The arc of Abraham Lincoln’s political career existed in the context of the ideologically tumultuous 19th century. From a period of cultural pessimism in the 1840s and 1850s alongside the Millerites’ prediction of a Second Coming, this period saw the rise of utopian philosophies, the intwining of slavery and Southern identity, the merging of Manifest Destiny with the concept of free-market opportunity, and a collapse of a common, middle ground. Distinguished historian Orville Vernon Burton joins David M. Rubenstein to paint a portrait of the five decades pivoting around Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, and his place within them.
Recorded on July 6, 2023
The arc of Abraham Lincoln’s political career existed in the context of the ideologically tumultuous 19th century. From a period of cultural pessimism in the 1840s and 1850s alongside the Millerites’ prediction of a Second Coming, this period saw the rise of utopian philosophies, the intwining of slavery and Southern identity, the merging of Manifest Destiny with the concept of free-market opportunity, and a collapse of a common, middle ground. Distinguished historian Orville Vernon Burton joins David M. Rubenstein to paint a portrait of the five decades pivoting around Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, and his place within them.
Recorded on July 6, 2023