When the Civil War began in April 1861, Abraham Lincoln faced a steep learning curve as commander in chief. By hard work and trial and error, he climbed that curve and mastered the job, becoming a more hands-on commander in chief than any of our other wartime presidents. James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, will outline the four principal areas of Lincoln's actions in this capacity: the determination of war aims (policy), national strategy, military strategy and military operations. He will discuss Lincoln's relationships with key military commanders, including George B. McClellan, George Gordon Meade and Ulysses S. Grant, and the issues of slavery and emancipation as key features of Union national strategy. This is the Gottschalk Lecture in History and an A&S Life of the Mind event. Sponsors are: History department, Commonwealth Center for Humanities and Society, College of Arts & Sciences, Speed Art Museum.