[OPLINLIST] State Library of Ohio to host "Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation" traveling exhibition

[Marsha McDevitt-Stredney]

Please excuse multiple postings...

 

Why did a nation founded on ideals of freedom and equality tolerate for
so long one of the harshest labor systems the world has known?  A
traveling exhibition opening at the State Library of Ohio on March 7,
2011 looks for answers to this question by tracing Abraham Lincoln's
gradual transformation from an antislavery moderate into "The Great
Emancipator," who began the process to free all slaves with a
revolutionary war-time proclamation in 1863.  "Forever Free: Abraham
Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation" will be on display at the library
until April 15, 2011.

 

            Organized by the Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif., and
the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York City, in
cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA), this traveling
exhibition is made possible through major grants from the National
Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission, created by Congress and charged with planning the national
celebration of Lincoln's 200th birthday.  

 

            "We are pleased to have been selected as a site for this
timely exhibition," said State Librarian Beverly Cain.  "The exhibit
coincides with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War
and Ohio Statehouse Sesquicentennial celebration. President Lincoln and
Ohio's role in the Civil War and anti-slavery movement must be
remembered in order to help 21st century Ohioans better understand our
place in history and how these events shape our lives today.

 

            The Forever Free exhibit offers Ohioans an opportunity to
learn more about how the long and brutal Civil War influenced Abraham
Lincoln's decision on emancipation of the slaves. The exhibit reveals
how Lincoln's values and beliefs guided him through the greatest moral
conflict of his time to become one of our greatest Presidents." 

 

            Abraham Lincoln was an obscure Illinois lawyer and
politician of humble origins who rose in an astonishingly short time to
world renown as the leader of a young nation during one of its most
troubled times.   Throughout his life, Lincoln's dedication to the
ideals of freedom and equality for all people did not waver.  "I want
every man to have the chance-and I believe a black man is entitled to
it-in which he can better his condition," he said early in his career.

 

Lincoln was also a pragmatic politician who believed that a direct
attack on slavery in the South would split the Union and end America's
experiment in self-government.   He steered a middle course during the
early years of the Civil War but became convinced that ending slavery
would help the Union.  Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation transformed
the character of the war by re-committing the nation to its founders'
vision of freedom and equality for all.  

 

            "Forever Free" draws upon original documents in the
collections of the Huntington Library and the Gilder Lehrman Institute
of American History.  It was curated by John Rhodehamel, Norris
Foundation Curator of American historical manuscripts at the Huntington
Library. 

 

             The State Library of Ohio will also display historical
documents, artifacts and the winning artwork from a poster contest with
students at Columbus College of Art and Design.  An opening reception
and free program will be held on March 9, 2011 at 5:30-7:30. The State
Library will provide additional programs for schools and groups from the
public in connection with the exhibition. The State Library of Ohio is
hosting the exhibit in collaboration with Ohioana, Ohio Historical
Society, Kelton House, Ohio Department of Education, the Columbus
Metropolitan Library, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Ohio
State University, local historians and others. The State Library of Ohio
is open Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Contact Marsha
McDevitt-Stredney at 614-644-6874 or marshams at library.ohio.gov for more
information.

 



 

Marsha McDevitt-Stredney

Marketing & Communications Director

274 E. 1st Avenue

Columbus, OH 43201

Tel: 614-644-6875

Fax: 614-466-3584

www.library.ohio.gov <http://www.library.ohio.gov/> 

 

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