New York, New York

Day Ten - February 20, 2011

New York, NY

The only program today was at General Grant National Memorial (Grant’s Tomb). Again today, I was feeling under the weather and didn’t leave the hotel. Fritz, Tim, and Spirit went to the site from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. They did informal interpretation for about 200 people during the three hours.

Fritz, Tim, and Spirit ate two meals at the South Houston Restaurant in New York City. While looking for the restaurant, a man ran out from a building along the way and he wanted a photograph with “Abraham Lincoln” (this happens a lot). The first time they went to the restaurant, Tim and Spirit wore NPS uniforms and Fritz wore his living history outfit as Lincoln. Someone asked Tim if he was a real park ranger. Before the lunch was over, several people wanted to get photos with Lincoln. The other restaurant guests were very warm and friendly. Tim, Spirit, and Fritz returned to the same restaurant for supper. This time, our team was in regular street clothes—and they were recognized by some of the same restaurant staff. In New York City, as elsewhere, our team has been greeted and treated very kindly.

While in New York City in 1861, Lincoln spoke to supporters at the Astor House in New York. He also met with a variety of Republican supporters during his visit to the city. And in a tangible link to the nation’s founding, Lincoln talked with 94-year-old Joshua Dewey. Mr. Dewey had cast a ballot for president every four years—beginning with George Washington, who first took office in 1789.

During Lincoln’s visit to New York City, he was greeted by large, but more subdued crowds. Even though Lincoln carried New York State, he didn’t win a majority of votes in New York City. The city financially profited from the cotton trade and had maintained a close relationship with wealthy Southern planters. In fact, Mayor Fernando Wood had even suggested to the New York City Council that city should secede from the Union and become a “free” city to maintain its economic relationship with the South.

Mr. Lincoln met Mayor Wood during a reception at City Hall. The mayor greeted Lincoln from behind a writing desk that had been used by George Washington. With the symbolic desk between them, the mayor asked Lincoln to pursue peace and reconciliation because New York’s economic health was at stake. Lincoln responded, “There is nothing that can ever bring me willingly to consent to the destruction of this Union, under which not only the commercial city of New York, but the whole country has acquired his greatness.”

President-elect Lincoln then used a “ship” metaphor that Fritz Klein has repeated several times during our trip. I got goose bumps each time he does it, as I’ll explain in a moment. Lincoln then pointed out to Mayor Wood, “I understand a ship to be made for carrying and preservation of the cargo, and so long as the ship can be saved, with the cargo, it should never be abandoned.”

Every time I heard Fritz use this Lincoln “ship” metaphor I immediately thought of Walt Whitman’s poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” After Lincoln’s death in 1865, Whitman wrote, among other things, this remarkable poem that compares Lincoln to a ship’s captain.

O Captain! My captain! Our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won. . . .

Later in the poem Whitman concludes:

My Captain does not hear my voice, his lips are pale and still;

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will:

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip, the victor ship, has come in with object won.

Exalt O shores, ring O bells!

But I, with mournful tread, walk the deck my captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

As we look back at history and consider the challenges facing Lincoln, we also, in the back of our minds, know how it turns out. We know John Wilkes Booth will pull that fateful trigger and take Lincoln’s life.

But we should try and always remember that when we study the past, we are actually studying people who were living in a different “present.” We inserted that idea into Spirit’s introduction. “And please remember,” Spirit says before introducing Fritz Klein as Abraham Lincoln, “as our nation teetered on the brink of civil war 150 years ago, Americans did not know how it would turn out—just as we cannot predict what tomorrow will bring. Our ancestors a century-and-a-half ago did know one thing, however, that the crisis would lead to change. But no one knew for sure what that change would be. . . .”

Abraham Lincoln didn’t know what fate had in store for him as president. He knew, however, that he would need to summon every ounce of courage, fortitude, and wisdom that he could muster for the task. And he knew the nation would need to do the same.

Onward to the Big Apple

Albany, NY to Peekskill, NY to New York, NY

We loaded the van and drove from Albany to Peekskill, New York, for a late morning event. Peekskill wasn’t on the original itinerary. But Tim Good had received a call from a gentleman in Peekskill asking if we could squeeze in a program there. He said sure. Then there was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “Do I have to fill out a form?” No, Tim replied, you don’t have to fill out a form!

