ESRI is the largest employer of H1-B Visa holders in the city of Redlands,CA.
Furthermore, I find three quotes disturbing.

"California was California even then," Burgess said. "(The state) decided it should secede and become its own (country)," he explained, getting many laughs.

At the end of his lecture, Burgess challenged the audience, explaining that America is "a country, 150 years later, in denial of its own past."
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening was at the end of the lecture. Looking out over the lectern at the crowded house, Burgess addressed the audience personally, and asked "Is the war over?"



Civil War lecture captivates audience


MOLLY DAVIS, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2011 10:10:24 PM PST


REDLANDS - The Esri Redlands Forum on the Civil War garnered a few laughs, not something one would expect from such a serious topic.

The laughs had nothing to do with the war itself, but rather another serious issue plaguing Redlands right now - the lack of library funding.

Esri founder Jack Dangermond began the program by introducing speaker Larry Burgess, historian and A.K. Smiley Public Library director, saying "Larry is in trouble," and needs money.

Not Burgess himself, but the library, which is undergoing severe budget cuts. In the spirit of the anonymous donors who have popped up recently, Dangermond said that any donations received at the event would be matched by an anonymous donor in the audience.

Larry Burgess, the director of the A.K. Smiley Public Library, speaks about the Lincoln Memorial Shrine and the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War during the Redlands Forum on Thursday at Esri. (ERIC TOM/Staff Photographer)After the full house in Esri's conference center settled down, Burgess began his lecture by telling the audience "The Civil War was not only the most critical moment in our history, (but) the lack of understanding of context and content" is also very critical, as years pass and we get farther away from the war.

Burgess explained that only 21 states, California not included, have chosen to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

He said that some events, like a "Secession Ball," have been held to actually celebrate the war. Burgess urged the audience to think about what events like that might mean in today's society.

Beginning by looking at the centennial of the war in 1961, Burgess


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talked about his mentor, Allan Nevins, who became involved in the federal commemoration of the war, which ended up being fraught with racial tension itself, due to segregation laws in the south.
"I think we're pretty brave here in Redlands," Burgess said, explaining that even to this day, most historians he knows ignore Abraham Lincoln events, because of the turmoil they can cause.

"It is remarkable that we are in this room," Burgess said, "and that the city is audacious enough to house the Lincoln Shrine," which gives "an emboldened look at the nation's greatest rending of its soul."

Burgess also talked about Robert Watchorn, who built the Shrine in 1932, to honor Lincoln, whom Watchorn believed "turned the currents of the human (tide)." The Redlands memorial to Lincoln was then, and remains now, the only shrine dedicated to Lincoln west of the Mississippi River.

"Upon us hangs the entire responsibility of getting the West organized," to celebrate and remember Lincoln's accomplishments, Burgess said.

He then had Don McCue, curator at the Lincoln Shrine, and Nathan Gonzales, the library's assistant archivist, read from Lincoln's second inaugural address, "one of the toughest addresses a president has ever given about himself or the country," Burgess said.

"This is a president who had been in agony all those years," he added.

After hearing the inaugural speech presented, the audience listened to Burgess talk about the causalities of war. He said that the suffering from the war continued until almost the 1960s, as segregation continued, and states still fought with the federal government over their individual rights.

He explained Lincoln's personal crisis in swearing to protect a Constitution that allowed slavery, and the initial battle at Fort Sumter.

Burgess used a slide show to illustrate some of his lecture, based on exhibits at the Shrine. Old photographs, ancient letters, contemporary political cartoons and other illustrations were shown to the an audience of all ages.

He also addressed Southern California's role in the Civil War. Many Confederate soldiers trained in the area.

"California was California even then," Burgess said. "(The state) decided it should secede and become its own (country)," he explained, getting many laughs.

At the end of his lecture, Burgess challenged the audience, explaining that America is "a country, 150 years later, in denial of its own past."

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening was at the end of the lecture. Looking out over the lectern at the crowded house, Burgess addressed the audience personally, and asked "Is the war over?"

Letting people ruminate over that question, Burgess introduced a short video called "The Civil War in 4 Minutes," loaned from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.

The Lincoln Shrine will hold its annual open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Information: 909-798-7632



I find it interesting that Larry Burgess doesn't know the Civil War ended 150 years ago, and that the Country does not deny it's own past. Denial would mean they would not commemorate the event. His audience was packed. Where is the denial?