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You’re invited to join author Tom Zoellner on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the ALPLM Union Theater, as shares insights from his new book, “The Road was Full of Thorns.”One of the central mysteries of Abraham Lincoln's presidency is his motivation for "freeing the slaves." Was he a great man of history who pursued justice above all? Or was he a politician bowing to pressure from abolitionists? And is it true that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't free anyone at all? In the new book, The Road Was Full of Thorns, author Tom Zoellner makes a new argument about this critical moment in Civil War history. Lincoln was only turning facts on the ground into law, letting himself be guided by the emerging reality of the "contraband camps" swelling with enslaved people who had run away from their plantations, creating a social crisis in the mid-South and Border States. He was philosophically guided, primarily, by experiences he had in 1828 and 1831 making flatboat trips to New Orleans. But it had nothing to do with what he saw down there of slavery, and everything to do with what he learned on the river.
Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Program begins at 6:30 p.m. This is a free program, but advance registration is required. After the program, Tom Zoellner will sign a limited number of copies of the book that will be available that evening for purchase (cash or charge) for $38.40/each, price includes sales tax. You may also purchase your book in advance when you register on-line.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tom Zoellner, PhD, is the author of nine nonfiction books, including Island on Fire, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction and a finalist for the Bancroft Prize. He teaches at Chapman University and serves as an editor at large for The Los Angeles Review of Books.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL, United States, Illinois 62701
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