Lincoln and America 250

On Thursday, October 22, 2026, The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies presents the Mary and James Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series featuring Jon Grinspan and Saladin Ambar speaking on the topic of Abraham Lincoln and America 250. The event is free to attend, but registration is required.

Jon Grinspan is the Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and author of Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War. His award-winning books and New York Times articles have explored the deep history of American democracy, including the 19th century youth vote, Gilded Age political angst, militant anti-slavery clubs, Civil War coffee, and too-far political comedy.

As we are in the midst of celebrating the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Grinspan will discuss the often contested meaning of America through the contested nature of public events stretching from the first Fourth of July through the centennial a hundred years later.

Saladin Ambar is a Professor of Political Science and Senior Scholar at the Eagleton Center on the American Governor and author of Murder on the Mississippi: The Shocking Crimes That Shaped Abraham Lincoln. Ambar’s research focuses on the institutions of the American presidency and governorship, race and ethnic politics, American political thought, and American political development.

Ambar will discuss three murders that took place in Mississippi River towns in the mid-1830s and how these killings shaped Lincoln’s worldview, one of his earliest speeches, and his relationship to America's founding principles.

This event is organized by the UIS Center for Lincoln Studies and co-sponsored by Looking for Lincoln National Heritage Area and NPR Illinois.