| Abstract | Existing approaches to collective memory explain away images of the past by relating them to their economic, political, and social "sources." The present case study of Abraham Lincoln suggests a modification of these views, one that includes as a key element the agents who connect memory and social structure. As the U.S. entered World War I, the agents of Lincoln's memory debated which version of the Lincoln image to commemorate-the epic hero or the folk hero; the strong, dignified Lincoln or the tender-hearted, common man. The public controversy over George Gray Barnard's and Augustus Saint-Gaudens's statues articulated the tension between these two images. Different conceptions of Lincoln's appearance reflected different public views of modern democracy. Since this limited the range of Lincoln images that commemorative agents could promote, a structure-centered approach that treats public readiness to appreciate or reject different ways of portraying the past must supplement the agent-centered approach to collective memory.
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