Harold Holzer to be keynote speaker at this year's Conference on Illinois History

SPRINGFIELD - Renowned author, historian and national Lincoln Bicentennial Commission co-chair Harold Holzer will be the keynote speaker at the Tenth Annual Conference on Illinois History scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 30 and 31 in Springfield. The conference is sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Conference sessions will be held at the Prairie Capital Convention Center with the Thursday evening banquet featuring Holzer at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Registration fee information and forms are available online at www.illinoishistory.gov/conference.htm or by calling (217) 785-7933. The registration deadline is October 24.

Holzer will discuss his book, Lincoln, President Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860 - 1861. A prolific author with more than 30 books and 400 articles to his credit, he was the second place Lincoln Prize winner in 2005 for his book Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech that Made Abraham Lincoln President. Holzer is co-chair of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and is a frequent commentator on national news shows.

Thursday, October 30 Conference on Illinois History sessions include: Lincoln Revisited; Illinois Women; Historical Archaeology; The Fight for Equal Rights; Catholic Cultural Outreach; Doughface and Civil War Politicians in Illinois; Illinois Transportation; Regulating Sex in 19th Century Illinois; Native American Treaties and Legends; Structures in Time and Space; Civil War Soldiers; and Lincoln's Political Transition. The Thursday luncheon speaker will be Caryl Moy, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Springfield, who will present "Naperville's Genevieve," about her mother, Genevieve Towsley, a long-time DuPage County journalist.

Friday, October 31 will feature: Illinois Cultural History; Illinois in the Civil War; Communities in Crisis; Steamboats & Carp; African Americans in Illinois; Political and Cultural Identity; Illinois Business History; Designs of the Times; Educational Institutions and Programs; Lincoln's Emotional Health; Illinois News; and Illinois Stories. The Friday luncheon speaker will be Margaret Garb, assistant professor of History and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, who will present "The Political Education of John Jones: Black Politics in Chicago, 1845 - 1879."

Teacher workshops will be offered, including: GPS and EcoCaching; Lincoln, Race and Slavery; Illinois Government and Politics; The Mormon Experience in Illinois History; Online Archive Dedicated to the Study of Illinois' Past; Chicago Deaf Stories; and Getting the Most Out of Local Museums and Cultural Institutions.