 Meeting of the Association of Lincoln Presenters in 2014 | |
| Named after | Abraham Lincoln |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1990 |
| Founder | Dan Bassuk |
| Founded at | Whitehouse, New Jersey, United States |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Purpose | Historical society |
President | Stanley Wernz[1] |
| Website | lincolnpresenters |
TheAssociation of Lincoln Presenters is a membership organization founded by Dan Bassuk in 1990. It was established as a members' society forimpersonators of 16thpresident of the United States,Abraham Lincoln. The group has been the subject of a feature-length documentary and a photography exhibition byGreta Pratt.
The Association of Lincoln Presenters (ALP) was founded by literature professor and Lincoln impersonator Dan Bassuk in 1990 inWhitehouse, New Jersey.[2] New members were recruited via newspaper advertisements.[3] By 1994, the organization's membership had grown to 45,[4] six of whom participated in the televisedLincoln–Douglas debate reenactments on the public affairs networkC-SPAN.[5] The inaugural ALP conference took place inLexington, Kentucky the following year and was attended by 34 impersonators.[5] This became an annual event, visiting towns and cities around the US often chosen for their historical significance: the 2013 conference took place inColumbus, Ohio, where Lincoln brieflylay in state followinghis assassination in 1865;[6] while the 2018 event was held inFreeport, Illinois, one of the locations of the originalLincoln–Douglas debates.[7] The ALP celebrated its 25th annual conference in 2019 inDawsonville, Georgia.[8]
As of 2022, the group's membership comprises more than 220 reenactors, with representatives from 40 of the 50 US states.[9] Besides Abraham Lincoln, ALP members also portray his wife,Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as other notable contemporary figures includingUlysses S. Grant andHarriet Beecher Stowe.[10] As impersonators, ALP members generally wear paraphernalia associated with Lincoln such as black coats,stovepipe hats andchinstrap beards.[11][12] Members of the group have appeared as Lincoln in various settings, including educational events, historical reenactments, weddings and acting roles.[13][14]
The ALP has had several official mottos since its establishment. The first, "Now he belongs to the stages", used from the group's founding in 1990 until 1999,[15] was a deliberate misquote of the "Now he belongs to the ages" line uttered byEdwin Stanton following Lincoln's death.[16] A portion of the membership disapproved of the slogan, which was eventually replaced by the pun "Ready, Willing and Abe L.",[17] referring to the group members' availability to appear at public events.[10] By 2003, the ALP had adopted its third motto, "Would I Might Rouse the Lincoln in You All", a line taken from the poem "Lincoln" byVachel Lindsay.[18]
In 2008, the group and its members were the subject of a feature-length documentary.[19]Being Lincoln: Men With Hats, directed byNashville-based film maker Elvis Wilson, followed long-serving ALP member Dennis Boggs as he helps newcomer John Mansfield begin his career as a Lincoln presenter.[20][21] The idea behind the documentary came from Wilson's wife, Victoria Radford, who had learned about the group several years earlier while writing a book about the real Lincoln.[22] The film aired on theDocumentary Channel andShowtime.[23]
PhotographerGreta Pratt attended four ALP conferences, including the 2012 conference inDecatur, Illinois, taking photographs of the group's members as part of herNineteen Lincolns project.[10] The collection was exhibited at the Candela Gallery inRichmond, Virginia in 2012,[24] and later at theChrysler Museum of Art in 2015.[25]
