Posts Tagged 'Ronald White'

White analyzes Christian ethic within Lincoln’s second inaugural address
Special Lecture Recaps

White analyzes Christian ethic within Lincoln’s second inaugural address

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Abraham Lincoln was a Christian president, and he embedded Christian ethics of inclusivity, humility and reconciliation within his speeches, writings and presidency, said Ronald C. White Jr., the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography and Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural. White presented Monday’s 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture in the Hall of Philosophy.

White opened this season’s Week Nine religion lecture theme, “The Ethics of Presidential Power,” with a lecture titled “Abraham Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount: the Second Inaugural Address.”

White began his lecture with a reading of the 701-word document, which only took Lincoln six minutes to read to an audience of 25,000 to 30,000 people on March 4, 1865. At the time the president delivered the speech, the crowd was full of soldiers who had lost limbs during the Civil War, family members who had lost sons and brothers, White said. The atmosphere was turbulent, and already there were threats of Lincoln’s assassination or abduction. Nearby rooftops were strewn with sharpshooters, White said.

Grant, a strong and gentle man who enjoyed novels
History/Archives

Grant, a strong and gentle man who enjoyed novels

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The experiment at Fair Point did not happen without help. John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller knew people — they had earned attention.

For example, Vincent knew Ulysses S. Grant, a general, a parishioner, a president. And through Vincent’s arrangement, Grant came to Chautauqua in 1875 while he was president. His visit earned attention for the fledgling Institution and could be credited with much of the Institution’s early success.

To speak of Grant, his early association with Vincent and Chautauqua, and to share his early findings as he researches and writes a book about Grant, Ronald White will give a talk titled “Grant at West Point: ‘Much of the time, I’m sorry to say, was devoted to novels.’ ”

As part of the Oliver Archives Heritage Lecture Series, White will speak today at 3:30 p.m. in the Hall of Christ. White is an award winning author — his most recent book, A. Lincoln: A Biography, was published in 2009 and is a New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestseller.

White explores Lincoln’s faith through 2nd inaugural address in 1865
Interfaith Lecture Previews

White explores Lincoln’s faith through 2nd inaugural address in 1865

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In a country hot with debate surrounding the economy, health care, war and gay rights, the ethics of presidential power are closely scrutinized — especially in an election year.

During this week’s Interfaith Lecture Series, experts on American leaders will discuss presidential ethics from the Civil War, World War II and the Manhattan Project, Vietnam and civil rights, and Nixon and the Watergate scandal.

Today, professor and presidential biographer Ronald White Jr. will talk about an ethically conscious, faith-oriented side of Abraham Lincoln that many biographers have neglected. His lecture, titled “Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount: The Second Inaugural Address,” is at 2 p.m. Monday in the Hall of Philosophy.