Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? A plagiarist? Or a master orator with a deeply held belief in equality?

A faculty panel posed these and other questions Aug. 24 in Barton Hall, addressing more than 3,000 incoming students on the subject of Garry Wills' 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America," the focus of the 2008-09 New Student Reading Project.

More than 3,700 students entering Cornell this fall were sent copies of Wills' book to read over the summer, along with study questions; they were asked to write an essay and participate in campuswide discussions of the book.

"I especially enjoyed the first part of the book, which gave the background of the Gettsyburg Address," said Christina Conway '12 of Buffalo. "Garry Wills talks about what the times were like, and how transcendentalism played a part in affecting Lincoln's way of thinking. There are parts of the Gettsyburg Address that are similar to classical speeches, and the author shows what each part of the speech accomplishes."

Panelists tackled Wills' subject from a variety of angles, including Lincoln's mastery of rhetoric in his 272-word address and nationalism and inequality in early America. Students asked questions and made comments after the faculty presentations.

"A revolution in thought -- that's what Garry Wills says Abraham Lincoln completed at Gettysburg," said panelist Edward E. Baptist, an associate professor of history specializing in the history of slavery and 19th-century America. "Lincoln had already led the United States to the point where it could begin the work of emancipation. Now he completed the work of transforming America's belief about itself, from acceptance of slavery to equality ... to breathing the animated spirit of the Declaration [of Independence] into the letter of the Constitution."

Baptist focused on Lincoln's beliefs about freedom from tyranny and what America was and should become.

"Slavery and emancipation are the story of the first half of American history. Their consequences are in many ways the story of what has happened ever since," he said.

Hunter Rawlings, Cornell president emeritus and professor of classics and history, praised the rhetoric in Lincoln's speeches.

He cited four essential qualities of Lincoln's rhetoric: The optimal use of the occasion for a speech; a mastery of rhetorical traditions familiar to his audience; compression of thought; and "language refined to the highest level of abstraction."

Lincoln was asked to deliver brief remarks at the dedication of a cemetery at Gettysburg; the primary speaker was the great orator Edward Everett. "I know a little bit about being the warm-up speaker for official occasions," Rawlings said. "Somehow, Lincoln used this opportunity to write not a throwaway speech, but a statement of permanent value."

Lincoln drew from the Bible and "the long line of state funeral orations delivered in Athens," such as those by Pericles to honor those who gave their lives in battle, Rawlings said. Lincoln also eschewed particulars; he does not mention generals, or the two sides in the battle, or use the words "Gettysburg" or "slavery."

"He used generalized, idealized language to attain a level of abstraction that is almost shocking," Rawlings said. "My advice to you on this point on abstraction is, don't try it at home. It is insanely difficult to state important ideas without using particular arguments, without citing individual facts or acts."

Tad Brennan, professor of philosophy, encouraged students to approach intellectual conversations with "interpretive charity and respectful skepticism." He spoke about Lincoln lifting parts of his speech from Pericles.

"Were any of you surprised that we are lavishing all this time and attention on the Gettysburg Address, when it turns out to be totally ripped off from someone else's work?" he said. "Is this really how we're orienting you to university life, by telling you that plagiarism pays?"

It does not pay to steal from Wikipedia and not cite your sources, Brennan said; but Lincoln is exempt because "If you steal from the ancient Greeks, then we call it classical erudition. We call it culture."

Michele Moody-Adams, vice provost for undergraduate education, hosted the event. "Lincoln at Gettysburg" is only the second work of nonfiction chosen for the project, after Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" when the project debuted in 2001. "We're considering again the power of guns to remake the world, but we're exploring the power of words to complete the work of guns," Moody-Adams said.

The 90-minute event can be viewed on CornellCast.