One to One with Bill Goodman:
Andrew Ferguson
premiered October 19, 2008
Andrew Ferguson, author and senior editor of the Weekly Standard, discusses his book Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America on this edition of One to One with Bill Goodman. The program was taped at Centre College in Danville, where the book was chosen from among more than a dozen on similar topics as required reading for incoming 2008/09 freshmen.
Though Ferguson’s admiration of the country’s 16th president began in his youth, his desire to write Land of Lincoln came about after a trip to Richmond, VA. Ferguson had traveled there to investigate a controversial statue of Lincoln and encountered a group of scholars and historians who decried Lincoln as racist and dictatorial. When Ferguson found that he and other Lincoln supporters were ill-equipped to counter their accusations, he began the research for his book.
In the interview, Ferguson discusses Lincoln’s Kentucky connections, including a friend and law partner, Centre College alumnus John Todd Stuart; the death of Lincoln’s grandfather in Kentucky at the hands of Native Americans; and the cabin in what is now Knob Creek, where Lincoln lived as a boy.
The author also relays his experience following the Lincoln Heritage Trail, which travels through Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. At one point, he says, he lost his way on the trail, leading to a surprising conversation with Robert Newman, who helped put the route together. Ferguson also talks about meeting Lincoln impersonators, visiting a college business course that presented Lincoln as a model for middle managers, and more.
For More Information
- The web page accompanying the Kentucky Life special Lincoln: ‘I, Too, Am a Kentuckian.’ has links to many Lincoln-related historic sites.
