Actor Stephen Lang to Read Lincoln’s Immortal Inaugural Address
The Illinois State Society and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation (ALBF) will co-sponsor an official ceremony and reception in Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol to commemorate the150th anniversary of the Second Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln.
The ceremony—in the room that served as the House of Representatives chamber when Lincoln served is one and only term as a Congressman from 1848-1850—will be highlighted by a performance of the 16th President’s extraordinary second inaugural address by noted actor Stephen Lang. In a rare display of confidence, Lincoln correctly predicted that the speech would “wear as well—perhaps better than—any thing I have produced.”
The ceremony will feature a welcome from Stuart Piper, president of the Illinois State Society; from the Congressional sponsor of the event, Rep. Rodney Davis; and from historian Harold Holzer, chairman of the ALBF. Illinois’s two U.S. Senators, Deputy Minority Leader Dick Durbin and Sen. Mark Kirk, have been invited to offer remarks. Special comments on Lincoln’s meaning for America—and the State of Illinois—will be delivered by Ray LaHood, former Congressman and Secretary of Transportation. (Durbin, LaHood, and Holzer served from 2001-2009 as co-chairs of the Congressional U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.)
Historical perspectives on Lincoln’s Second Inauguration will be provided by Holzer and Frank J. Williams, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island and chairman of the Lincoln Forum, and others to be announced. The program will conclude with delivery of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address by Stephen Lang, whose many films include Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, and Avatar.
“This ceremony provides an exceptional opportunity to honor the sesquicentennial of President Lincoln’s great Second Inaugural Address ...More...
- 2015_DC_2nd_InaugM_150304: DC -- U.S. Capitol -- 150th Anniversary Lincoln's Second Inaugural -- Miscellaneous (100 photos from 2015)
- 2015_DC_2nd_InaugP_150304: DC -- U.S. Capitol -- 150th Anniversary Lincoln's Second Inaugural -- Presentation (127 photos from 2015)
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