Unraveling Lincoln: A History Course That Strips Away the Myth

Three times a week, teacher Regan Kerney can be found in a sunny corner classroom of the Noyes History Center, preparing for his winter-term course, Lincoln. With a well-worn copy of “Abraham Lincoln: The Selected Speeches and Writings” in hand, he reviews the day’s syllabus. Since coming to Lawrenceville in 1991 (and joining the faculty in 1993), Kerney has taught everything from economics to Vietnam-era journalism, and his Lincoln class continues to inspire him and his students. 

Why devote a 10-week course to Abraham Lincoln? Kerney’s answer is simple: “Because we can’t do one that’s 20.”

America’s 16th president, he explains, is a “mythological creature,” and it’s crucial for students to strip away the legend to uncover something real.

“You can have heroes,” he says, “but understand that heroes have flaws.”

The best way to do that? Examining Lincoln’s own words rather than relying on what has been said about him. Kerney’s text is filled with margin notes and Post-its as he leads students through Lincoln’s life, from his early letters to family and friends to his famous debates with Stephen Douglas, from the Emancipation Proclamation to his Amnesty and Reconstruction Proclamation, and from wartime correspondence with generals to letters written to everyday citizens.

Even with close readings, Kerney reminds Lawrentians that parts of Lincoln will always remain unknowable. “One of the dangerous tendencies we have is to fill in the gaps. Students have to be comfortable knowing there will be gaps in their knowledge,” he says. “Lincoln never sat down after the war to write his reflections, which would’ve been fascinating to read. He never gave a lecture series on his experiences, which would’ve been fascinating to hear.”

Lawrentians are often surprised to see Lincoln as a work in progress over the three decades under examination. His capacity for change, Kerney says, is one of the most important takeaways from the class. “Between 1858, when he debated Stephen Douglas, and 1865, when he was assassinated under the weight of the Civil War, he changed enormously. Not his personality, but his beliefs—particularly about race. He grew up a lot and kept changing. So there’s hope for us all if you can still keep growing when you're that old.”

Since its debut in 1998-99, the Lincoln class has evolved along with Kerney’s own understanding of the man. “When you start a course, the first couple of years are a kind of groping period. By the time you get through those two or three years, you emerge on the other side with a whole new mind on the subject. To see the war through Lincoln’s eyes is worth it. And you get to explore topics that are current today, such as freedom of speech.”

That ongoing refinement is why Kerney still revisits the entirety of Lincoln’s collected works every few years. “I sit down and read them again just to see if there’s something I missed. And every now and then, you find something really great in there. But it takes time. Part of this for me is about how you teach a course. As my thinking keeps evolving, I’m trying to be like Lincoln. I’m trying to grow,” he says.

Beyond Lincoln, Kerney hopes his students leave with a method of inquiry they can apply to any historical figure. “I want them to know they can do this with anybody. They can get into someone’s life and really know that person. This class is an example of how you would do it,” he says.

The approach is working for Nell Bunn ‘25, who says, “I really like taking a history class that revolves around one figure because you can learn so much about U.S. history in the process of studying him, especially because of how complex he is.”

Kerney also wants his students to recognize what makes great writing—and what doesn’t, explaining, “Every humanities course should teach writing. So I spend quite a bit of time scattered over the term asking, Why is this particular speech or letter so much better than this earlier one? What has changed in his use of language? What has changed in the way he organizes things, in the way he thinks? Can we see the way he thinks?”

But all of that, he says, comes with one condition: “You have to do the work. You have to do the reading. And I tell them on day one—you can’t have a fruitful discussion if you haven’t done the reading.”

His approach is simple: read deeply, not quickly. “I don’t give you a lot to read. I give you things to read carefully. Read it slowly, savor it. Maybe read it twice. Because to be honest, it doesn’t make as much sense until you’ve read it about 20 times,” he says. “You’d be amazed what happens the 20th time you read the Gettysburg Address. Everything suddenly lights up. Rereading is one of the really important things.”

Bunn says, “The readings are definitely hard. The language in the 19th century is so different (more formal) and difficult to decipher, but Mr. Kerney actually makes sense of it all in a way that is engaging and easy to understand.”

Tommy Morris ’25 noted that he found Lincoln's 1855 letter to George Robertson to be particularly striking. “He expresses a moment of pure human emotion that often isn't discussed in talks of his legacy,” Morris states. “This moment is when he confides in his friend that ‘The problem [of political division in the nation] is too mighty for me.’ This is not the competent optimist that many Americans think Lincoln was, but instead it shows his humanity, and that you may doubt yourself from time to time, but you can still harness your effort and bring great changes to the world if you are committed to the challenge.”

Bunn sees the course as especially relevant “because of the level of polarization we’ve reached in recent years. It’s important to study how political leaders in the past have handled a nation that is so divided. Lincoln talks a lot about the constitution and is more concerned with upholding democracy than he is with power. His main goal is to fulfill the promises he made that got him elected.”

Both Fifth Formers enjoy taking the elective history course with Kerney at the helm.

“Mr. Kerney reaches all the students because he is so knowledgeable about Lincoln. [He creates] a really good mix of student participation and his explanations. He is very much a storyteller, which is how history classes should be taught,” says Bunn.

And, of course, there has to be joy in the learning process. “History should always be fun,” Kerney says.

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.