A history curator at the Smithsonian spotlights the half-forgotten story of the Wide Awakes, a militant youth anti-slavery movement that helped elect Abraham Lincoln.

In his new book, Jon Grinspan, Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, offers a rare look into a largely forgotten chapter of American history: the Wide Awakes. The political club, composed of mostly working-class Americans in their twenties, became one of the largest and most influential political movements of the 19th century. To some, they embodied the power of a rising majority pushing back against slavery. To others, the torch-bearing, cape-wearing youths looked like a paramilitary force training to invade the South. At their core, the Wide Awakes illuminate a question that American democracy poses time and again about the precarious relationship between violent speech and violent actions.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jon Grinspan is Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, focusing on the deep history of American democracy and how it speaks to contemporary politics. He holds a PhD and Masters from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelors from Sarah Lawrence College. Grinspan is the award-winning author of The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, and The Virgin Vote: How Young Americans Made Democracy Social, Politics Personal, and Voting Popular in the 19th Century. His writing frequently appears in The New York Times and elsewhere. Grinspan's work for the Smithsonian also takes him to political events, from conventions to protests to riots, collecting materials to help teach future generations about 21st century American democracy.

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Courtesy Jon Grinspan