Video Description

John Stauffer explains how Abraham Lincoln’s “rough and tumble” upbringing coupled with his passion and understanding of literature helped him to become an effective leader. Stauffer discusses contradictions in the Constitution, the emergence of the Republican Party in 1854, and he describes the Dred Scott decision in 1857 as "the most outrageous Supreme Court decision in American history." John Stauffer is a leading authority on antislavery, the Civil War era, social protest movements and photography. He received his PhD from Yale in 1999 and won the Ralph Henry Gabriel Prize for the best dissertation in American Studies. He began teaching at Harvard that year and was tenured in 2004. He teaches courses on protest literature, Emancipation, southern literature, Douglass and Lincoln, the Civil War, autobiography, the nineteenth-century novel and historical fiction. He has received two teaching awards from Harvard: the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award and the Jan Thaddeus Teaching Prize and served as Chair of American Studies at Harvard from 2006-2012. Stauffer’s 19 books include The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race (2002); Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln (2008); and The Battle Hymn of the Republic: A Biography of the Song That Marches On (2013). Two of his books were national bestsellers and several have won numerous awards. He is the author of more than 50 academic articles and his essays have appeared in Time, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Republic, and the Washington Post. He has been a consultant for feature films including Django Unchained (2012) and the Free State of Jones (2016). The Apple TV+ series "Lincoln's Dilemma," features insights from journalists, educators and scholars, as well as rare archival materials, that offer a more nuanced look into the life of the Great Emancipator. Set against the background of the Civil War, "Lincoln's Dilemma" also gives voice to the narratives of enslaved people, shaping a more complete view of an America divided over issues including economy, race and humanity, and underscoring Lincoln's battle to save the country, no matter the cost. The series is narrated by award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright ("Angels in America") and features the voices of actor Bill Camp ("The Night Of") as Lincoln and Leslie Odom Jr. ("Hamilton") as Frederick Douglas. To view the entire series please visit: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/lincolns-dilemma/umc.cmc.7003fizrrxznfhz1s20vv7ewy Subscribe for access to interviews, series, films, and educational materials that address issues of social justice, history, politics, the arts, and culture by spotlighting relatable human stories of purpose and meaning. Learn about our work and how to support our mission here: https://www.lifestories.org/. For extended versions of these interviews and more, visit: https://www.youtube.com/@lifestoriesinterviewarchive Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifestoriesinterviews/ Chapter Markers: 00:00 - Introduction 05:42 - Lincoln’s melancholy 06:47 - Slave narratives and literacy 09:48 - Early abolitionism and Lincoln’s opinion of slavery 17:27 - Elijah Lovejoy 22:05 - Lincoln’s strategy for slavery’s extinction 25:52 - Slavery as a totalitarian state 27:35 - Lincoln’s tolerance for slavery 31:10 - Lincoln’s years as a lawyer 33:25 - The Kansas-Nebraska Act 36:20 - The emergence of the Republican Party 38:45 - Lincoln’s reverence for free labor 40:15 - The Dred Scott decision 45:30 - Stephen A. Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act 49:05 - The Lincoln-Douglas debates 54:05 - John Brown and Frederick Douglass 01:00:29 - Lincoln’s reaction to John Brown’s raid and its significance 01:11:11 - Lincoln’s early presidential priorities and first inaugural address 01:20:42 - The death of Willie Lincoln 01:26:07 - Fear of British recognition of the Confederacy 01:28:23 - Black participation in the Civil War 01:31:20 - Frederick Douglass’ strategy to win the Civil War 01:33:04 - Lincoln’s and Black enlistment 01:39:27 - Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ friendship 01:48:43 - Frederick Douglass’ publications 01:51:27 - Significant Lincoln artifacts 02:56:07 - The achievements of the abolitionist movement John Stauffer, Historian, Harvard University Interview Date: November 10, 2020 Interviewed by: Jackie Olive and Barak Goodman © Apple Video Programming, LLC. All Rights Reserved. #JohnStauffer #kunhardtfilmfoundation