Press Releases

Lincoln Exhibit Overview

Media Contact:
Nancy Coggins, APR
Marketing and Communications Director
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
405.235.3313 or 405.760.9053
nc@oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War
Exhibition Overview

Introduction
Even as the convention that framed the U.S. Constitution ended in September 1787, Americans began debating critical issues that their founding charter left unresolved. Were the “united states” truly one nation? How could a country founded in the belief that “all men are created equal” tolerate slavery? Would our Constitution be robust enough to safeguard the liberties we held so dear? Like ticking time-bombs, these troublesome issues threatened to explode. Finally, in the winter of 1860-1861, they did. As the winds of war began swirling, Americans worried whether their new president-elect—an inexperienced former congressman and trial lawyer from Illinois—could resolve the crisis. Would Abraham Lincoln survive the test? Would we?

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a 2,500-square-foot traveling exhibition on loan from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, shows how Lincoln’s leadership and constitutional vision steered the nation through its most turbulent years and into a future that forever changed America.

Core Themes
Neither a traditional biography of Lincoln nor a conventional exhibit on the Civil War, Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War explores how one individual, deeply committed to the belief that citizens can make a real difference, exercised leadership at a pivotal time of crisis for the nation, the Constitution, and the course of freedom worldwide. Though the Civil War was a military conflict waged between North and South, at base it was a constitutional crisis—the severest test of the American experiment in popular self-government since the founding of the Republic. Lincoln understood this, and his constant focus on the Constitution enabled him to chart a course that, ultimately, saved both Constitution and country.

From families with young children to Civil War buffs and history scholars, everyone will find something engaging in Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.

Walking through the Exhibition
The exhibition is organized into seven areas: Secession Winter, Meet Mr. Lincoln, Oath of Office, Crisis of Secession, Crisis of Slavery, Crisis of Civil Liberties, and Lincoln’s Legacy: The Gettysburg Address In His Time and Ours.

Secession Winter, a fast-paced dual-screen video presentation, introduces the exhibition.
Intermixing imagery, narration and period music, it dramatically traces the chain of events that began with Lincoln’s election and culminated in Jefferson Davis’ inauguration as president of the Confederate States of America—even as President-elect Lincoln traveled to Washington for his own inauguration.

While waiting to be sworn-in, Lincoln turned 52 years old. He marked the occasion by doing something he’d never done before—he grew a beard. But many people didn’t recognize his new face! Just who was this now-bewhiskered man? In Meet Mr. Lincoln, visitors can use an electronic touch-screen to learn about the life of someone whom we know so well, but about whom there’s still much to discover.

In the next area, Oath of Office, visitors can stand at Lincoln’s side as he is sworn in as President on March 4, 1861. Also in this area, visitors can look through a replicated circa-1860 box camera to view battlefield images of the Civil War, interspersed with portraits of Lincoln, to see how the war exacted its own physical toll on him.

The core of the exhibition consists of three sections, each focusing on the key constitutional challenges—Secession, Slavery and Civil Liberties—that tested Lincoln’s leadership. Within each section, priceless original documents, such as signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery, bring Lincoln’s presidency to life. Audio segments reveal Lincoln’s inner thoughts. Manipulative and electronic interactives offer novel and engaging learning experiences. In the Crisis of Secession, for example, visitors can play “The Secession Game”—a genuine board game from 1862—and watch Lincoln and Jefferson Davis square off over secession in an animated “Championship Prize Fight.” In Crisis of Slavery, they can try to find the right “constitutional keys” to “unlock” the slavery problem. In Crisis of Civil Liberties, visitors encounter first-hand accounts from people who were arrested for being “disloyal,” and judge whether or not their arrests were legitimate.

Entering the last section of the exhibition, Lincoln’s Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours, visitors hear Lincoln deliver his moving address at Gettysburg on November 18, 1863, and listen to comments from people in our time about what Lincoln’s words mean. Visitors can then offer their own reflections.

Artifacts included:

Lincoln's trademark stovepipe hat
Letter of Sessession from South Carolina, the first state to secceed, signed by state leaders
Original copy of printed Emancipation Proclamation
Original written senate resolution proposing to enact the 13th Amendmen to the U.S. Constitution, which abolishes slavery, signed by President Lincoln
Campaign buttons and other memorabila
Presidential pamphlets

Exhibit General Information
Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War
February 12 – December 15, 2007
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Museum admission is $8 for adults, and $7 for seniors and $6 for students ages 5 through college (with ID). Children ages 4 and under are free. Grant funding to assist with student admission for Oklahoma public schools is available thanks to the Sarkeys Foundation. Group rates are also available.
Museum hours are Mon. – Sat., 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sun., 1-6 p.m. Tickets sales end at 5 p.m. daily
For more information, call 888.542.HOPE or visit www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

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Exhibit Links:
Lincoln information from the National Constitution Center: www.constitutioncenter.org/lincoln
Sarkeys grant application for Oklahoma Public School student admission: http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/uploads/documents/OKCNM_Sarkeys%20Education%20Grant%20flyer.pdf

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