This conference will bring together nationally-recognized Civil War historians for an open dialogue about the state of the country in 1859. What was happening two years before the firing of the first shots in the nation's deadliest conflict? What did people know and what were they thinking? Could they possibly have imagined the horror that was to come?

"America on the Eve of the Civil War" brings a fresh perspective on enduring issues. The program will be conducted in an interactive format with speakers from varied perspectives. Akin to news programs like "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press," speakers will discuss events of 1859 and their effect, limiting themselves only to what would have been known at that time.

The focus of the conference will be the situation in the United States in what turned out to be the eve of the Civil War, including central events and changes of the late antebellum era.

Probably no president has ever been as vilified as Abraham Lincoln was in the South during the Civil War. At this conference, outstanding scholars on the subject will convene to discuss this bitter relationship.

The Smithsonian is honoring Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial with special exhibitions and programs, and educators will be able to participate in the national celebration through the first Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Abraham Lincoln. Participants will explore Smithsonian research and collections related to Lincoln's life—everything from portraits and diaries to documents and historical artifacts. Alongside Smithsonian curators, participants will look at Lincoln's life and legacy from the perspectives of history, science, and art.

This conference takes place on the fields of Gettysburg, offering tours, exhibits, lectures, and other events related to the site's Civil War history.

The year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. As part of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebrations, Harvard University's Houghton Library will cosponsor with the Lincoln Forum and the Lincoln Group of Boston a symposium on "Abraham Lincoln at 200: New Perspectives on His Life and Legacy." The symposium, to be held at Houghton Library and other Harvard University venues will coincide with a major exhibition featuring books, manuscripts, ephemera, and artifacts from Houghton Library's Abraham Lincoln Collection. The symposium will examine or reexamine several aspects of Lincoln's career, such as his views on race and slavery, his role as Commander-in-Chief, his use of the press to shape public opinion, his relationship with Congress and his influence on the legislative process, and his role as a politician and as a party leader. Several prominent Lincoln and Civil War scholars have agreed to participate, including Jean H. Baker, Michael Beschloss, Gabor Boritt, Brian Dirck, David Herbert Donald, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Drew Gilpin Faust, Richard W. Fox, Harold Holzer, John Marszalek, James McPherson, Edna Greene Medford, Matthew Pinsker, Gerald J. Prokopowicz, Craig Symonds, Thomas Turner, Michael Vorenberg, and Frank J. Williams.