Lincoln vs. Douglas
Sesquicentennial Debate by Jim Getty and Tim Connors
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Celebrate the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial and the Lincoln-Douglas sesquicentennial by attending the Hauenstein Center's Lincoln-Douglas debate!
"A month into the campaign, lagging in visibility and short of funds, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates -- outdoors, unrehearsed -- in seven locations around the state. At a time when popular community entertainments included mano-a-mano encounters such as wrestling, horse racing and knife fighting, one-on-one debating seemed a perfectly natural forum for political contests, too. And the Lincoln-Douglas debates certainly had their share of entertaining features. Brass bands hired by Republicans and Democrats struggled to drown each other out. Banners with raw sexual innuendoes and crude racial insults billowed over the heads of the crowds. At one debate, someone shied a melon at Douglas and struck him on the shoulder.
"But what set the Lincoln-Douglas meetings apart from modern political debates was the seriousness with which the participants went at their task and the extent to which their audiences paid attention. Each debate featured an hour-long opening by one candidate (Lincoln and Douglas took turns as the leadoff), an hour-and-a-half reply from the other and then a half-hour rejoinder from the first speaker. And all seven debates had only one topic: slavery, and whether it should be legalized in the newly organized western territories. But far from being bored by these three-hour marathons, Illinoisans turned out in crowds of 15,000 to 20,000, listening with an intensity that would rival that of an 'American Idol' audience."
~ Allen Guelzo, historian and Lincoln biographer
Abraham Lincoln
When Jim Getty takes the stage, he is Abraham Lincoln.
Getty brings Lincoln to life: audiences see and hear the President recount his homespun stories of youth, his recollections of his personal and political life, and his special anguish for Gettysburg.
For years, Getty has enlightened and entertained audiences across the country. And, as a noted Lincoln historian, he specializes in uniquely tailoring his programs—specifically for your meeting, convention, or other special event.
Audiences aboard the steamboat Mississippi Queen, at the National Theater in Washington, and at the Reagan Presidential Library have delighted in Jim Getty’s unique, heart-warming interpretation of America’s 16th President.
At the Library of Congress, the Indianapolis Rotary Club, and Cornell University, “theatergoers” have laughed along at the President’s special brand of humor. And, they have felt the Commander-in-Chief’s own personal torment over the difficult decisions he faced in preserving the Union.
Stephen Douglas
Tim Connors is a life-long resident of Freeport, Illinois, where he is director of speech and theatre for the Freeport Public Schools. Under his direction, Freeport has produced nearly two-dozen state qualifiers in the annual IHSA Speech Competition, eight state finalists, and one state champion.
Mr. Connors is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, where he earned both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He has appeared in nearly 30 community theatre events, directed some twenty productions and received multiple awards for his work. He is a member of the Lincoln-Douglas Society and the Stephen A. Douglas Association. Connors has been a Stephen A. Douglas re-enactor for the past two years, and is scheduled for numerous appearances in 2008 at various sites celebrating the sesquicentennial of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Historian Allen Guelzo on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
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Seating for the event is limited.
RSVP!
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