CA: Lincoln, the Constitution, and the Civil War Exhibit in Rocklin

From Rocklin & Roseville Today:  Lincoln, the Constitution, and the Civil War Exhibit in Rocklin

OCKLIN, Calif., - William Jessup University is the host site for a traveling museum exhibit  known as Lincoln, the Constitution, and the Civil War funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered by the American Library Association. The Paul Nystrom Library will be hosting the exhibit from August 16 through September 24 in collaboration with the university's History and Public Policy departments.
 
The exhibit examines how President Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil War-the secession of Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties.

"We are delighted to have been selected as a site for this exhibition," said Kevin Pischke, Jessup's Library Director. "As a new president, Lincoln was faced with enormous challenges. This exhibition shows how he struggled with issues of secession, slavery and civil liberties-all questions our country's founding charter left unanswered. Each section of the exhibit features information about a different aspect of Lincoln's presidency and helps visitors understand why Lincoln's struggle with the Constitution still matters today."

 Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of America's greatest presidents, but his historical reputation is contested. Was he a calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery, or a principled leader justly celebrated as the Great Emancipator? This exhibition provides no easy answers. Rather, it encourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln by engaging them with Lincoln's struggle to reconcile his policy preferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality. This exhibition develops a more complete understanding of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation's gravest constitutional crisis.
 The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition, which was made possible by 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.

 The traveling exhibition is composed of informative panels featuring photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of Lincoln's first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment.

 The library is sponsoring two free programs for the public in connection with the exhibition. The opening lecture will be held on August 30 from 7-8:30 pm and have a historical focus. The University's Public Policy Department's Constitution Day events are planned just before the closing of the exhibit and will have a political/constitutional focus.

 isit www.jessup.edu/library/events for more information.