Springfield, IL (April 11, 2024) - The Lincoln Presidential Foundation (“Foundation”) will host an evening with bestselling author Doris Kearns Goodwin on June 11th at 7 PM CT at the Hoogland Theater in Springfield, IL. Goodwin will share insights from her recent book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, during an interview with Foundation President and CEO Erin Carlson Mast. Proceeds from the evening will directly support the Foundation's award-winning work and groundbreaking projects.
Goodwin, a longtime Honorary Director of the Foundation and recipient of its prestigious Lincoln Leadership Prize has captivated audiences at past talks hosted by the Foundation on her previous books, including Team of Rivals. In discussing her new biography, memoir, and history all in one, Goodwin will delve into the emotional journey she and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, embarked upon in the last years of his life as they examined the vast trove of archival material from their years as presidential advisers and authors.
Dick and Doris were married for forty-two years and married to American history even longer. In his twenties, Dick was one of the brilliant young men of John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier. In his thirties, he both named and helped design Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and was a speechwriter and close advisor to Robert Kennedy. Doris Kearns was a twenty-four-year-old graduate student when selected as a White House Fellow. She worked directly for Lyndon Johnson and later assisted on his memoir. As a married couple, they discussed, argued, and assessed the political landscapes of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who greatly impacted both their lives.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s work for President Lyndon Johnson launched her career as a presidential historian. Her first book was Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize-winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Homefront in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for Team of Rivals, in part the basis for Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, a chronicle of the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Her previous book, Leadership: In Turbulent Times was the inspiration for the History Channel docuseries on Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt, which she executive produced.
About her exploration of the 1960s with her husband through this work, Goodwin said: “America has been at odds with itself before. I’ve been drawn to such turbulent times—the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, World War II. This is the story of one of those times, of my husband and myself, and our generation shaped by the cataclysms of the 1960s. We see what historic opportunities were seized, what chances were lost, what light those years cast upon our own fractured time. ‘The end of our country has loomed many times before,’ my husband often reminded me, ‘America is not as fragile as it seems.’”
“Doris Kearns Goodwin has long been a valued advisor and champion of our mission,” said Erin Carlson Mast, Lincoln Presidential Foundation President and CEO. “Her work inspires each and every generation to care about history and to engage in the work of democracy. We look forward to what promises to be an engaging discussion about her extraordinary life and unique perspectives on our nation’s history.”
The Foundation is grateful to early sponsors of the event, including INB and Isringhausen Imports.
For tickets and more information.
About the Lincoln Presidential Foundation
Established in 2000, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity headquartered in Illinois. It is the only national foundation focused on increasing access to history, educational programs, exhibits, and sites highlighting the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The Foundation does its work in cooperation and partnership with others locally, nationally, and globally. Its vision is a world where freedom and democracy flourish, inspired by the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. Learn more at lincolnpresidential.org.
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