us this rarely scene portrait of lincoln, it's i think a stunning photograph, portrait taken late before lincoln was assassinated. gardener worked with a large giant negative and after he took this picture of lincoln he removed the negative and dropped it and cracked it. there's a crack running through his forehead. he reassembled the plate and pulled one off it which is this photograph which hangs in the national gallery. and we were hopeful that the president might want to contribute something to this issue. so we did intend to make it the cover all along and we sent him a copy via the press office and just asked for his meditation on this picture. what did it make him think of, lincoln or the state of the union. w

at 9:00, a discussion about abraham lincoln and the freedom of the press.arry and 9:30 his talk about lincoln and the todd family. eac american history tv airs each weekend here on espn 3. >>> we got started because there's a lot of conservative thinkings that work across issues. but before cap there had been no progressive thinking that worksr on economic policy, domestic policy, national security.licy, >> neera tanden on the mission of the washington, d.c. base m think tank. washi >> we think there's often an th ideology behind arguments made in washington with little factsn behind them. part of our job is to, you knowr to make the arguments and the factual arguments and the evidence-based arguments behind our own views. and i do think that sometimes -t you know, when the facts don't argue for our position, we re-examine those positions. because we fundamentally believn the most important thing is to r be right about what your views are. >> a look at the center for american progress sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q & a.ebsite >>> there's a new website for ameri

and the abolitionists were quite critical of abraham lincoln. first for his slowness to move against slavery and once he had actually begun to move against slavery his gradualism and conservatism on the question of racial equal rights. so my early work i think reflected that critical perspective on lincoln, but i came to appreciate much more once i got into looking at all sides of these questions. the political and the military. the kinds of pressures on lincoln from all sides, right, left, middle, north, south, border state, and the skill with which he navigated through these political minefields and military minefields during his presidency and his experience as commander in chief. i also came to see the interconnection between what i had originally been interested in slavery and its abolition, and the political context in which that process took place, and eventually the military context in which both these social protest movements and the political experience of the 1860s took place. and i was particularly struck by something that lincoln sa

and the abolitionists were quite critical of abraham lincoln. first for his slowness to move against slavery and once he had actually begun to move against slavery, his gradualism and conservatism on the question of racial equal rights. my early work reflected that critical perspective on lincoln but i came to appreciate much more once i got into looking at all sides of these questions, the political and military. the kinds of pressures on lincoln from all sides, right, left, middle, north, south, border state and the skill he navigated through these political mine fields and military mine fields during his presidency and experience as commander in chief. i also came to see the interconnection between what i had originally been interested in, slavery and its abolition and political conticket in which that process took place. and eventually the military context in which both they get social protest movements and the political experience of the 1860s took place. i was particularly struck by something lincoln said in his inaugural address, when he

and our power player of the week finds a new way to celebrate abraham lincoln all right now on "fox news sunday." >> chris: and hello again from fox news in washington. tomorrow the obama administration rolls out its budget for next year. but the white house is still trying to put out the fire created by its plan to have catholic institutions provide healthcare insurance for their employees including access to birth control. joining us to discuss both issues is the white house chief of staff jack lew. mr. lew, welcome to "fox news sunday." >> good to be here with you, chris. thanks. >> chris: before we get to the new budget and i promise we will i want to clear up

up next, our power player of >>> abraham lincoln was born 203 years ago today. literally thousands of books have been written about one of our greatest presidents the debate continues over the meaning of his life. here is our power player of the week. >> seems much more accessible than washington or jefferson. the born in a log cabin, he embodies the american dream. >> richard nor son smith is talking about america's enduring fascination with abraham lincoln. he is one of the driving forces behind a museum on lincoln's legacy that opened across from ford theater where lincoln was killed 147 years ago. >> its museum that looks to our evolving relationship with lincoln, not only the historical lincoln but the lincoln of myth. >> chris: he gave us a tour. it begins with what happened after lincoln died. a replica of the railway car that took the president's remains on a journey through a dozen cities. >> it's an extraordinary pageant of grief. >> that is where the story begins. the center chronicles how presidents have embraced lincoln. >> they took lincoln as a so

lincoln come he is arrested and he insists she really is abraham lincoln and he has a message for barack obama. you can imagine that it wouldn't be looked at very kindly. >> what is his message? >> the message has to do with something you would expect to read some of the summit is abraham lincoln has done everything right and he wants to correct barack obama's behavior and what he is there to say is that abraham lincoln made a bunch of mistakes and those mistakes were not good for our country and they actually start us down a slippery slope that barack obama is now taking us down even more quickly. >> where did you get the idea of that? >> it's funny we were driving in the car and i said literally what would happen if abraham lincoln showed up on the white house lawn and if he could get five minutes in the oval office with a barack obama what would he say and how much would we pay to be able to hear that conversation would be

