Teachable Moment: Speeches of Abraham Lincoln

American Rhetoric http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ offers an amazing list of Abraham Lincoln's speeches performed by actors and  a vast resource of other rhetoric from original speakers. Check it out! There's nothing like the spoken word.

This Week on PBS: Ken Burn's 'The Civil War' (Restored)

The Civil War

September 7–11, 2015 at 9:00 p.m.

The Civil War, the award-winning film produced and directed by Ken Burns, will be rebroadcast over five consecutive nights in September 2015. The broadcast, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the series’ initial broadcast in September 1990, will present for the first time a newly restored, high-definition version. This is also the first time the film will be seen with the same fidelity and framing as the negative that Burns and his co-cinematographers Allen Moore and Buddy Squires shot more than 25 years ago.

Ashokan Farewell (from Ken Burns"Civil War" Film); International String Trio 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh_2yn5mZeg 

I learned so much about the Civil War from watching this documentary (probably the best ever made) that when I found this photo of my great grandmother's older brother, Orvis H. Sweet,  I knew exactly what he had been through, why he volunteered, and how remarkable a person he was. He volunteered for the 5th Vermont and fought at Antietam, Gettysburg, many other major battles, and died of wounds suffered at the Second Battle of the Wilderness. This photo was taken at Matthew Brady's studios 3 weeks before his death.

Lt. Orvis H. Sweet, 5th Vermont

 

Documentary Review: The Abolitionists

Abolitionist allies Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimké turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.

So the watcher is introduces to the PBS documentary, "The Abolitionists."

The narratives are carefully written; the performances are powerful in their loyalty to the history.

The questions we have looking back at the slavery question are enunciated clearly in this documentary, whether it be the Southern Belle with a conscience; the young Northern writer who was haunted by the broken families. Or the young mother mourning a loss and identifying with the young black mothers; the little black boy who grew eloquence and voice for all time. The man willing to set the world on fire (and sacrifice his own sons) for his beliefs. The story is carefully and honestly told. No one is perfect, but each was compelled by a mighty sense of purpose and outrage.

The murky darkness of the United States at that time grows increasingly dense in this story. By the Dred Scott case, it is unimaginable that slavery will ever end. I was profoundly impressed that the abolitionists proceeded with their call despite the overwhelming catastrophes of their cause. It was a complete example of  "It's always darkest before the dawn."

The dawn was a very, very long time breaking. How incomprehensible to expect to survive the Civil War with the abolition of slavery. It required Holy Stubbornness.

We have the privilege of perspective. All the way through Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement, many victories both small and great. But to be in the US before Lincoln--that truly demonstrated the audacity of hope for abolition of slavery.

This is an intense documentary. I recommend for secondary kids, but prepare the middle schoolers carefully.