Sara Gabbard

In Defense of History Sara Gabbard  Daniel Boorstin, Pulitzer Prize winning historian and Librarian of Congress, once said that “trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.”   A...

Lincoln the Inquirer: An Interview with M. Kelly Tillery, Esq Sara Gabbard  Sara Gabbard: Please explain your conclusion that Abraham Lincoln was inquisitive at an early age. M. Kelly Tillery: A number of people who knew Lincoln as a boy...

Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President An Interview with Allen Guelzo by Sara Gabbard  Sara Gabbard: Please explain the circumstances of this new edition of your book. Allen Guelzo: I have to answer this a little shamefacedly. I did it with a...

History as Portrayed in Art: An Interview with Harold Holzer Sara Gabbard  Sara Gabbard: Please explain the circumstances under which you and your co-authors (Gabor Boritt and Mark Neely, Jr.) undertook this enormous project. Harold Holzer: Back in 1982—it’s hard...

Lincoln & Poetry Sara Gabbard  In any scholarly biography of Abraham Lincoln, a reader will find countless references to this prairie lawyer’s love of poetry. I’m not sure that biographers will ever come up with a definitive explanation for this...

Redeeming The Great Emancipator the Harvard University Lecture An Interview with Allen Guelzo by Sara Gabbard Sara Gabbard: What were the circumstances surrounding your Lecture titled Redeeming the Great Emancipator. Allen Guelzo: That requires a long answer. Redeeming the Great...

Herndon’s Informants: An Interview with Douglas Wilson by Sara Gabbard   Sara Gabbard: This had to have been an enormous project. What first led you to undertake the task? Douglas Wilson: I had been working on Thomas Jefferson for several...

An Interview with Jonathan W. White by Sara Gabbard   Sara Gabbard: Please describe the Center for American Studies at Christopher Newport University. Jonathan White: The Center for American Studies is a group of faculty on campus who seek to...

Memories: An Interview with Harold Holzer Sara Gabbard: Recent questions about the fate of various Civil War memorials raise several obvious questions.  Is there a profound difference between possible sites for statues; e.g. public vs. private property? Harold Holzer: To...

An Interview with Richard Etulain regarding his new book Abraham Lincoln: A Western Legacy Sara Gabbard: Please explain the series on South Dakota history which this book represents: Richard Etulain:  This book is part of the South Dakota Biography Series...

Sara Gabbard:  Please explain the significance of the fact that “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation” was added to the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Eric Foner:  The fact that each of the Reconstruction amendments...

Sara Gabbard:  You excel  in putting historical figures into the context of their times.  In terms of date of birth, Abraham Lincoln was born on the cusp between Enlightenment and Romanticism.  Were there traces of both in his life? David...

An Interview with Richard Striner regarding His New Book: Summoned to Glory: The Audacious Life of Abraham Lincoln (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) Sara Gabbard: The obvious first question should be about your use of the word Audacious in the title. ...

Sara Gabbard: When you are “on the road” lecturing about Lincoln and the Civil War, what questions do members of the audience ask most frequently? Do responses from your students reflect the same interests?    Allen Guelzo: Far and away, the...

Sara Gabbard:  When in relationship to the timing of writing your marvelous Lincoln and the Power of the Press did you decide to write a book which would explore “the Endless Battle between the White House and the Media from...