Monday, January 28, 2008

National Lincoln Essay Contest Announced


There was a news item in my hometown newspaper over the weekend about a national essay contest about "Lincoln And Liberty" being held by The Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives organization, which is based in Galion, Ohio.

This contest is the first annual essay competition being put on by the organization and is loftily titled "Liberty Enlightening The World." Unfortunately, not much guidance is given to would-be essayists other than the basic "Lincoln And Liberty." I suppose it's open to interpretation, but were I to enter an essay, I would base it on how Lincoln's leadership molded a divided collection of states, half-slave and half-free, into a true nation based on liberty and freedom. For me, Lincoln's very gradual road to Emancipation led to America at last fulfilling its promise of "all men (and women) being created equal."

The website contains rules about the essay, the most intriguing of which is that it must be 272 words or less, 272 being the length of the Gettysburg Address, of course. The contest contains various categories of age and is open to everyone. The Grand Prize winner will have his or her name engraved on a bust of Lincoln.

The Lincoln Highway was America's first true National Road, going from coast-to-coast along more than 3,000 miles. It predates the famous "Mother Road," Route 66, but is not nearly as famous.

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