The Peekskill event was a great stop for several reasons. (The weather, however, wasn’t one of them. A frigid wind blew through town the whole time. On top of that, I seem to coming down with a chest cold.)

A good-sized crowd was waiting for Mr. Lincoln at the modern train station. Many citizens were gathered, with people milling around members of color guards. A train whistle announced the arrival of Mr. Lincoln. He made his way down to the crowd. Then a parade of people began striding briskly to the old train depot. It was wonderful to see a color guard from the U.S. Military Academy from West Point, NY (which is in the area). Several Civil War living history groups were represented: the 150th New York Regiment, 79th NY, 11th Connecticut, and a Yorktown (I believe) student re-enactment group. Sons of Union Veterans members and some Boy Scouts were present.

At the old train station there is a statue of the president-elect standing at the rail, complete with his top hat on his head. It’s one of the tangible reminders of Lincoln’s inaugural journey that we have found along the way. There is also an active Lincoln Society in Peekskill that has kept the memory of Lincoln alive and well in the area.

The program at the depot lasted about 35 minutes. The blistering cold temperatures had us shivering. Snow was piled on the ground. Several dignitaries spoke. The president-elect made a few brief comments.

They are working on a Lincoln Depot Museum renovation. I think it’s a great idea. It will provide a permanent place where visitors can make a connection to Lincoln’s inaugural journey and the Civil War era. One of the men in line said they have a lot of Civil War related artifacts they can put in the museum, including items from the Grand Army of the Republic (a post-Civil War veterans’ organization) members. Currently, the interior of the depot is vacant—except on this day, because everyone sought shelter inside to escape the biting winter wind. The hot chocolate was a huge hit!

Then we drove on to the “Big Apple,” New York, NY.

Fritz and Spirit presented their standard program at Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site tonight. They reported that it went well and there were about 100 people in attendance.

But I have become ill. So I didn’t venture out to the program. My main concern is not to get everyone else sick.

Highlights from New York

Buffalo, NY to Albany, NY

I have yet to mention the rest of the Lincoln family in my blogs. Mary Lincoln and the boys, Robert, Willie, and Tad were all on the train, too.

In Buffalo, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln dined at Millard Fillmore’s house on Niagara Street after church. Then the Lincoln family returned to the American Hotel, which was mainly vacant at the time. In their boisterous fashion, Willie and Tad took advantage of the large spaces in the hotel to play leap frog with a son of the hotel owner.

At our hotel in Buffalo yesterday morning, I picked up a copy of USA Today. “Across the South, An Enduring Conflict,” proclaimed the headline on the issue’s first page. Rick Hampson, the author of the feature article, described how the country is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which has included some controversies. For instance, on December 20, 2010, a secession ball was held in Charleston, South Carolina. Some African American protestors picketed outside. One protestor said the secession ball was “a celebration of slavery.”

Hampson pointed out that Americans are still divided—and even polarized—in many ways. Some Americans are promoting the importance of states’ rights, for example, especially with regard to the federal government’s revamping of the health care system.    

To gain an on-the-ground perspective for his article in USA Today, Hampson traveled to Montgomery, Alabama. As Hampson pointed out, Montgomery was at the epicenter of many key moments of both the Civil War and the civil rights movement. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the first Confederate president there 150 years ago today, on February 18, 1861. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in 1955, sparking a successful boycott of city buses led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And in 1965, marchers streamed in from Selma in a show of support for voting rights. Clearly, it seems to me, there is a link between the struggles for freedom in the 1860s with the struggles for equality in the 1960s. 

Regarding the relevance of the Civil War today, I refer to what I recently read in a National Park Service document. “The issues at the heart of the war 150 years ago remain relevant: legal and social equality, the role of the federal government, how divergent views are reconciled in a democracy . . . and the failure of the Civil War to fully achieve equal rights for African Americans and all other citizens.”

Back to the road trip…..

We drove to Albany where we did a program at the New York State Museum. Another great turnout. Nearly 300 people were in attendance. We received a lot of accolades. The National Park Service staff at Martin Van Buren National Historic Site was a great help. They coordinated with the staff at the New York State Museum to make the event possible.

