Civil War Scholar John C. Waugh to Speak at George Memorial Library (Richmond, Texas)

Below is a press release from Ft. Bend County Libraries. This event may be of interest to Houston-area genealogy, history and Civil War enthusiasts:

CIVIL WAR SCHOLAR JOURNALIST TO SPEAK AT LINCOLN EXHIBITION RECEPTION

RICHMOND, TEXAS -- Fort Bend County Libraries will host an Opening Reception for the exhibit, "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War," which will be on display at George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond, beginning  February 23, and continuing through April 4, in the Bohachevsky Gallery. The reception is scheduled for Saturday, February 23, with a special presentation by award-winning writer and Civil War scholar John C. Waugh beginning at 2:00 pm.

Waugh will present "Lincoln's One-Two Punch for Black Freedom," an account of how the president engineered the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment - the one-two punch that ended slavery forever in America. As the author of three books on Lincoln, Waugh has done extensive research on the president and his role in American history.

Waugh is an award-winning author of 11 books on the Civil-War era. He began his writing career as a journalist and bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor. Since then, he has served as media specialist on the staff of Republican Vice President Nelson Rockefeller of New York and as press secretary to Democratic U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. In 1989, his focus turned to historical writing. His first book, The Class of 1846, published in 1994, won the New York Civil War Round Table's Fletcher Pratt Literary Award for the best nonfiction book of the year. He received the Grady McWhiney Award of Merit for significant contributions to the scholarship and preservation of Civil War History in 2000, and was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters, "for outstanding contributions to a literary Texas," in 2011.

The exhibition, Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, explores fundamental questions raised by Lincoln's life, such as: how a self-educated lawyer with little administrative experience guided a divided nation through the crises of secession and Civil War; why Lincoln championed emancipation, how Lincoln's capacity for intellectual and moral growth shaped his presidency; and how his legacy changed the nation. His administration advanced the idea of the United States as a single, unified nation, and he set an agenda for inclusive democracy that continues to have resonance today. Drawing on recent scholarship, this exhibition encourages a deeper understanding of Lincoln's life, policies, and accomplishments.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.

Fort Bend County Libraries is sponsoring free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibit. Visit the library's website -www.fortbend.lib.tx.us - for more information on upcoming programs.

The exhibit is free and may be viewed during regular library hours. For more information, call the library's Public Information Office at 281-341-2677.