THE LINCOLN GROUP OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL FOUNDATION
THE LINCOLN ARCHIVES DIGITAL PROJECT
THE WILLARD INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL
THE LINCOLN FORUM
Commemorate the Sesquicentennial of
The First Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln
Saturday, March 5, 2011
(Washington, D.C.) The 150thanniversary of the first inauguration of President
Abraham Lincoln will be commemorated on March 5, 2011, at a public ceremony in
the United States Capitol Visitor Center auditorium and a banquet luncheon at
the Willard InterContinental Hotel. Distinguished actor Sam Waterston will read
Lincoln's First Inaugural Address at the public ceremony at the Capitol. The
first inauguration of President Lincoln took place on March 4, 1861.
These events are co-sponsored by the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia,
the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, the Lincoln Forum, the Lincoln
Archives Digital Project, and the Willard InterContinental Hotel. They are the
first events commemorating the Lincoln presidency to receive the support of the
new Foundation-the successor organization to the Bicentennial Commission which
commemorated the 200thanniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2009. The Capitol
ceremony will be hosted by Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., from the
2ndDistrict of Illinois and co-sponsored by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia.
The Lincoln Inaugural Sesquicentennial Ceremony at the Capitol Visitor Center
auditorium will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will feature remarks on the 1861
inauguration by Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer, chair of the Foundation; the
public reading of Lincoln's inaugural address by Sam Waterston; and a
re-enactment of the swearing-in of President Lincoln. As was the sequence in
1861, the swearing-in will follow the reading of the inaugural address. The
Capitol ceremony is free and open to the public.
January 2011
Press Release: Lincoln Inauguration Sesquicentennial
Page 2
In announcing the Capitol ceremony, the president of the Lincoln Group of the
District of Columbia, Burrus Carnahan, stated, "Under the leadership of
President Lincoln, our nation passed through its greatest trials and extended to
all Americans the fundamental rights which a government of, by, and for the
people was founded to protect. Remembering these critical years can strengthen
our commitment to the principles of
freedom today and in the years ahead. Young people especially will benefit from
recalling the struggles for liberty that made this country the last best hope of
earth."
"The newly reconstituted Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation is proud to be
co-sponsoring and providing support for this important commemoration," commented
Foundation chair Harold Holzer. "Our goal is to perpetuate the Lincoln story
throughout the Civil War Sesquicentennial, and this event fits perfectly into
that mission. Lincoln's immortal inaugural appeal to the 'better angels of our
nature' resonates in our own time as it did in his own: as an aspiration to
unity and national spirit, and we look forward to hearing them pronounced on
March 5 by the incomparable Sam Waterston."
At 1:00 p.m. participants in the Capitol program and other guests will attend an
Inaugural Banquet Re-enactment Luncheon at the Willard InterContinental
Hotel. The menu will be reminiscent of the inaugural luncheon served to
President Lincoln who stayed at Willard's Hotel with his family before the
inauguration. Live music of the Civil War period will be performed. Special
presentations will be made by Sam Waterston and Harold Holzer. The principal
speaker will be Lincoln biographer Ronald L. White, Jr, author of A. Lincoln: A
Biography (2009); The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His
Words (2005);and Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
(2002). Illustrations and documents related to the 1861 inauguration will be
displayed. Invited guests include Congressman Jackson, Senator Webb, Archivist
of the United States David Ferriero, and Librarian of Congress James
Billington.
Reservations for the Willard Hotel banquet luncheon are $75 and must be made by
February 25, 2011. Order by mail: The Lincoln Group of DC, 3119 N. Harrison
St, Arlington, VA 22207, or online at www.lincolninauguration2011.com.
For more information visitwww.lincolngroup.org or contact Karen Needles at
240-462-9802
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is
doing it." Karen Needles
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than
any other one thing."
Abraham Lincoln to Isham Reavis, Nov. 5, 1855
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2, p. 328
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
