NICE Offers Abraham Lincoln Lecture

Local historian Dr. William Hanna will present "Abraham Among the Yankees: Abraham Lincoln's 1848 Visit to Massachusetts," the Norton Institute for Continuing Education's third free lecture of the 2011 - 2012 academic year, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 at Wheaton College's Watson Fine Arts Building, Ellison Lecture Hall, Room 102, 26 East Main St., Norton.

Hanna will tell how the then 39 year-old Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln came to Massachusetts to campaign for his party's presidential nominee, the Mexican War hero Zachary Taylor. Lincoln delivered 12 speeches in 11 days in nine cities and towns throughout eastern Massachusetts. Though it was still 12 years removed from his own first presidency, Lincoln's tour not only left vivid memories among those who saw and heard him; it also provided a stark contrast between a young partisan politician and the thoughtful mature statesman who would guide the nation through the Civil War.           

NICE, a non-profit affiliate of the Elderhostel Institute Network and a collaborative effort of Wheaton College and Epoch Assisted Living of Norton, provides non-credit nominally-priced college-level courses and free lectures for over-55 year-olds living primarily in the Norton, Attleboro, Mansfield, Sharon, Foxboro, Taunton, Stoughton, Easton, and Canton areas.      

For complete details of the lectures plus other information, visit www.nicecourse.org or call Registrar Martin Aronson at 781-784-8548.