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The exhibit of 10 key Lincoln documents will run through March 22 in
the National Museum of American History's Albert H. Small Documents
Gallery. The museum is located on the National Mall, where the
majority of the inaugural events will take place. "Lincoln's words
have enduring meaning and speak in powerful ways to a global
audience," said Brent D. Glass, director of the National Museum.
"Displaying some of Lincoln's most memorable words will serve as a
fitting tribute to one of America's greatest presidents."
The document exhibit will show Lincoln's understanding and
expression of the relationship between emancipation and the aims of
the Civil War, and how he wanted the country to emerge from the war.
The exhibit coincides with the opening of the Smithsonian's "Abraham
Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life," as well as the national celebration
of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. Featured items include:
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The Emancipation
Proclamation. This is a copy of the proclamation that was among
several printed to raise funds for medical supplies for Union
soldiers.
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Using black troops
in battle. This Jan. 14, 1863, letter from Lincoln to Gen. John
Dix concerns the use of 2,000 black troops to garrison a Union
fort.
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The logic of
emancipation. Lincoln's Aug. 5, 1863, letter to Gen. Nathaniel
Banks argues, "As an anti-slavery man I have a motive to desire
emancipation, which pro-slavery men do not have; but even they
have strong enough reason to thus place themselves again under
the shield of the Union; and to thus perpetually hedge against
the recurrence of the scenes through which we are now passing."
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Addressing the
critics of emancipation. An Aug. 26, 1863, letter to James
Conkling puts it bluntly: "Why should they [blacks] do any thing
for us, if we will do nothing for them?"
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"Read it very
slowly." Unable to attend the Grand Union Rally in Springfield,
Lincoln sent his Aug. 26 comments to Conkling to be read aloud
to those assembled, along with an Aug. 27 note telling Conkling
to "read it very slowly."
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The destruction of
the enemy. Lincoln wrote to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on
Jan. 5, 1865, agreeing with Gen. Sherman's strategy to take the
war to South Carolina, conducting it with the goal of destroying
the enemy.
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Letter to Ulysses
S. Grant. Lincoln's April 2, 1865, letter to Ulysses S. Grant
accepts the general's invitation to tour the fallen Confederate
capital of Richmond.
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"That this mighty scourge of war may
speedily pass away." Answering a request for a portion of his
Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln wrote these immortal words in
a March 20, 1865, letter to Amanda Hall.
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Peace talks.
Lincoln wrote to influential Republican Francis P. Blair on Jan.
18, 1865, that he held little hope for Blair's notion of peace
talks with the Confederacy.
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Surrender of the South. An April 5,
1865, letter to John Campbell about Lincoln's terms for peace
became moot four days later when Robert E. Lee surrendered to
Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.
"Once Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, he
never retreated, and he repeatedly indicated that he wanted specific
things to happen on the road to remake the nation in the image of
the Declaration of Independence," said Illinois State Historian
Thomas Schwartz, who helped organize and curate the Smithsonian
exhibit. "The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is
delighted to have the opportunity to share some of our most precious
documents from Illinois' first president during the inauguration of
Illinois' latest president."
The ALPLM's mobile exhibit "Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in
America," a 53-foot, double-expandable tractor-trailer display of
highlights from the Springfield museum, will be parked in the
vicinity of the National Museum of American History during the first
few days of the exhibit. The mobile exhibit is the only nationally
traveling truck exhibit to highlight the Lincoln Bicentennial and
has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to date. The mobile exhibit
is sponsored by Caterpillar, the Illinois Soybean Association,
Illinois Bureau of Tourism and Ray McCaskey.
With National Geographic, the ALPLM is also co-publishing a book,
"Abraham Lincoln's Extraordinary Era," that has been released as
part of the nation's Lincoln Bicentennial celebration.
The
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has scheduled
many events to commemorate Lincoln's 200th birthday. For a full list
of bicentennial activities in Illinois, visit the Illinois Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission site at www.lincoln200.net.
[Text from
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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