Professor Will Give Talk at White House

Tomorrow evening the White House will escape the pressures of scandal and war with a brief foray into American history.

Bernard Bailyn, Adams University Professor emeritus and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer prize, will lecture in the East Room of the White House on American Revolutionary history to about 180 people as part of the White House Millennium lecture series.

The audience will include the President, the First Lade, academics, college students and the media, according to Sue M. Vogelsinger, a spokesperson for the White House Millennium Council.

The lecture is the first in a series of events planned by the council. Formed in August 1997, the council organizes lectures and other events so that Americans can contemplate and celebrate the coming of the next millennium, Vogelsinger said.

"This is a time to take stock of where we are, where we have been, and to think about the opportunities and problems of the future," Vogelsinger said.

Bailyn was chosen as the first speaker in the series because he is highly respected internationally and has expertise in early American history, according to Vogelsinger. She said that Bailyn will provide an appropriate starting point for the series.

Bailyn said he will speak about themes and continuities in American history and develop ideas for discussion.

He said he will focus upon "themes of our past that play into the present."

Bailyn, who has never met the President and First Lady, nor visited the White House, said he looks forward to initiating this dialogue.

"I hope it will be a useful talk," he said.

In his half-hour lecture, Bailyn said, he will focus on American pubic life--the way government has worked and the themes of rights and social problems. There will also be about 30 minutes for questions and discussion among the audience.

The council plans to sponsor at least three lectures per year, possibly more, through the year 2000, Vogelsinger said.

According to Vogelsinger, the council also plans to launch other projects in preparation for the millennium, including Save America's Treasures, a program to which President Clinton alluded in his State of the Union.

This program aims to restore important historical artifacts, including the Bill of Rights, the Star-Spangled Banner and the Declaration of Independence.