Abraham Lincoln Association
The Abraham Lincoln Association is an American association that observes each anniversary of the birth of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, preserves and makes more accessible landmarks associated with his life, and actively encourages, promotes, and aids the collection and dissemination of authentic information regarding all phases of his life and career.
The Abraham Lincoln Association was organized in 1908 as the Lincoln Centennial Association. Among the founders of the Association were United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller, and financier John Whitfield Bunn. It led the national celebration of Lincoln's one-hundredth birthday. In 1925, under the leadership of Association President Logan Hay, Paul M. Angle became the Association's first executive secretary. Paul Angle, Benjamin Thomas, Harry Pratt established the association's programs of research and publication.
Publications
Its semi-annual Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association is the only journal devoted exclusively to the history and legacies of Abraham Lincoln. The association also publishes a quarterly newsletter, For the People. Historian David Herbert Donald said "The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association is the most important periodical in the field of Lincoln studies. As a Lincoln biographer, I rely on it heavily for both ideas and information." [1] The eight-volume The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln is now available online to the public at the association's website.[2] The association has made many their publications available to the public on this website.
Lincoln bicentennial events
On February 12, 2009, the Abraham Lincoln Association led the national celebration of Lincoln's 200th birthday. President Barack Obama was the guest of honor at the Association's birthday banquet on the evening of February 12 in Springfield.[3] He gave a speech titled "What the People Need Done". Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame also spoke at the banquet. The banquet was co-hosted by the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. The association also hosted a roundtable discussion earlier that day about the "Age of Lincoln". Five Lincoln scholars took part in the event: Orville Vernon Burton, David R. Contosta, Daniel Walker Howe, Russell McClintock and Elizabeth R. Varon.
Annual banquet and symposium
The association celebrates the anniversary of Lincoln's birth every year in Springfield, Illinois. The banquet and symposium take place on February 12. Past banquet speakers include:
February 12, 2009 President Barack Obama
February 12, 2008 Michael Beschloss, author
February 12, 2007 Jon Meacham, author, editor of Newsweek
February 12, 2006 Doris Kearns Goodwin, author
The symposium features speakers on a specific topic regarding Lincoln. Past symposium topics include:
2009: The Age of Lincoln
2008: Celebrating a Century of Lincoln Scholarship
2007: Lincoln and the Politics of the 1850s
2006: The Lincoln Family
