Lincoln's Birthday isn't a federal holiday and is only observed in a handful of states. The Abraham Lincoln Association will celebrate the 16th president's 203rd birthday with two days of presentations on the theme of Lincoln and the Civil War. The celebration will be Saturday and Sunday beginning with keynote speaker James Oakes on "The Emancipation Proclamation: Myths and Realities." Oakes is a slavery and Civil War scholar from the City University of New York Graduate Center. The dinner speaker on Sunday will be Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin. full story
