 The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield is now
offering $5 off its standard $12 adult admission to anyone
presenting a ticket stub from the movie "Lincoln." The film,
released by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox, stars Daniel
Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Lincoln.The
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation is also offering
membership discounts from $10 to $15, depending on the membership
level, for visitors who present a "Lincoln" ticket stub. Membership
benefits include a number of free admissions to the presidential
museum. One ticket stub will be required for each membership
discount, and this promotion runs through Dec. 31.
The day after Thanksgiving also offers a special opportunity for
families. Visitors to the museum's Facebook page, at
www.facebook.com/lincoln.museum, can download a coupon that
allows an entire family to visit the museum for just $10 on Nov. 23
only. The family group must consist of at least one parent and can
include any number of directly related children. This is a
significant savings from the normal admission charge of $12 per
adult and $7 per child. This offer cannot be combined with other
discounts or promotions.
The coupon will include a section where each family must write
what they are thankful for this year. Some of those messages will be
posted on the presidential museum's social media sites. During that
day, prizes from the museum's gift shop will be given away to
randomly selected visitors.
"We offer this promotion on the 149th anniversary of the first
national Thanksgiving holiday, proclaimed by President Abraham
Lincoln in response to a campaign by 19th-century magazine editor
Sara Josepha Hale," said Eileen Mackevich, director of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Presidential museum visitors may currently see an original copy
of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the officially printed
commemorative copies that Lincoln signed in full, along with
Secretary of State William Seward and Lincoln's private secretary,
John G. Nicolay. It is fortunate that the commemorative printing was
ordered, because Lincoln's original manuscript was lost in the
Chicago Fire of 1871.
In addition, one of the museum's permanent exhibit galleries,
"The Tide Turns," features a section on the 13th Amendment, a
central theme in the "Lincoln" film and the official act that
abolished slavery.
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 A formal day of Thanksgiving, proclaimed by a ruler or the
church, predates the American colonies by many centuries. Gov.
William Bradford proclaimed one for the Pilgrims of Plymouth in
1621, George Washington asked for one in 1789, and President James
Madison called for one in 1815. Several times during his presidency,
Abraham Lincoln ordered a national day of humiliation and fasting,
or, after a military victory, of prayer and thanksgiving.
However, it took a 20-year effort by Sara Josepha Hale, editor of
Godey's Lady's Book, to finally convince a sitting president to
establish a permanent national day of thanksgiving.
Hale wrote to Lincoln on Sept. 28, 1863, to urge him to issue a
proclamation, stating that having a national Thanksgiving would
establish a "great Union Festival of America." After meeting
with Hale, Lincoln chose Nov. 26, 1863, a Thursday, as the first
National Day of Thanksgiving, to match the date of George
Washington's first such proclamation.
___
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum combines
rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to form the nation's
most visited presidential complex. The museum features lifelike
figures and scenes, special effects, riveting presentations, and
ghosts to give visitors a better appreciation for Abraham Lincoln's
enduring legacy. The library contains more than 13 million items
pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history and is one of the
nation's leading institutions for genealogy and history research. It
includes the world's most impressive collection of original Lincoln
materials, more than 52,000 items in all.
For more information about visiting the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum or becoming a member through the
library foundation, visit
www.presidentlincoln.org.
[Text from
Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |
