Television Program Features
Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College
Research done at Knox College's Lincoln Studies Center is featured in a
television program, "Lincoln: The Untold Stories," scheduled for broadcast on
Galesburg's public access cable channel 7 at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 21.
The 90-minute program examines recent research by the co-directors of the
Lincoln Studies Center--Rodney O. Davis, Szold Distinguished Service Professor
Emeritus of History at Knox College, and Douglas L. Wilson, George A. Lawrence
Professor Emeritus of English.
Upcoming Schedule for "Lincoln: The Untold Stories"
- Galesburg Public Access (Cable Channel 7)
Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m.
- Nationwide on The History Channel
Friday, April 23, 9 p.m. CDT
Saturday, April 24, 1 a.m. CDT
Originally shown in February on The History Channel, the program is based on
Davis and Wilson's research into the reminiscences about Lincoln gathered by
William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner in Springfield, Illinois, prior to
Lincoln's election to the presidency. After Lincoln's death, Herndon
interviewed and corresponded with people who had known Lincoln as a young man
in Springfield and New Salem, where Lincoln began his political career.
Davis and Wilson arranged with producers to allow rebroadcast of the
program on the Galesburg cable system, which does not carry The History
Channel. It will also be shown again nationwide on April 23 and 24. The program is available
for purchase at www.historychannel.com.
Long disparaged by many Lincoln scholars, Herndon's interviews are gaining
renewed interest and respect, thanks to Davis and Wilson and their recently
published book, "Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews and Statements about
Abraham Lincoln." The History Channel credits Davis and Wilson, through their
work with the Herndon material, with bringing about a "refreshing change from
the confusing jumble of tall tales, conjecture and legend that have surrounded
[Lincoln's] earliest years for over a century."
"Most historians have focused on Lincoln's presidential years," Davis says.
"Some historians have also tended to disregard oral history as unreliable, even
though they would use Herndon's material when it supported their particular
views of Lincoln."
Davis credits Wilson with rekindling interest in Herndon's work. "It was
Doug's initiative," Davis says. "Lincoln and Jefferson were two of our most
confident presidents, in terms of the written word. Doug was interested in the
books that Jefferson and Lincoln had read. To get at what Lincoln had read,
Doug had to consult the Herndon material. He got me interested, too, and we
decided it was time for another look at Herndon."
Herndon's interviews were not widely available, and the existing microfilm was
of poor quality, Davis says. Assisted by Knox students, Davis and Wilson
transcribed the interviews in "Herndon's Informants"--a work that has been
praised by leading historians. Civil War scholar James McPherson called it "a
monumental achievement of scholarship," and Stephen Douglas biographer Robert
Johansen wrote that the Herndon material "will be of inestimable value not only
to the study of Lincoln but also for nineteenth century American history
generally."
Davis and Wilson co-founded the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in 1998. In addition to their collaboration on the Herndon project, Davis has written about Illinois history and Wilson is the author of articles and books about Lincoln and about Thomas Jefferson.
Founded in 1837, Knox is an independent, four-year, liberal arts college,
located in Galesburg, Illinois, with 1,100 students from 42 states and 33
nations. Knox's "Old Main," a National Historic Landmark, is the only building
remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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