Kennedy and Lincoln: A Tale of Two Tragedies
James Piereson, William E. Simon Foundation, Manhattan Institute
Joe McCartin, Professor of History, Georgetown University
Steven Hayward, American Enterprise Institute
Immediately after John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy, along with other members of the Kennedy family, resolved that the slain president should be remembered, like Abraham Lincoln, as a martyr for civil rights and equal justice for all. This portrayal of President Kennedy as a modern-day Lincoln was inspired by the purest of motives but had the most unfortunate consequences for the nation and for the liberal movement that Kennedy represented. This talk explored the conflicting messages that arose out of the premature deaths of these two political heroes.
February 3, 2009 --
Mortara Center
Audio
Healy Hall is named after Father Patrick Healy, S.J., the President of Georgetown who led the fundraising and construction efforts for the building. One distinguished architect in 1916 described it as “the finest specimen of architecture in the Western Hemisphere.”