How Abraham Lincoln Invented American Democracy

Aug. 9, 2024
More from this show

What is democracy? In this episode of “The Civic Discourse Project” lecture series, Steven B. Smith answers that question dating back to Lincoln.

Smith argues that the defining moment of American democracy can be traced to the afternoon of November 19, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a “new birth of freedom” during the Gettysburg Address, when his words for the first time connected the fight against slavery with the fight for democracy, both domestically and internationally.

SPOTLIGHT
Playlist 48 season 3 promo video collage
airs Jan. 25

‘Playlist 48’ is back with season 3

Graphic for PBS Books Readers Club with a photo of Shelby Van Pelt
Jan. 29

Join us for PBS Books Readers Club!

Check, Please! Arizona season 12
airs Jan. 30

Season 12 of ‘Check, Please! Arizona’ starts Jan. 30

Clifford the Big Red Dog meets with children at an Arizona PBS event.
Feb. 1

Save the date for family fun at ASU Open Door

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters

STAY in touch
with azpbs.org!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters:


Gifts presented by Arizona PBS
60s and 70s Soul Celebration 6-DVD and CD sets

60s and 70s Soul Celebration DVD and CD sets

Willie Nelson's 90th Birthday bundle

Willie Nelson's 90th Birthday Bundle

Rick Steves European Christmas Sets

Rick Steves European Christmas Sets

make your selection
LATEST CONTENT
MORE EPISODES
Dr. Allen Guelzo

  Sept. 27, 2024

What was the American Civil War really about?

Roosevelt Montás

  Sept. 20, 2024

How the Great Books Changed My Life & Why They Matter for a New Generation?

Jonathan Gienapp, Associate Professor of History & Law at Stanford University Elizabeth Kaufer Busch, Co-Director of the Center for American Studies at Christopher Newport University Andrew Porwancher, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, SCETL.

  Sept. 13, 2024

America at 250: Civic Education and Upcoming Anniversaries of the Founding

Daniel Mahoney, Visiting Professor at SCETL Catherine Zuckert, Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame Jennifer Frey, Dean of the Honors College at the University of Tulsa Karen Taliaferro, Assistant Professor at SCETL

  Aug. 30, 2024

Liberal Arts and Civic Education: Compatible or Conflicting?

Lucas E. Morel

  Aug. 23, 2024

Two Models of Patriotism: Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.

Timothy Sandefur

  Aug. 16, 2024

Economic Freedom and Democratic Participation

Dr. Steven B. Smith

  Aug. 9, 2024

How Abraham Lincoln Invented American Democracy

Dr. Richard Haass

  Aug. 2, 2024

The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens

Dr. Robert George

  July 26, 2024

The Constitution and Civic Virtue

Matthew Continetti and Dr. Paul Carrese

  Oct. 27, 2023

Is there a Conservative Cancel Culture in American Politics?

Ronald J. Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins University

  Oct. 20, 2023

Purposeful Pluralism: The Future of the University in the American Democracy

John McGinnis, Professor at Northwestern University Law School, and Illana Redstone, Professor at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

  Oct. 13, 2023

Ideological Conformity

Franciska Coleman, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School

  Oct. 6, 2023

The Anatomy of Cancel Culture

Lincoln Jones, Clifton Duncan, Winston Marshall, Meg Smaker

  Sept. 29, 2023

Unchallengeable Orthodoxy in the Arts

Newsweek Deputy Opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon, Washington Post Columnist Megan McArdle, and University of Maryland Professor Dr. Jason Nichols

  Sept. 22, 2023

Is the ‘Woke Newsroom’ a Danger for U.S. Democracy?

Jane Kamensky, Professor of History at Harvard University

  Sept. 15, 2023

1776 and Us: Finding the Founding in a Foundering Democracy