100th Was Penny, Memorial – How to Mark Lincoln’s 200th?
WASHINGTON–Advisers to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission are meeting for the first time today to brainstorm on how best to celebrate, in 2009, the 200th birthday of one of the nation’s most revered presidents.
Lincoln was born in Kentucky on Feb. 12, 1809, raised in Illinois and buried in Springfield, where a Lincoln presidential library is under construction. The 100th anniversary of his birth was marked with the Lincoln penny and the Lincoln Memorial, “things that have a lasting impact,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a co-chairman of the commission.
To mark the 200th birthday, “We’ve been given a congressional directive to establish a national, and perhaps international, interest in recognizing the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth,” Durbin said.
“You might ask why one president would merit that, and the answer’s obvious: I don’t think there’s a single president who’s been studied and honored more than Abraham Lincoln.”
The commission will mark the 194th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, and highlight its mission, with a kickoff dinner tonight in Washington with a performance by actor Sam Waterston, who has portrayed Lincoln on stage and screen.
In conjunction with the 2003 birthday observance, the commission is calling on the public for ideas to commemorate the bicentennial on Feb. 12, 2009. Durbin said the commission hopes to present a detailed proposal to Congress in 2004.
Ideas currently under consideration include rededicating the Lincoln Memorial, minting a bicentennial penny and acquiring and preserving artifacts associated with Lincoln and his era. Anyone may submit ideas online by logging onto www.lincoln bicentennial.gov.
The 15-member Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was created by Congress in 2000, is co-chaired by Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) and is comprised of Lincoln scholars and officials from Illinois and Kentucky.
Published in The Chicago Sun-Times, in Illinois.
