Frank & Virginia Williams Lecture Series--"Lincoln’s Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War"

The Frank & Virginia Williams Lecture Series on Abraham Lincoln & the American Civil War will take place Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. This year’s lecture, “Lincoln’s Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War,” will feature Dr. Michael Vorenberg, professor of history at Brown University. Vorenberg will discuss his recent, award-winning book of the same title with Williams Chair Dr. Susannah J. Ural. Together, they will explore President Abraham Lincoln’s vision for ending the Civil War, how that plan evolved following his assassination and how the war’s end — or multiple endings — shaped the way we remember the conflict today.

Vorenberg’s Lincoln’s Peace received the 2026 Tom Watson Brown Book Award and the 2026 John L. Nau III Book Prize in American Civil War Era History and was a finalist for the 2026 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, followed by a reception and signing. Due to ongoing campus infrastructure improvements, visitors may park in the D2 lot behind the Industrial Education Building or directly behind the Longest Health Center. Handicap-accessible parking is available in the Handicap parking lot. MSU gates will lift at 5:30 p.m. to make navigating campus easier for event attendees.