Assassinated on Good Friday, Abraham Lincoln was transformed from man to martyr and myth. In this special performance edition of BILL MOYERS JOURNAL, acclaimed actor Sam Waterston and historian Harold Holzer explore Lincoln's legacy and legend in the poetry and prose by great American writers across the decades who have wrestled to define the true Lincoln through the lens of their own times.

Assassinated on Good Friday as the Civil War was coming to a close, Abraham Lincoln was transformed from man to martyr and myth. A special performance edition of BILL MOYERS JOURNAL celebrates Lincoln's profound legacy in his bicentennial year. Acclaimed actor Sam Waterston and historian Harold Holzer share poetry and prose by great American writers - Frederick Douglas, Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsburg, Langston Hughes and Herman Melville. Responding to the arc of ideas, language and history in this performance piece, Moyers says, "Lincoln changes as we hear these words, and so does the country."