“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”
Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln challenged us to be dedicated to the “unfinished work” of the Civil War. This year, you can explore the relationship between the Underground Railroad and the Civil War during Live and Learn weekends in cities across Pennsylvania.
Gettysburg Address
Your weekend will center on the “Unfinished Work” Book Discussion Series. On Friday evening, a scholar will introduce the weekend’s featured book and lead a discussion. On Saturday, the scholar will lead a tour of Underground Railroad and Civil War sites and then relate the books to the sites visited.
These weekends are a chance to explore the themes of slavery and freedom, women and the war, communities under siege, and memory and commemoration. Each weekend features great room rates, heritage tours, museum exhibits, reenactments, and restaurant outings.
For more information in each location:
Philadelphia – Contact Almaz D. Kinder at almaz@gptmc.com.
Pittsburgh – Contact Terri Blanchette at tsblanchette@hswp.org or (412) 454-6411.
Lancaster County – Contact the Lancaster County Historical Society at (717) 392-4633.
Here are the books that will be discussed in each location in 2008.
April 4-5
The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History by Margaret S. Creighton
Excellently written narrative history of the battle of Gettysburg that is concerned with
“Immigrants, Women, and African Americans in the Civil War’s Defining Battle.”
June 20-21
Forever Free by Eric Foner
The leading historian on America's Reconstruction provides a stirring look at the powerful struggle of African Americans' to establish freedom for themselves in America and the effects of this movement on real people.
August 15-16
Lincoln on Democracy edited by Mario Cuomo and Harold Holzer
Selection of letters and speeches (Lincoln’s own words), edited by two individuals who are scheduled to co-host a nationally televised debate in October 2008 between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, with reference to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1860.
