Date: 2009-09-28
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ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University’s Carl A. Kroch Library will display a rare trio of documents that framed Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and etched an indelible chapter into American history. The exhibit, “The Lincoln Presidency: Last Full Measure of Devotion,” will unveil original copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
(Media-Newswire.com) - ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University’s Carl A. Kroch Library will display a rare trio of documents that framed Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and etched an indelible chapter into American history. The exhibit, “The Lincoln Presidency: Last Full Measure of Devotion,” will unveil original copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The exhibit celebrates the 200th anniversary year of Lincoln’s birth, opening Oct. 20 and running through April 16, 2010.
Cornell University Library’s copy of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is one of five known copies handwritten by Lincoln and the only copy owned by a private institution. This original copy will be on display for only one week. The four other copies are owned by public institutions: two at the Library of Congress, one at the Illinois State Historical Library and one in the Lincoln Room at the White House. All five are slightly different. Cornell’s copy was donated to the university in 1949.
After the Union won the battle of Antietam in 1862, Lincoln issued a presidential decree to the Confederate states, declaring that he would free all slaves in Southern states if they did not surrender and rejoin the Union. The Confederacy rebuffed his ultimatum, and on Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Cornell’s copy is the first engrossed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation made from the manuscript draft that was sent to the U.S. Department of State.
On Jan. 31, 1865—two years after the presentation of the Emancipation Proclamation, and three months before the end of the Civil War—the Thirteenth Amendment passed through Congress, ending slavery. Cornell's copy is a manuscript copy, handwritten by a secretary and signed by Abraham Lincoln and members of Congress.
Other pieces in the exhibit include rare and important photographs of Lincoln; memorabilia from his 1860 and 1864 campaigns; engravings and photographs relating to his assassination and funeral; and more rare materials from the Lincoln and Civil War collections of Andrew Dickson White, Cornell University’s first president.
Contact: Blaine Friedlander
Phone: (607) 254-8093
Cell: (607) 351-2610
E-Mail: bpf2@cornell.edu
WHAT: “The Lincoln Presidency: Last Full Measure of Devotion,” an exhibit
WHERE: Carl A. Kroch Library, Cornell University campus. (Enter through the front door of Olin Library, walk straight back to the Kroch Library.)
WHEN: Oct. 20, 2009 through April 16, 2010
NOTE: For media interested in preparing stories in advance, please contact Blaine Friedlander, Cornell Press Relations Office, at (607) 254-8093
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