Sep 2, 2008

Sesquincentennial a Success


History was brought to life before an enthusiastic crowd (It's been reported that over 15,000 people attended the 4-day event) Saturday afternoon as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas reminisced about their political careers and the turbulent time period of the 1850s during Reunion Tour ‘08.

The event featured performances from historical interpreters George Buss and Tim Connors, who portrayed Lincoln and Douglas, respectively, in front of hundreds of onlookers at Debate Square. Reunion Tour ‘08 was one of the major events for this weekend’s Lincoln-Douglas Debate Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Structured as a press conference, Reunion Tour ‘08 gave Lincoln and Douglas the opportunity to share their recollections of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and comment on their own historical legacies.

During the event, Lincoln and Douglas spoke as if they were in contemporary times looking back on their careers. Their speeches, laced with humor as well as serious historical comment, were received well by the energetic crowd. The event was moderated by Capt. Silas Terry, who was portrayed by Ed Finch.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

That sound like an interesting event.
The closest thing I have is an original signed copy of a book by Douglas. (no idea where hubby picked that on up at)

Barb said...

Sounds and looks like it was a good time. Nice pictures of the celebration.

Anonymous said...

That really sounds interesting. I would have loved to have been there. And your pics are wonderful.
Barb in TX