Brown University Library Reaches out to Providence 8th Grade Students
Peter Baumgras. Portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Oil on canvas. Washington: Spring, 1865. On view in the McLellan Collection at the John Hay Library, Brown University.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University Library is pleased to announce the winners of the Hildene-Brown Lincoln Essay Competition:
FIRST PLACE:
Kaia Heimer-Bumstead
SECOND PLACE:
Isabella Crema
THIRD PLACE:
Giorgina Giampaolo
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Skylar G. Dunn
Sarah Mahoney
Elyssa Perez
James Placco
Matthew Pontikes
Bailey Schmidt
Lucas Solon
The competition, open to all eighth graders living or attending school in Providence County, is part of an ongoing joint effort by the Brown University Library and Hildene—the historic summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln in Manchester, VT—to promote public knowledge of the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. It is also a partnership between the Library and Brown University’s Office of Educational Outreach to connect with Providence Public Schools.
This year, the Library asked students to write a 500 word essay addressing the question “If Lincoln was willing to tolerate slavery in the southern states, why was he so vehemently opposed to its extension into the territories?” Winning students of the essay contest, along with their parents and teachers, were honored at a luncheon in the John Hay Library on Saturday, June 11, 2011. First, second, and third place winners read their essays aloud, and attendees toured the renowned McLellan Lincoln Collection housed in the John Hay Library.
According to Kaia Heimer-Bumstead, the First Place winner, “Lincoln insisted that the best way to ‘preserve the Union’ was to continue making compromises.“ She referred to his statement, “Much as I hate slavery, I would consent to the extension of it rather than seeing the Union dissolved.” Isabella Crema, the Second Place winner, touched on Lincoln’s concern for the poor and their ability to “go and better their condition,” something which the westward expansion of slavery might have prevented. And, third place winner, Giorgina Giampaolo argued that while Lincoln was not a supporter of slavery, as “a lawyer and a moderate” he was also “not willing to declare himself an abolitionist.” The winning essays concurred that Lincoln was primarily dedicated to the preservation of the Union, and against the expansion of slavery.
The Hildene-Brown Lincoln Essay Competition is modeled on the successful Vermont state essay program sponsored by Hildene since 2006. Prizes for the winning essays include a first place award of $1,000, second and third place awards of $750 and $500, respectively, as well as honorable mentions of $200 each. For the 2011 competition, the Library received 67 submissions from students attending public, charter, private, and Catholic schools in Providence, Cranston and Lincoln. A review panel comprised of former Supreme Court Justice Frank J. Williams; Michael Vorenberg, Professor of History at Brown University; James Tackach, Professor of English at Roger Williams University; Dr. Fred Zilian of the History Department at Portsmouth Abbey School; William Hanna of the Lincoln Group of Boston; and Seth Bongartz, Executive Director of Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, selected the winners who came from Nathanael Greene Middle School, LaSalle Academy, and St. Paul’s School.
Hildene (http://www.hildene.org), located in Manchester, Vermont, was built by Robert Todd Lincoln in 1905 and was the home of Lincoln descendants until 1975. Today, it is a non-profit museum and education center with a mission to “advance the Lincoln legacy through education, commitment to community and active stewardship of the family’s home and land.”
The Brown University Library (http://library.brown.edu) supports the University’s educational and research mission and is Brown’s principal gateway to current information and the scholarly record. Brown University’s John Hay Library, named for the 1858 Brown alumnus who served as Lincoln’s private secretary, holds an extensive collection of manuscripts and printed materials documenting Lincoln’s life and legacy, a portion of which are now available to the public online: http://dl.lib.brown.edu/lincoln/
Contact: Jennifer Braga | 401-863-6913