Civil War scholar to speak, sign books Tuesday at Lincoln Presidential Library

[July 13, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- The summer authors series at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum kicks off Tuesday with Thomas Mackey, the editor of an ambitious series of books about laws, speeches and judicial rulings that influenced the Civil War.

Mackey will sign copies of "A Documentary History of the Civil War Era: Volume 1, Legislative Achievements" at 6 p.m. and then speak in the Lincoln Presidential Library's multipurpose room at 6:30.

Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance. Visit www.presidentlincoln.illinois.gov and click on "Special event tickets and reservations."

Mackey, a law professor at the University of Louisville, is working on a three-part collection of documents that are key to understanding the Civil War. The first volume ranges from local measures, such as the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C., to major national changes like the 14th Amendment, which established new rights to due process and equal protection.

The second volume collects important political speeches related to the war, while the third will focus on key judicial decisions.

Other authors appearing at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum this summer are John Burt on July 24 and John Stauffer on Aug. 22. Burt has written "Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism: Lincoln, Douglas, and Moral Conflict," and Stauffer is co-author of "Battle Hymn of the Republic: A Biography of the Song That Marches On."

[Text from Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]