Playlist: Bill Moyers Journal: Abraham Lincoln Revealed
In this special performance edition of the Journal, actor Sam Waterston and historian Harold Holzer explore Lincoln’s legacy and legend as defined in poetry and prose by significant American writers who, across the decades, have wrestled to envision Lincoln through the lens of their own experiences and times. Afterward, Bill Moyers sits down with Waterston and Holzer to talk about the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s maturation as President, the arc of history that connects Lincoln with President Obama, and the challenges of portraying and writing about the incomparable Abraham Lincoln. Broadcast date: April 10, 2009. (57 minutes)
Abraham Lincoln's writing "proved worthy to be inscribed in letters of gold," asserts Harriet Beecher Stowe. Lincoln's early writings date back to when he was a teenager. Sam Waterston reads a selection of these youthful writings.
In February 1860, William Cullen Bryant introduces the young Abe Lincoln. Though inexperienced and relatively unknown, the Illinois lawyer wins the presidential election.
Of the new President Lincoln, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a review so shocking that the "Atlantic Monthly" refuses to print it. Sam Waterston reads excerpts from Hawthorne's work.
Horace Greeley, editor of "New York Tribune," writes a scathing letter of disapproval to President Lincoln. Harriet Beecher Stowe writes affectionately of the President whose vision, she asserts, is clear.
President Lincoln understands the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation as his legacy. Juliet Ward Howe called Lincoln the second George Washington. Herman Melville calls Lincoln the second Messiah.
After Lincoln's death, John G. Whittier writes that Lincoln was the voice of God on Earth. Walt Whitman crystallizes the nation's mourning in prose and verse. He believes the tragedy gives Americans a chance for renewal.
Frederick Douglas adds texture to the rush to monumentalize Lincoln. Sam Waterston reads fro Douglas's work.
Edwin Markham praises Abraham Lincoln's hardy roots and his rise to power from the obscurity of the American plains.
Carl Sandburg's poetry and book about Abraham Lincoln transformed the memory of the great man into monument. Langston Hughes writes about his encounter with the Lincoln Memorial. W.E.B. Du Bois also writes about Lincoln.
F.D.R. sees a similarity between Lincoln's fight against slavery and his own fight against the spread of fascism. Sam Waterston reads from Lincoln's farewell address to his hometown to go to Washington.
By the end of the 20th century, a new Lincoln emerges in literature. Delmore Schwartz's Lincoln is described as a manic-depressive whose indecisiveness caused national greed.
Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln are connected through the arc of history to accomplish great things in times of great need.
Sam Waterston describes the research he did into Abraham Lincoln as he prepared to play the President in a Broadway play.
Researchers delve into Lincoln's personal writings to discover the man. Bill Moyers, Waterston, and Harold Holzer discuss the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln as man and myth.
Lincoln was both a poet and a persuader. This is why the Gettysburg Address is today considered almost scriptural. His address is a persuasive argument to keep fighting until the battle is won.