Three speakers present in this second half of an all-day symposium commemorating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln. Lucas E. Morel presents "Lincoln on Race, Equality and the Spirit of '76"; Lincoln's lifelong interest in language is the subject of a talk given by Douglas L. Wilson; and Elizabeth D. Leonard delivers the final presentation of the symposium, "Ally on the Team of Rivals: Lincoln and His Point Man for Military Justice," in which she discusses Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt, the president's chief of the War Department's Bureau of Military Justice.

The first half of this symposium may be found here.

This presentation, narrated partially from the perspective of Oglala Lakota Sioux medicine man Black Elk, describes the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the seizing of Native American land and the forcing of Native Americans onto reservations that followed.

This presentation, told partially from the perspective of a prospector's wife, Annie Tallent, looks at the push of prospectors into the American West to find gold, focusing on the expedition of Tallent, her husband, and several other prospectors into the South Dakota Black Hills and on the tension between prospectors, the military, and Native Americans.

This presentation, narrated partially from the perspectives of Uriah and Mattie Oblinger, 1872 homesteaders, describes the efforts of pioneers to settle the Great Plains and their belief in Manifest Destiny and personal ownership.

This presentation, narrated partially from the perspective of Sallie Hester, a young girl heading across the U.S. to California with her family, looks at the journey of settlers across the American West.

This presentation, narrated partially from the perspective of historian and explorer Francis Parkman (1823-1893), looks at the lifestyle of the Oglala and Parker's perception of it.

Narrated from the perspective of Black Elk, a holy man of the Lakota Sioux, in the 1930s, this presentation describes contact between his people and white explorers, settlers, and soldiers. It also examines life on the Pine Ridge reservation today.

Talking History's Fred Nielsen discussed the complex story of George Washington, and his action of granting freedom to his slaves, with Henry Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America.

To listen to this podcast, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select "MP3 Format" under "Best of Talking History Program 4: Washington's Slaves."

Many Americans think Lewis and Clark were sent west simply to explore the newly-acquired Louisiana Purchase. In fact, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was part of an international contest to control North America and exploit its wealth and an important part of Thomas Jefferson's plan for the development of the United States and the future of its Native American population.

Dr. Dan Thorp of Virginia Tech explores the nature of earlier European activities in the North American West and how they shaped the timing and nature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Dr. Craig Barton of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia explores different strategies through which to construct the collective memories associated with African American communities and to help tell the stories of people often invisible in traditional historical narratives. A different type of commemorative is required to interpret the depth and complexity of African American culture which interprets the challenges of historical narrative and the agency of contemporary imagination. As instruments of both public and private patronage these landscapes inevitably minimize the contributions of marginalized cultural communities and were (are) all too often mute about the presence of African Americans and other marginalized groups. Traditional monuments often do not speak to the lives of African Americans and others often excluded from discourse of public space.