The University of Florida Libraries announces the arrival of a major national traveling exhibit, “Lincoln, the Constitution, and the Civil War,” to run at the UF Main Library, Third Floor, from February 1 to March 7, 2012. Developed by the National Constitutional Center and the American Library Association, this new exhibit focuses on President Abraham Lincoln’s struggle to meet the political and constitutional challenges posed by the Civil War.
Visitors to the exhibit will walk through a series of nine museum-style panels with photographic images of Lincoln, significant historical documents, and prints and photos depicting the era of the Civil War. The UF Library will open the exhibit on February 1 with a ribbon cutting, followed by panel presentations about the exhibit themes and a reception. An auxiliary exhibit featuring UF materials on Lincoln and the Civil War will run in the Special Collections Gallery, Second Floor, Library East.
The events taking place around this exhibition are sponsored by the following groups:
Black Student Union
Center for African America Studies
History Department
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February 1, 2012 GRAND OPENING EVENTS
2:30 p.m. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Third Floor, Main Library
3:00 p.m. Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
Welcome by Associate Library Deans Rachel Schipper and Diane Bruxvoort and Panel Presentation:
Prof. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, Prayers & Courage: African Americans and the Civil War in Alachua County.
Prof. Sharon Austin, The Influence of Abraham Lincoln on President Barack Obama
Q & A session and reception.
February 3, 2012 FILM, Discussion and Snacks, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
12:00-2:00pm Young Mr. Lincoln: A fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
February 8, 2012 LECTURE, Matheson Museum, Gainesville
6:00-7:00 pm Prof. David Tegeder, “Lincoln and the Constitution”
February 10, 2012 FILM, Discussion and Snacks, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
12:00-2:00pm Glory!: Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
February 13, 2012 Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln!, Plaza of the Americas
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Civil War Union encampment courtesy of members of the Southern Volunteer Battalion re-enactment organization; Readings of the Emancipation Proclamation (noon) and Gettysburg Address (1 p.m.), with Lincoln interpreter Lew Wegel. Cake and refreshments provided.
February 17, 2012 FILM, Discussion and Snacks, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
12:00-2:00pm The Assassination: This American experience film recounts a great American drama: two tumultuous months when the joy of peace was shattered by the heartache of Lincoln's death. At the heart of the story are two figures who define the extremes of character: Lincoln, who had the strength to transform suffering into infinite compassion, and Booth, who allowed hatred to curdle into destruction.
February 24, 2012 FILM, Discussion and Snacks, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
12:00-2:00pm The Conspirator: Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
February 29, 2012 Closing Ceremony, co-sponsored with the UF History Department and the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library East
Noon to 1:30pm
Prof. Matt Gallman (UF History), “Abraham Lincoln and Photography"
Prof. Elizabeth Dale (UF History/Levin School of Law), “Constitutional Issues of the Civil War”
Refreshments provided.
This traveling exhibition is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): The Great Ideas Brought to Life, and was created and organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office.
This exhibition was obtained with the help of local supporters, including:
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