LancasterHistory.org kicks off the 2017 Presidential Lecture series on Friday, September 29, 2017 with Dr. Michael F. Holt for Sink Hole: How Kansas Crises Doomed the Presidencies of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Holt’s presentation will explore how the two critical changes in the United State’s rule of law, the 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act and the 1857 Dred Scott Decision, created political tripping stones that destroyed the Presidencies of the 14th and 15th Presidents of the United States.

Michael F. Holt, Ph.D. is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of Virginia. Dr. Holt received his Bachelor of Arts at Princeton University and his doctorate at Johns Hopkins. He is the author of six books, including the award-winning The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party and By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876. One the United State’s most prolific and influential scholars on antebellum politics, Dr. Holt served as a keynote speaker at the 2008 President James Buchanan National Symposium at LancasterHistory.org.

Event Information: This event takes place in Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org. A social gathering begins at 4pm, followed by the lecture at 4:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. Ample parking available on-site.

LancasterHistory.org kicks off the 2017 Presidential Lecture series on Friday, September 29, 2017 with Dr. Michael F. Holt for Sink Hole: How Kansas Crises Doomed the Presidencies of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Holt’s presentation will explore how the two critical changes in the United States’ rule of law, the 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act and the 1857 Dred Scott Decision, created political tripping stones that destroyed the Presidencies of the 14th and 15th Presidents of the United States. 

Michael F. Holt, Ph.D. is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of Virginia. Dr. Holt received his Bachelor of Arts at Princeton University and his doctorate at Johns Hopkins. He is the author of six books, including the award-winning The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party and By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876. One the United States’ most prolific and influential scholars on antebellum politics, Dr. Holt served as a keynote speaker at the 2008 President James Buchanan National Symposium at LancasterHistory.org. 

Event Information: This event takes place in Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org. A social gathering begins at 4pm, followed by the lecture at 4:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. Ample parking available on-site. 

Join us as we step back to October 1864, one month before the Presidential election. Peace Democrats were Northern Party members vehemently opposed to Lincoln’s war policy; they were advocates of restoration of the Union through a negotiated settlement. War Democrats rejected the Peace platform altogether. At this time many Americans questioned James Buchanan’s patriotism; some even sent him written threats. Here is your chance to eavesdrop on Mr. Buchanan as he and his Democratic friends enjoy a social gathering at Wheatland. As you watch and listen, try to figure out who are the Copperheads and who are War Democrats.

The Living History at Wheatland program Copperhead or War Democrat takes place on Saturday, October 1, 2016 with tours on the hour starting at 12pm and the last starting at 3pm. A standard tour of Wheatland is also offered at 10am & 11am. We strongly advise making reservations in advance for your tour since tours do fill up and walk-in space is not guaranteed. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour so you may use the facilities and check in.

Visit LancasterHistory.org/events or call 717-392-4633 to purchase your tickets.

Lancaster is in danger of invasion! Alarming news has reached Wheatland in Lancaster that the Confederate Army has invaded Pennsylvania! The Rebels have been seen near the bridge at Wrightsville, PA. As you step back to 1863 at Wheatland, you may be stopped by a member of Masonic Lodge 43. Be sure to show him your calling card, tell him you are a friend of the former President, and find out how those at Wheatland are handling this shocking news.

Tours will be offered:

Saturday, September 24

• Standard Tour of Wheatland at 10am and 11am
• Living History Tour at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm

Sunday, September 25

• Living History Tours at 12, 1, 2, and 3pm

We strongly advise making reservations in advance for your tour since tours do fill up and walk-in space is not guaranteed. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour so you may use the facilities and check in.

Visit http://www.LancasterHistory.org/events or call 717-392-4633 to purchase your tickets.

Civil War re-enactors from across the region will set up camp, relive, and remember the Burning of the Wrightsville Bridge and the ensuing Battle of Gettysburg. More than a dozen military and civilian tents will dot the landscape as soldiers and civilians display the equipment and accoutrements of a Federal Union Camp. There will be music, food, and plenty of educational displays.

On Saturday evening at 6:30pm, visitors can experience the camps at dusk as you wind through the grounds lit by luminaries and listen to the voices from the past capture life in the camps through story and song. Good walking shoes recommended.

Living History Encampment Hours:

• September 24, 2016 from 10am-8pm  |  Torchlight Tours begin at 6:30pm
• September 25, 2016 from 10am-4pm

This is a free event and open to the public.

Paul Finkelman, Ph.D. will return to LancasterHistory.org to discuss his research on The Pennsylvania Connection: Black Freedom, Reconstruction, & Keystone State Leadership. This year we celebrate the sesquicentennial of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the passage by Congress of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which revolutionized citizenship in America, put the final nail in the coffin of American slavery, and set the stage (ultimately) for the Civil Rights Revolution of the 1960s. With the second largest delegation in the House of Representatives, Pennsylvanians played a major role in Congress during the 1860s. The key player in the struggle to create meaningful civil rights in America was Thaddeus Stevens, who represented Lancaster County in the House of Representatives. Few members of the House are more important in our history—and more controversial—than Stevens.

Learn more about Stevens and why he helped to strengthen America by implementing Lincoln’s call for “A New Birth of Freedom.” Hated by former slave owners, adored by advocates of freedom, and feared by even his colleagues, this lecture argues that he was Lancaster’s greatest contribution to American history.

The Presidential Lecture The Pennsylvania Connection will take place on Thursday, September 8 in Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org, 230 N President Avenue. A social gathering with refreshments will begin at 4pm, followed by the lecture at 4:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.