On this day in 1861, Mr. Lincoln spoke to a joint session of the New York legislature. Gov. Edwin D. Morgan introduced Lincoln. The president-elect said, “It is true that while I hold myself without mock modesty, the humblest of all individuals that have ever been elevated to the Presidency, I have a more difficult task to perform than any of them . . . . but when the time comes I shall speak as well as I am for the good of the present and future of this country—for the good both of the North and South of this country . . . . In the meantime, if we have patience; if we restrain ourselves; if we allow ourselves not to run off in a passion, I still have confidence that the Almighty, the Maker of the Universe will, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as He has through all the other difficulties of our country.”

Spirit received a nice round of applause during her remarks while introducing Fritz. The applause came after she said her mother was one of the Little Rock Nine. This was the first time I had wired Spirit for sound. The wireless microphone was connected to my video camera.

One of the nice touches at the New York State Museum was the display of a historic bible. A citizen of the area gave Lincoln the bible during the president-elect’s trip through New York. The bible remained in the hands of the Lincoln family for many years before it was donated to the museum. After the program many people filed by to see the bible in a glass case.

We are spending the night in Albany tonight.

Buffalo, New York!

This morning we drove to School #81, a middle school, for a program. The 130 students and teachers were very receptive to our presentation. Spirit gave a rousing introduction. She really got the students wound up in anticipation. And the students truly seemed excited to meet Mr. Lincoln. On his way to the front of the theater he shook hands with several students. After one young girl greeted Mr. Lincoln, I noticed her turn to a classmate and giggle with delight.

On Saturday, February 16, 1861, the citizens of Buffalo welcomed the president-elect with enthusiasm like we experienced—but on a much larger scale than we encountered. An estimated 10,000 people thronged to the Exchange Street station when Mr. Lincoln, his family, and entourage rolled into Buffalo at about 4:30 pm. Chief among the greeters was Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth president of the United States. The crowd became so boisterous that Lincoln barely made it out of the depot, and then only because a handful of men encircled Lincoln and ran interference for him.

Reading the accounts of Lincoln’s struggle to get through the crowd at the depot reminds me of watching footage of “Beatlemania” in the 1960s. Wild-eyed fans of The Beatles would swarm them, making a simple stroll from a limousine to a hotel a perilous adventure. Surging crowds can get a bit scary. In fact, Maj. David Hunter (who would later become a general during the war) was so roughed up in the effort to get through the crowd at the Buffalo train station that he dislocated a shoulder.

After reaching the American Hotel, Lincoln spoke from a balcony to a large crowd. He thanked Buffalo for its reception. Then, for the first time on the trip, he referenced his upcoming inaugural address. Lincoln was still crafting it, to hone it “so that when I do speak authoritatively I may be as near as right as possible . . . to say nothing inconsistent with the Constitution, the Union, the rights of all the States, of each State, and of each section of the country, and not to disappoint the reasonable expectations of those who have confided to me their votes.”

On Sunday, February 17, Lincoln rested. The Lincoln Inaugural Journey team was thankful he did, too. Because for us, it means that we can spend two nights in Buffalo. So far on the trip, it’s been “another day, another hotel.” Only twice during our two-week trip do we get to spend two nights in the same hotel (the other will be New York, NY).

Lincoln attended Sunday morning services at the First Unitarian Church as the guest of Millard Fillmore. Appropriately, for our evening program, we drove to Unitarian Universalist Church. The church isn’t the same building where Lincoln worshipped in 1861. But the church is home to the same congregation!

The Unitarian Universalist Church is beautiful. Ornate woodwork surrounds the podium. Civil War re-enactors were on hand once again. The 155th New York Regiment formed an honor guard that included a fife and drum, which was a wonderful touch.

The program went very well. About 300 people filled the pews.

The Hutchinson Family Revival (three men and two women) sang several songs. They were fantastic! Just the sort of upstate New York/New England abolitionist type of singing you would imagine. They sang “Come Join the Abolitionists” (which included the refrain “when slavery is no more), “Lincoln and Liberty” (which was a tune the original Hutchinson Family Singers sang in support of Lincoln’s candidacy in 1860 and it’s sung to the tune of “Old Rosin the Beau”), a third song I didn’t recognize, and “We Are Coming Father Abraham.”   

