Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War is a 2,500-square-foot traveling exhibition shows how Lincoln’s momentous struggle to save the Union transformed the nation and its Constitution.

Featuring:

• Priceless original documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln, such the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. Also see Lincoln's order to blockade Southern ports, an original draft of Lincoln's inaugural address, and many others.
• The stove-pipe hat worn by President-elect Lincoln on the train ride to his first inauguration.
• Authentic 19th-century slave shackles.
• Audio of Lincoln's inner thoughts and public speeches, including the Gettysburg Address, as recorded by Sam Waterston.
• Multimedia interactives that offer novel and engaging learning experiences.
• “The Secession Game”—play a genuine board game from 1862.
• A recreated jail cell showcasing first-hand accounts of people suspected of disloyalty. Were their arrests justified? You decide.

Gallery walks led by trained interpreters are available daily at 11:15 and 2:15. Reservations are not required.

Visitor Information
Hours, Tickets, Directions, Parking

Schools and Groups
Reservations, Scholarships

Teacher's Guide
Lesson plans, on-site activities

Exhibit Walkthrough

The Impending Crisis
Meet Mr. Lincoln
Presidential Oath of Office
Crisis of Secession
Crisis of Slavery
Crisis of Civil Liberties
Lincoln’s Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours

The Impending Crisis , a fast-paced 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.

On the eve of his inauguration in March 1861, Americans really knew little about him. This one-term congressman from Illinois had held no important military command, no leading position in business or industry. He had done well as a lawyer. He was a canny politician. But he had been influential only in his home state. Who was Abraham Lincoln? In Meet Mr. Lincoln, visitors can use an electronic touch-screen to learn about Lincoln’s life before he became president.

In the next area, Presidential Oath of Office, visitors can hear Lincoln being 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 13 th Amendment that abolished slavery, will bring Lincoln’s presidency to life. Audio segments, recorded by Sam Waterston, will reveal Lincoln’s inner thoughts. Manipulative and electronic interactives will 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. In the Crisis of Slavery, they can try to use the right “constitutional keys” to “unlock” the slavery problem. In the Crisis of Civil Liberties, visitors encounter a recreated jail cell and discover first-hand accounts of people suspected of disloyalty. Were their arrests justified? You decide.

Entering the last section of the exhibition, Lincoln’s Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours, visitors will hear Lincoln deliver his moving address at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, and listen to comments from people in our time about what Lincoln’s words and deeds mean to us today. At a talk-back station, visitors will be able to offer their own reflections.