Speakers
Steven Smith
Video thumbnail
Event Type
The Civic Discourse Project
Academic Year
2023-2024
Civic Discourse Project season
Civics, Patriotism, and America's Prospects
Video Title
"How Abraham Lincoln Invented American Democracy" with Steven Smith
Body
Democracy is more often invoked than defined or described in public debate. What does that word then mean? Smith argues forcefully that American Democracy can be dated from the afternoon of November 19,1863 when Abraham Lincoln announced “a new birth of freedom” in the Gettysburg Address. His words linked for the first time the struggle against slavery with the struggle for democracy both at home and abroad.