Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War

On display February 23 – April 5, 2013

In 1860, at a time when the nation was falling apart, the people of the United States elected Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth President of the United States. By the time he took the oath of office, seven states had already seceded from the Union. This exhibition vividly evokes Lincoln’s struggle to resolve the basic questions that divided Americans at the most perilous moment in the nation’s history: Was the United States truly one nation, or was it a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? How could a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal” tolerate slavery? In a national crisis, would civil liberties be secure?

The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized this exhibition with the help of a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.

Local partners:
Bethel College and the Newton Public Library

Free admission to the exhibition and public programs—February 23-April 5, 2013

Grand Opening:  Friday, February 22, 7:00-8:30 pm.  Come-and-go reception with remarks at 7:30 pm.

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: 3:30 pm
• March 3: “The Gettysburg Address:  Lincoln’s Framework for a New American Constitution” by William Rich, Washburn University School of Law
• March 10: “The Tattered Lincoln Photo Album: Lincoln’s Likeness and Image in History and Memory” by Brian Craig Miller, Emporia State University