News Detail

Historian Douglas L. Wilson receives 2007 Lincoln Prize

02/12/2007

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The author of a book that examines the Civil War president's most famous writings, including his farewell address to Springfield, the First Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address, has won the 2007 Lincoln Prize, which is endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by Gettysburg College.

For his book, "Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words," Douglas L. Wilson will receive $50,000 and a bronze replica of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' life-size bust, "Lincoln the Man." Wilson is only the second two-time winner of the prize, winning in 1999 for his book, "Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln." The prize will be presented at a formal ceremony April 30 in New York City. The Lincoln Prize is the nation's most generous award in the field of American history.

"During the most turbulent and dangerous era of our history, Abraham Lincoln led, preserved and transformed America with both his sword and pen. It is particularly 'fitting and proper' in our own challenging times, to quote Lincoln at Gettysburg, to honor a contribution that acknowledges the power of masterful words to rally support for the preservation of democracy," said Gilder and Lehrman in announcing the prize Feb. 12. "Wilson's incisive analysis of Abraham Lincoln's presidential writings captures a genius-craftsman at work, molding and honing phrases destined to rally his contemporaries and live in American memory. Similarly, this masterful book will long hold a prominent place in Lincoln literature as the definitive analysis of the 16th President's steady and dazzling growth as a writer. We are honored to recognize and celebrate Wilson's literary and historical achievement."

Wilson, who serves as co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, taught English and American literature for 33 years at Knox College. A founder of an interdisciplinary American Studies program at Knox, he spent many years working in Jefferson studies, which resulted in numerous scholarly articles and several books, including "Jefferson's Literary Commonplace Book," "Thomas Jefferson's Library" and "Jefferson Abroad." In recent years, most of his work has been focused on Abraham Lincoln, and has resulted in numerous articles and three books, "Lincoln before Washington: New Perspectives on Lincoln's Illinois Years," "Herndon's Informants: Letters and Interviews about Abraham Lincoln" and "Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln."

"No less distinguished a literary figure than Edmund Wilson once memorably said: 'Alone among American presidents, it is possible to imagine Lincoln, grown up in a different milieu, becoming a distinguished writer of a not merely political kind,'" said Gettysburg College Prof. Gabor Boritt, who serves as chair of the Lincoln Prize. "Wilson's probing, beautifully written and sharply argued study allows us to better understand and appreciate the development of a great American President who became a great American writer that so many other writers have regarded with awe and reverence. This is a signal contribution to the fields of both American history and American literature, on both of which Wilson has made an indelible mark."

In addition to Wilson's book, two others received honorable mention including Martha Hodes's "The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century" and Harry S. Stout's "Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War."

Gilder and Lehrman, together with Gettysburg College Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies Gabor Boritt, established the Lincoln Prize in 1990. It is the nation's most generous award in the field of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Institute has amassed one of the nation's greatest private collections of American historical documents and devotes itself to education by supporting magnet schools, teacher education, curriculum development, exhibitions and publications.

Past Lincoln Prize winners include Ken Burns in 1991 for his documentary "The Civil War," James M. McPherson in 1998 for his book "For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War" and Allen Guelzo in 2000 for his book "Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President" and in 2005 for his book "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America." Last year's winner was Doris Kearns Goodwin for her book, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."

Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences. With approximately 2,500 students, it is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1832.

Issued: 2/12/07