Description

Jonathan D. Sarna, Ph.D., university professor, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun professor of American Jewish history, and chair of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University, presents his book Lincoln and the Jews: A History. The book details a new aspect of Abraham Lincoln's remarkable relationship with American Jews that impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions as president. A book sale, signing and reception follow the talk.

The event is a part of the Association for Jewish Studies Distinguished Lectureship Program.

The event is free and open to all, but please register. Parking is available for a fee in the West Broad Street, West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. If special accommodations are needed, or to register offline, please contact the VCU Libraries Events Office at (804) 828-0593.

About the book

150 years after Abraham Lincoln's death, the full story of his extraordinary relationship with Jews is told here for the first time. Lincoln and the Jews: A History provides readers both with a captivating narrative of his interactions with Jews, and with the opportunity to immerse themselves in rare manuscripts and images, many from the Shapell Lincoln Collection, that show Lincoln in a way he has never been seen before. In this groundbreaking work, historian Jonathan D. Sarna, Ph.D., and collector Benjamin Shapell reveal how Lincoln's remarkable relationship with American Jews impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions as president. The volume uncovers a new and previously unknown feature of Abraham Lincoln's life, one that broadened him, and, as a result, broadened America.

About the speaker

Jonathan D. Sarna, Ph.D., is university professor and the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun professor of American Jewish history and chair of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University. He is also past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. He has written, edited or co-edited more than 30 books, including Lincoln and the Jews: A History with Benjamin Shapell and When General Grant Expelled the Jews. He is best known for the acclaimed American Judaism: A History.

Sponsors

This event is presented by VCU Libraries and is sponsored by the Friends of VCU Libraries, the VCU Center for Judaic Studies, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, the Richmond Jewish Foundation and the Weinstein JCC.

Image: Photo of Abraham Lincoln and Gettysburg addres, courtesy of the Library of Congress, design by Emily Kundrot