HCC's "Lincoln Lunches" provide knowledge and a free lunch

In conjunction with the national traveling exhibition Lincoln: The Civil War and the Constitution, currently on display in the Hopkinsville Community College (HCC) library, the college is holding a series of one-hour roundtable discussions, or "Lincoln Lunches," concerned with the exhibits main themes. Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to attend as well as participate in a question/answer period during each sessions final 10-15 minutes. Panel members include: Mr. Thomas Howell, associate professor of history at Hopkinsville Community College; Mr. Don Hoover, professor of history at Hopkinsville Community College; Mr. William Turner, director of the Pennyrile Historical Association and retired professor of history at Hopkinsville Community College; and Judge Andrew Self of Christian Circuit Court, Division I.

The Lincoln Lunch series will be held in the HCC library located in the Learning Resource Center. Lunch will be free of charge.

Lunch Topic: The Crisis of Secession
Date / Time: 12:00 p.m. on September 28, 2011
Panel Leader: Mr. Thomas Howell
Description: During the half-century or so before 1860, the idea of secession was not confined to the Souths slave states. On occasion, northern states toyed with such action in response to unfavorable political and/or economic developments. However, by December 1860 the rise of certain circumstances had forced the secessionist hand of several southern slave states, while at the same time moving the Norths free states into unionist opposition. The roundtable panel will review the historical background of secession, the development of the Secession Crisis of 1860-61, and Abraham Lincolns motivations in handling the affair as he did.

Lunch Topic: The Crisis of Slavery
Date / Time: 12:00 p.m. on October 5, 2011
Panel Leader: Judge Andrew Self
Description: As one scholar put it, the Emancipation Proclamation was "an extraordinary use of executive power [that] wiped out property rights worth many millions of dollars." Yet, how did the issue of slavery come to such a point? This Lincoln Lunch will explore Abraham Lincoln's views on slavery amidst the constitutional, political, and legislative compromises regarding the subject from the inception of the United States through the Civil War.

Lunch Topic: The Crisis of Civil Liberties
Date / Time: 12:00 p.m. on October 19, 2011
Panel Leader: Mr. Don Hoover
Description: During the Civil War the Lincoln Administration extended the use of military authority at the expense of traditional civil liberties. Such actions highlighted the tension between the rule of law and the idea of national existence in times of emergency. With such conflict in mind, the panel will discuss the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the use of military tribunals within the context of the dismemberment of the Union.

Lunch Topic: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis
Date / Time: 12:00 p.m. on October 26, 2011)
Panel Leader: Mr. William Turner
Description: Both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were born in Kentucky, and as Kentuckians and southerners, shared similar experiences and values as they grew up. There also were marked differences between them. The final roundtable discussion will take a more human interest/biographical approach to Lincoln and his Civil War rival, and consider the effect each man had on western Kentucky.

All sessions are free of charge and open to the public. Those interested in attending should reserve a seat with HCC Assistant Librarian Ann Nichols at (270) 707-3762.