Peter Wolfe portrayed former president Millard Fillmore and introduced Fritz. The setting in the church was terrific. The re-enactors stood guard while Mr. Lincoln spoke at the ornate pulpit. Once again Fritz rose to the occasion and delivered a wonderful address. The crowd loved it. I heard many compliments afterward.

We wish to thank Mark Lozo and Molly Quackenbush for their work on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. Mark is the chief of interpretation at the park and he is our primary contact on this and he did a great job organizing the evening event. Molly is the park superintendent and I enjoyed meeting and talking with her.

One of the great things about having the program at the Unitarian Universalist Church is that members have a sense of history. In the church fellowship hall, there is even an exhibit on Lincoln’s visit to Buffalo in 1861. The connection was wonderful. Our Mr. Lincoln spoke to the same congregation that the real Mr. Lincoln spoke to 150 years ago.

After the program, I videotaped a short interview with a member of the congregation. She said, “I really enjoyed the program. I thought it was really neat to have a women who is the daughter of [one of] the Little Rock Nine in our pulpit today. It was just wonderful. It shows how far we’ve come, yet we still have things to do. . . . I was very grateful to be here.” When I asked if she learned anything new, she replied: “I really learned today that Lincoln really did not want to go to war. He really wanted to solve this issue of secession . . . to stop the spread of slavery and not go to war over it. It will be interesting to read the history a little bit further and see why he got forced into it, because I don’t remember.”

Lincoln meets little Grace Bedell

This morning we went to Garfield Heights Middle School in Garfield Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) for a program. Vicki Tomasheski is a teacher there. She is a participant in the teacher-ranger-teacher program with Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Karen Kopchak recommended her.

Statue of Lincoln and Grace Bedell, Westfield, NY

The 57 middle school students and teachers really enjoyed the program. Fritz does a different presentation for students. His Lincoln for kids is folksier and he tells stories of Lincoln’s childhood. Some of the phrases get a laugh, too, such as, “I was happy as a pig in a pea patch.” Fritz also includes messages that emphasize that anybody can grow up to be successful like Lincoln, if you work hard, do your best, stay honest, and never give up. In addition, Fritz has a great knack for getting across the unpleasant topic of slavery in a way that students understand and can relate to.


After the program, the students swarmed around Fritz. He shook hands and spoke to them in small groups. On the way to the van, I snapped some photos of Mr. Lincoln doffing is top hat in front of the “Garfield Heights” school sign. We then proceeded on to one of our most anticipated stops: Westfield, New York. Westfield was a very special stop for Mr. Lincoln. Grace Bedell, a young girl, had written a letter to Mr. Lincoln suggesting that he grow a beard.


According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Some three months ago, I received a letter from a young lady here; it was a very pretty letter, and she advised me to let my whiskers grow, as it would improve my personal appearance; acting partly upon her suggestion, I have done so; and now, if she is here, I would like to see her; . . . a small boy, mounted on a post, with his mouth and eyes wide open, cried out, “there she is, Mr. LINCOLN,” pointing to a beautiful girl, with black eyes, who was blushing all over her fair face. The President left the car, and the crowd making way for him, he reached for her, and gave her several hearty kisses, and amid the yells of delight from the excited crowd, he bade her good-bye.


Our program was set up in the auditorium for approximately 600 people. The audience included the student body—from elementary to high school—of the Westfield Academy and Central School as well as a fair number of townspeople. About a dozen people were attired in 1860s era reproduction clothing. They sat on stage behind Mr. Lincoln. One gentleman was portraying railroad detective Allan Pinkerton. Mr. Pinkerton stood behind the president-elect and relentlessly scanned the student body in case one of the kids decided to rush the stage and inflict bodily harm to Mr. Lincoln. The student band, which numbered about 15 or so, serenaded the audience with Civil War era songs. It was a nice touch. The upright bass player even sported an Abe Lincoln beard and stovepipe top hat. “Madison,” a young girl from Westfield, portrayed Grace Bedell. We staged several photographic sessions of her presenting yellow roses to Mr. Lincoln. She was a good sport about the whole thing.