. >>> next, abraham lincoln bicentennial foundation chairman discusses abraham lincoln and the freedom of the press during the civil war. as part of his talk, mr. holzer examines the reasoning of imprisoning of newspaper editors. it was co-hosted by the historical society of the courts of the state of new york. and new york state archives partnership trust. it's an hour and a half. >> thank you, judge. i have a feeling if i say thank you, judge, i'll get a you're welcome from 2/3 of the audience. it's daunting. but i've never spoken to a crowd of so many attorneys in my life. there's several i want to acknowledge, my daughter meg who is an attorney is here today. my cousin new york state inspector general ellen biben is here today. my old friend judge gene nardelli is here today. and it's wonderful to see all of you. one other person i want to mention because the subject for this evening is freedom of the press as you know. there is someone in this room who is actually a living hero of the fight for freedom of the press. formally of the "new york times." i just want to introduce and i

students honor abraham lincoln on this presidents' day. we'll do that here live. >>> plus we're cooking one of lincoln's favorite dishes. chef from lincoln restaurant is here to show us how to do it. >>> first here is a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for an incredible price: just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. it's an amazing deal, but it's for a limited time only. so don't wait. want to save even more? call right now and we'll add a special bonus: $300 back. unlike cable, fios delivers a 100% fiber-optic network to your home. get america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet, plus the best tv picture quality, and more hd. why keep paying so much for cable? switch to fios for just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. save $600 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus: $300 back. hurry

and so this tower of books represents as we all know that abraham lincoln is the most written about figure in world history next to jesus christ. we believe that ford's theatre is the location in washington, d.c. to learn about lincoln and his legacy. it's one of the things that we do better than anyone else. we are able to marry the concepts and the excellence that we bring to theatrical productions to the museum experience. we will teach our oratory programs as part of our education programs in this facility. we will use this facility to do our teacher training. all of

abraham lincoln never looked up. never looked out the window. stayed focused on the future. next question. >> i hope this is more of a -- not a what if, but a would have. would have the war ended in 1861 had the union crushed

and so this tower of books represents, as we all know, that abraham lincoln is the most written about figure in world history next to jesus christ. y believe that ford's theater is the location in washington, d.c., to learn about lincoln and his legacy. it's one of the things that we do better than anyone else. we are able to marry the concepts and the excellence that we bring to theatrical products to the museum experience. we will teach oratory programs and we will use this facility to do our teacher training and all of those things are jumping off who lincoln was, and such a brilliant leader. this center is what that is all about. >> for more information about the ford's theater education and leadership center visit their website at ford's theater.org. each year "time" magazine selects a person who had the most influence on events during the previous 12 nth mos. if the same question were posed in 1862, who would "time" select as the person of the year? american history tv will be live next saturday from richmond, virginia, as historians including james macpherson and david blight p

>> >>> abraham lincoln was born 203 years ago today. literally thousands of books have been written about one of our greatest the debate debate continues over the meaning of his life. here is our power player of the week. >> seems much more accessible than washington or jefferson. the born in a log cabin, he embodies the american dream. >> richard nor son smith is talking about america's enduring fascination with abraham lincoln. he is one of the driving forces behind a museum on lincoln's legacy that opened across from ford theater where lincoln was killed 147 years ago. >> its museum that looks to our evolving relationship with lincoln, not only the historical lincoln but the lincoln of myth. >> chris: he gave us a tour. it begins with what happened after lincoln died. a replica of the railway car that took the president's remains on a journey through a dozen cities. >> it's an extraordinary pageant of grief. >> that is where the story begins. the center chronicles how presidents have embraced lincoln. >> they took lincoln as a source

it addresses that issue, that ongoing question of why does abraham lincoln matter? why 150 years later, he is still so important to us. >> chris: more than 750,000 people a year visit ford's theater. now with the new center they think many more will come to see what they are calling a lincoln campus in the heart of washington. that is it for t

hari sreenivasan talks with historian richard norton smith about a new museum dedicated to abraham lincoln. >> why is lincoln an icon that we see so much in pop culture today? >> he is just one of those figures who is synonymous with integrity. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: on this presidents' day, the republicans who would be president drove home their points in key upcoming primary states. and the latest seeming front- runner drew crowds and criticism. rick santorum's rise in the polls continued today heading into next week's primary contest and two weeks before super tuesday. new gallup tracking poll showed santorum leading