The War Over Lincoln

摘要

Illinois has been calling itself "the land of Lincoln" for decades. This week the entire country is laying claim to the title. Every place with a significant connection to the great man, from Louisville, Kentucky, the largest city in the state where he was born, to Springfield, Illinois, where he made his career in law and politics, to Gettysburg, on whose battlefield he delivered his immortal address, is marking the 200th anniversary of his birth. In Washington, dc, Congress is holding a bicameral tribute; the refurbished Ford's Theatre, where he was assassinated, is reopening with a new play about Lincoln's life; and the Library of Congress is unveiling an exhibition of Lincoln memorabilia.rnLincoln is one of the world's most written about men, along with Napoleon and Jesus, with 16,000 books on him written since his death in 1865 and a new Lincoln book coming out, on average, every week. But in this bicentennial year a flood is turning into a torrent.