During the set-up for the Westfield school program, I was asked by Martha Bills, our primary point of contact for our stop there, to get in touch with a Buffalo television station. I called the WGRZ studio. They couldn’t send a crew down to the event to film it. Could we send some still photographs? Sure, I said. So after the program, a secretary in the school superintendent’s office let me use her computer. I downloaded four photos that I took at the school event and emailed them. The images subsequently appeared on the six o’clock news. I also asked that they plug our public program in Buffalo the next night. Once we had squared away getting the photos to the Buffalo TV station, Tim steered our van to a reception. We stepped carefully over ice and snow and walked into to a wonderful historic home, which houses the Chautauqua County Historical Society. Everyone was so friendly.


On the second floor, we were shown through an exhibit room that featured several Lincoln images and artifacts, including two lanterns that had been on the carriage that delivered President and Mrs. Lincoln to Ford’s Theatre on the tragic night of the assassination, and a Lincoln Funeral Train adornment. Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Westfield four years after the inaugural train. At 1:00 am on April 28, 1865, the funeral train stopped briefly in Westfield “where large bonfires had been built, lights hung about, and a signal gun was fired.” Several women from Westfield were permitted on the train and they placed a wreath on the president’s casket.


Through conversations with several people and exhibits at the museum, we learned about an all but forgotten advocate for civil rights. Albion Winegar Tourgee served as an officer in the Union army. He devoted his career to making equal rights a reality for everyone. Mr. Tourgee wrote, “Justice is pictured blind and her daughter, the Law, ought at least to be color-blind.” Tourgee even argued for the plaintiff in the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson before the U.S. Supreme Court. He lost. The court decided that in a case involving segregated railroad cars in Louisiana that “separate but equal” facilities for people of color was constitutional.

At my park we interpret Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. At Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, we provide visitors with opportunities to learn how the 1954 decision became a turning point in the nation’s long struggle to provide freedom and equality for everyone.


Both Plessy and Brown impacted American history in many ways. Plessy led to the nadir of race relations in American history as states were allowed to create racially segregated public institutions—including public schools. Brown, conversely, opened the door to the modern civil rights movement; it inaugurated an opening into the light of equality and justice after a long, dark night of oppression and injustice.

Tourgee’s efforts and the history of Plessy and Brown relates to the “Civil War to Civil Rights” sub-theme that the National Park Service is interpreting during the Civil War Sesquicentennial from 2011 to 2015. The freedom that African Americans achieved as a result of the Civil War did not become equality. Equality would have to wait another 100 years.


By the way, we also learned that Robert H. Jackson grew up in Frewsburg, NY, about 30 miles from Westfield. Jackson was one of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted unanimously in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Jackson also served as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials of former Nazi officials in post-World War II Germany.


As Lincoln’s train pulled into Westfield 150 years ago, a banner proclaimed prominently, “Welcome Abraham Lincoln to the Empire State.” We were also welcomed to the Empire State.
The people at Westfield were very hospitable. We had a delightful time.

Before leaving Westfield, a group of us walked over to the sight of the statues of Abraham Lincoln and Grace Bedell. These statues are two of the primary tangible reminders of Lincoln’s inaugural journey. They’re wonderful depictions of two Americans whose lives intersected briefly, but meaningfully. We took quite a number of photographs.


I hate to leave out anyone, because I know many people made the Westfield event a memorable one. But I do wish to thank Marth Bills; John Paul Wolfe, the curator at the Chautauqua County Historical Society; and David and Sandra Brown for dressing in period clothes and being such wonderful hosts for us.

Then we proceeded on to Buffalo, NY, where we spent the night.

Remarks from Cleveland!

Today, we drove from Pittsburgh up to Hudson, Ohio. Our evening program is at the Happy Days Lodge at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. About 250 attended the program. National Park Service staff at Cuyahoga Valley National Park organized the event. Karen Kopchak did a great job of setting up the event and serving as the emcee for the night. Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the Happy Days Lodge in the 1930s. It’s a great old building, with a vaulted ceiling in the main hall.


