Abraham Lincoln on Democracy

by David J. Kent

Washington, DC

Thursday, March 12, 2026

The annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium will be held at Ford's Theatre on March 21, 2026, and the very special program is not to be missed. This is the third of a series of posts highlighting the upcoming symposium.

The ALI Symposium this year will have four panels featuring some of the most preeminent scholars on their topics in a discussion moderated by a renowned journalist. Each panel has a theme related to the overall theme: "Abraham Lincoln, the Declaration of Independence, and the State of Civic Life Today."

The third panel is entitled "Lincoln and Democracy in the Past, Present, and Future" and will examine Lincoln's beliefs, and ongoing legacy, about how democracy works and can sustain itself. The award-winning panel features:

Jane Kamensky: Professor emerita of history at Harvard University and President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and of Jefferson’s home, Monticello. She is the author or editor of numerous books spanning four centuries of American history, including books about the American founding.

Richard Brookhiser: Historian Brookhiser is the author of Founder's Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln and James Madison, as well as many other books on the American founders. For twenty years he wrote a column for the New York Observer and has also written for The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Commentary, and Vanity Fair.

Judy Woodruff: The long-time host of PBS NewsHour and now the host of a program on America at a Crossroads will moderate the panel. She has covered politics and other news for five decades at NBC, CNN, and PBS.

The Lincoln Group of DC is co-sponsoring the symposium. More information can be found on the ALI website. The Symposium is FREE but requires advance registration on the Ford's Theatre website to ensure seating.