BY KAREN BOSSICK

Did you know you can get an insight into modern-day political debates via a look at Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln?

These two leaders shared common interests and held remarkably similar opinions on many important issues, according to Dr. Ronald Hatzenbuehler, author of “Jefferson, Lincoln and the Unfinished Work of the Nation.”

Hatzenbuehler, professor emeritus of history at Idaho State University, will offer his observations at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 12, at Ketchum’s Community Library.

Hatzenbuehler’s book compares and contrasts Lincoln and Jefferson’s views on such things as race and slavery, the pros and cons of political parties, state rights versus federal authority, religion and the presidency, presidential powers under the Constitution and the proper political economy for a republic.

The book’s title, taken from the Gettysburg Address, builds on both presidents’ expectations that Americans should dedicate themselves to the unfinished work of returning the nation to its founding principles.

Hatzenbuehler also is author of “I Tremble for My Country: Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Gentry.” He’s coauthor of “Congress Declares War: Rhetoric, Leadership and Partisanship in the Early Republic.”