Today we arrived in time to eat lunch at the “Winking Lizard.” Tim Good used to work at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so he knows the area quite well. We had a great lunch, talking about the upcoming programs and about the park here. Tim says that they park has many fascinating features to it—a railroad, historic buildings, agriculture, etc. A century-and-a-half ago, the president-elect arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, at about 4:30 pm. At the train depot Lincoln boarded a carriage in a snow storm to ride in a procession to the Weddell House. From a balcony looking out to “a sea of faces,” Lincoln decided to speak about his pledge to leave slavery alone—in the south, where it already existed:


We have been marching about two miles through snow, rain and deep mud. The large numbers that have turned out under these circumstances testify that you are in earnest about something or other. What is happening now will not hurt those who are farther away from here. Have they not all their rights now as they ever have had? Do they not have their fugitive slaves returned now as ever? Have they not the same constitution that they have lived under for seventy odd years? Have they not a position as citizens of this common country, and have we any power to change that position? What then is the matter with them? Why all this excitement? Why all these complaints? As I said before, this crisis is all artificial. It has no foundation in facts. If all do not join now to save the good old ship of the Union this voyage, nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage.


Invariably, at each of our stops, we seem to run into “Local Lincolns.” These are men who portray our 16th president. They seem to be sincere, good men, who want people to better understand who Mr. Lincoln was and what he did to preserve the Union. There were two “Local Lincolns” at the event this evening at the Happy Days Lodge.


One of the interesting people we met at the Happy Days Lodge was a woman who first met Fritz Klein ten years ago. He inspired her to do living history and she became a reenactor. They posed for a photograph tonight—and they were holding a photograph of them together taken ten years ago, which she had brought with her. I guess you could say that we’ve discovered that Abraham Lincoln has groupies—and so does Fritz Klein!


The other night a humorous incident occurred. We were checking into a hotel when Fritz gave the hotel clerk at the front desk his credit card. But the clerk said, “I need to see a photo ID.” Fritz, unfortunately, had left his driver’s license in the vehicle. Thinking quickly, Fritz asked Spirit for a five-dollar bill. Fritz then got the attention of the hotel clerk and held up the bill by his face. The clerk looked up and laughed. The clerk then waived the need for Fritz to produce photo ID.


As an aside for the things we deal with while we’re on the road, my eye glasses are about to fall apart at the bridge (nosepiece). A hotel worker back in Columbus placed some clear packing tape on the glasses. But I fear that it may not hold out. In Macedonia, Ohio, I went to Wal-Mart vision center to get fitted for contact lenses. I have worn contacts in the past, but it has been awhile. The optometrist was very nice and helpful. So now I’m set up with contact lenses for the rest of the trip (and my eye glasses are still holding up, too).

For our standard program, Spirit speaks for about five minutes while introducing Fritz as President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Then Fritz will usually start with the words Lincoln actually spoke at that city 150 years ago. But Lincoln’s remarks were often so short that they wouldn’t make much of a program. So Fritz has about a 30-minute speech that is a patchwork of all of Lincoln’s speeches during his inaugural journey. It’s very dramatic. The audience is often quite still when Mr. Lincoln is speaking.


There are some lines, though, that seem to get smiles and chuckles each time. For instance, in Pittsburgh in 1861, Lincoln said, “Notwithstanding the troubles across the river, there really is no crisis, springing from anything in the government itself. My advice, then, under such circumstances, is to keep cool.” (This is the line that brings a reaction from the audience. I guess they think the phrase “keep cool” sounds more like a modern term.) After the “keep cool” line, Lincoln continued, “If the great American people will only keep their temper, on both sides of the line, the troubles will come to an end, and the question which now distracts the country will be settled just as surely as all other difficulties of like character which have originated in this government have been adjusted.”

by Dave Schafer, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (NHS)

Day Five - February 15, 2011
Pittsburgh, PA to Cleveland, OH

Supt. Tim Good, Ulysses S. Grant NHS, St. Louis, MO
Park Ranger Spirit Trickey, Central High School NHS, Little Rock, Ark.
Richard F. “Fritz” Klein, nationally renowned Lincoln presenter, Springfield, IL.

Lincoln's in the Big Apple!

After several days on the road and many programs presented, Lincoln and NPS staff pulled into New York City. Special programs at Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historical Site and the General Grant National Memorial are scheduled for the weekend. Check back for more updates!


The journey in 1861 saw Lincoln speak from the
balcony of New York's Astor House.

 http://www.nps.gov/liho/new-york-inaugural-journey.htm