Political cartoons at Lincoln College exhibit shed light on Lincoln's popularity during his life

[March 12, 2011]  Going on now through April 12, the Lincoln Heritage Museum on the campus of Lincoln College is hosting a traveling selection of cartoons featuring President Abraham Lincoln.

The exhibit was originally set to leave Lincoln on April 5 but has been extended to April 12, which is 150 years to the day since Fort Sumter, S.C., was shelled by Confederacy, starting the Civil War.

The display is currently at the museum courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Melissa Weissert, assistant director at the museum, said the cartoons on display are just a few of the kind that were typically published between 1860 and 1865. The cartoons focus a great deal on the Emancipation Proclamation and the public's distaste for Lincoln's position on slavery.

Weissert said political cartoons shed some light on Lincoln's popularity or lack thereof when he was serving as president.

While today, history views Lincoln as one of our nation's greatest presidents, at that time, the opinion was quite different. Lincoln's desire to end slavery and see people of color treated with some form of respect was not popular.

Weissert said she likes to study the cartoons because "you can see Lincoln through the eyes of the people at the time."

This spring the museum has a few other special exhibits going on that the public is encouraged to stop in and see.

Beginning March 28 and running through April 15, there will be a special exhibition on Logan County's own Gov. Oglesby. The exhibit is described as:

An examination of the life of Logan County resident Governor Oglesby, and his association with Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Grant. The exhibit is sponsored by the Governor Richard J. Oglesby Mansion.

In memory of the assassination of Lincoln on April 14, 1865, the museum will host a special evening event entitled "Our Martyred President." Program information for the evening of April 14 says:

The museum will be draped in black, and Mr. Virgil Davis will present his rare assassination collection including many items never before shown.

Additional events are currently planned for September.

To keep track of everything that is going on at Lincoln Heritage Museum, be sure to check out their website at http://www.lincolncollege.edu/museum/index.htm.

[By NILA SMITH]