History Pub - Lincoln, Civil War, and the Pacific Northwest

Name: History Pub - Lincoln, Civil War, and the Pacific Northwest
Start: 2026-05-13T19:00:00-07:00
Location: McMenamins Grand Lodge

Schedule

Wed, 13 May, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

McMenamins Grand Lodge | Forest Grove, OR

Discover how Abraham Lincoln shaped a region he never visited – and how the Pacific Northwest, in turn, helped shape the Union he fought to preserve.
Long before the Civil War, Lincoln was offered a leadership role in Oregon Territory, a little-known sign of the Pacific Northwest’s national importance. As President, Lincoln confronted Confederate plots to seize Western gold, unleash privateers, and build a pro-slavery Pacific empire. He answered with military fortifications and decisive political appointments.
Blending political intrigue, frontier defense, Native policy, and maritime history, author and historian Ira Wesley Kitmacher reframes the Civil War from the nation’s western edge.
Ira Kitmacher is a Georgetown professor, retired senior federal executive, county history commissioner, columnist, and frequent public speaker on history and folklore. He is the author of 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐿𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑒 and 𝐻𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐, among other books.