Partnership Program with Farmington Historic Plantation

Sponsored by Farmington, with support from the University of Louisville History Department, The McConnell Center, The Filson Historical Society, and the Frazier History Museum.

In his new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, Harold Holzer charts Lincoln’s political career through the lens of immigration, from his role as a member of an increasingly nativist political party to his evolution into an immigration champion, a progression that would come at the same time as he refined his views on abolition and Black citizenship. Lincoln visited Farmington in the summer of 1841 for three weeks to spend time with his best friend Joshua Speed.  His time in Louisville was the first extended period where he was immersed in the life of a southern plantation, and his stay influenced his views of slavery and emancipation.  In fact, Joshua’s brother James became Lincoln’s Attorney General during his presidency and the Speed’s became trusted advisors that helped keep Kentucky in the Union during the Civil War.

Harold Holzer is the recipient of the 2015 Gilder-Lehrman Lincoln Prize. One of the country’s leading authorities on Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War era, Holzer was appointed chairman of the US Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission by President Bill Clinton and awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush. He currently serves as the director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, City University of New York.

Registration for the event is through Farmington and their ticketing system.