A message from Joseph L. Bast
President, The Heartland Institute

Dear Friends:

On October 25, 2007 Heartland celebrated its 23rd anniversary with a benefit dinner at the Hilton Chicago Hotel. More than 500 people, including dozens of state elected officials, attended to hear comedian Tim Slagle and a debate over Abraham Lincoln’s legacy between Tom DiLorenzo and Joseph Morris.

Slagle lived up to his reputation as the funniest libertarian alive today—hearty guffaws accompanied more than one punch line!—and DiLorenzo and Morris at times seemed on the brink of sparking a brawl in the aisles.

DiLorenzo, author of Lincoln Unmasked and The Real Lincoln, made the case that Lincoln’s almost-mythically positive legacy was unfounded. He laid out the foundation of his argument with an impressive litany of facts demonstrating how Lincoln eroded individual liberties.

But Morris, president of the Lincoln Legal Foundation, would cede nothing as he passionately argued Lincoln was the epitome of statesmanship and virtue, a true defender of freedom and the unique experiment in governance that is the United States.

In the end, it was left to the audience to decide whether Lincoln was an opportunist or hero. We didn’t poll them, so we don’t know how that vote would have turned out—but we do know the audience was entertained, highly engaged, and thoroughly pleased with the evening’s festivities.

On behalf of the staff and members of the Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute, thank you all for making our 23rd Anniversary Benefit Dinner a smashing success!