Mahaska Reads - Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation

On Tuesday, October 14, Dr. Ron Rietveld, Lincoln scholar and professor emeritus of History at University of California-Fullerton, visited the Book Vault and gave a fascinating presentation on Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Dr. Rietveld's presentation served as the closing event for this year's Mahaska Reads series of programs and discussions centered around Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave.

The presentation began with a fact that many people do not realize today about Abraham Lincoln and his involvement in ending slavery in the United States: initially, Abraham Lincoln had no intention of interfering with the system because, under the current constitution, he could not do so legally. Dr. Rietveld then explained the series of events that led to the drafting and signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Dr. Rietveld also shared about his experiences as a Lincoln scholar, including when he discovered a long-lost picture of Abraham Lincoln, believed to be the last taken before his assassination. Knowledgeable and enlightening, Dr. Rietveld captured the attention of everyone in attendance and entertained several questions at the close of his presentation.

If you'd like to read more about Abraham Lincoln, here are a few titles in our collection:

Abrham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years
by Carl Sandburg

Growing up in an Illinois prairie town, Sandburg listened to stories of old-timers who had known Lincoln. His extraordinary portrait brings fully to life the country lawyer who would become one of the most influential and beloved presidents of the American republic.

Lincoln: A Foreigner's Quest
by Jan Morris

Renowned on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the finest writers on history and travel in this century, Morris is part of the long tradition of foreigner observers who are able to illuminate America for Americans. In Lincoln: A Foreigner's Quest, she looks at Lincoln with her singular perspective, and the result is a historical journey free of sentiment and nostalgia.

Killing Lincoln
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history - how one gunshot changed the country forever. Featuring some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.

What Lincoln Believed
by Michael Lind

The most comprehensive study ever written of the thought of America's most revered president. Michael Lind provides a resource to the public philosophy that guided Lincoln as a statesman and shaped the United States.

Stealing Lincoln's Body
by Thomas Craughwell

On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and largely forgotten, event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context.

All book descriptions adapted from the book covers.