On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program’s Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, joins the show to discuss the legacy of the Gettysburg Address and what Lincoln might say to us today.

 

Guelzo’s 2013 article for The New York Times: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/lincolns-sound-bite-have-faith-in-democracy/

 

Guelzo’s 2013 piece in the Claremont Review of Books: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/a-new-birth-of-freedom/

Subscribe to Madison's Notes in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing.

There are 5 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    To all,

    This is well worth your time to listen to. Guelzo is a (perhaps “the”) premiere American Historian of the moment. His knowledge is deep and detailed and his opinions are wise. He and many other top people of Academia are the ultimate pushback to the pathetic nonsense of the 1619 Project and the NYTimes irresponsibility for pushing such junk.

    Thanks to the Madison’s Notes podcast. I’ll be looking for more from you.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #1
  2. JoelB Member
    JoelB
    @JoelB

    An address that still rings true. Democracy is still being challenged by authoritarianism. Our challenges today are different, but they are difficult on their own level. The United states came together as a nation formed on propositions, not on tribalism or ethnicity. Lincoln’s generation overcame. May we also.

    • #2
  3. Eugene Kriegsmann Member
    Eugene Kriegsmann
    @EugeneKriegsmann

    A great discussion! It would seem that the Democrat press hasn’t changed its tune in more than 150 years. Is it any wonder that the things they said about Bush and Trump are as they are when they could found no value in those incredible words of our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.

    • #3
  4. Antonin Scalia Podcaster
    Antonin Scalia
    @AntoninScalia

    James Gawron (View Comment):

    To all,

    This is well worth your time to listen to. Guelzo is a (perhaps “the”) premiere American Historian of the moment. His knowledge is deep and detailed and his opinions are wise. He and many other top people of Academia are the ultimate pushback to the pathetic nonsense of the 1619 Project and the NYTimes irresponsibility for pushing such junk.

    Thanks to the Madison’s Notes podcast. I’ll be looking for more from you.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Thank you for listening! We’ve published 15 episodes so far, all now available here on Ricochet. 

    • #4
  5. DJ EJ Member
    DJ EJ
    @DJEJ

    That was an excellent discussion full of great historical and republican insights that I thoroughly enjoyed, but ultimately it left me feeling depressed.

    Were I to attempt to engage in a conversation with my peers on campus (I’m an archaeologist) extolling the principles Lincoln espoused in the Gettysburg Address, or on the importance of natural law, limited government, or the underlying foundational belief that every human being is made in the image of God, they’d look at me like I was from another planet. I doubt they’d be able to quote the address beyond “[f]our score and seven years ago” and would strongly disagree that this nation should be “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” They’d deny that there’s a Creator to create mankind, and as demonstrated through the hierarchy of identity culture and grievances, some people are more equal than others. They’re dedicated, whether knowing the exact quote or not, to the principle that “[t]he definition of morality is that which advances the revolution.” (~ Karl Marx) Or put another way, the ends justify the means in pursuit of power.

    Just as during the Civil War, it is only when a significant number of Americans themselves abandon the founding principles that “government of the people, by the people, for the people” is in danger of perishing from the earth.

    • #5
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.