WATCH FOR
SPRING SYMPOSIUM on C-SPAN
ONCE AGAIN, THE ANNUAL spring sympo- sium brought speakers to Capitol Hill fromaround the country and across the globe. This year'
s entry in the ongoing
SymposiumDirector Paul Finkelman introduced each speaker andmoderated the final panel.
series The National Capital in a Nation Divided: Congress and the District of Columbia Confront Sectionalism and Slavery dealt largely with the issues surrounding the raising and funding of an army. "Creating an Army to Preserve theNation" will also be broadcast on C- SPAN later this year; check our website for updates (www.uschs.org) or make sure you're on our email list for the latest news (see back cover). The event started with an evening
keynote address and reception in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on
Thursday, May 3. Catherine Clinton detailed Mary Lincoln's long history of negotiations with Congress, including those over funding for the executive mansion and her right to a war widow's pension after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. On Friday, May 4, seven speakers
touched on a variety of topics with a focus on themilitary orCongress. Fergus M. Bordewich (author of America'
sGreat
Debate—see page 47) kicked off the day with a narrative look at the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and the various ways it influenced the war effort. Carleton College economist Jenny Bournemade a repeat appearance; this year she examined the several
Catherine Clinton
Jenny Bourne included two of her greatgrandfathers in her
introducon to illustrate the varied ways and lengths of memen enlisted in theUnion army.
52 THE CAPITOL DOME
SUMMER 2012
