New exhibit explores Lincoln’s role in Civil War

A new exhibit at the State Museum examines Abraham Lincoln’s motives and principles as he navigated the secession of the southern states and the question of slavery.

“Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” is a traveling exhibition that opens Thursday, July 9, at the State Museum. In a series of panel displays, the exhibit explores whether our 16th president was “a calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery, or a principled leader justly celebrated as the great Emancipator.”

The exhibit doesn’t provide definitive answers to these questions of Lincoln’s legacy, but allows viewers to ponder the questions that Lincoln faced – whether the United States was a single nation or a confederacy of independent states, how a country founded on the idea that all men are created equal could include the institution of slavery, and whether civil liberties could be preserved during a national crisis.

“This exhibition addresses the core of what it means to be an American and examines them in such a way that we see how many questions were left unresolved by our country’s founding charter,” said State Museum curator of history JoAnn Zeise in a release.

“Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” will be on display through Aug. 21, and is included in general admission to the museum. The museum, located at 301 Gervais St. in the Vista is open Mondays and Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sundays from noon-5 p.m. For admission rates, visit scmuseum.org.

Bridget Winston, Special to The State

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 4:05 PM.