About the Exhibition at Wichita State University Libraries
Forever Free is a traveling panel exhibit that reexamines President Lincoln's efforts towards the abolition of slavery during the Civil War. Organized by The Huntington's John Rhodehamel, Norris Foundation Curator of American Historical Manuscripts, the exhbit consists of reproductions of rare historical documents from The Huntington's collections and those of the Gilder LEHRMAN Institute, and draws on the latest scholarship in the field.
The exhibition, located on the First Floor of Ablah Library, consists of six sections of panels running 75 feet in length. Each panel contains reproductions of rare historical documents, period photographs, and illustrative materials, such as engravings, lithographs, cartoons, and political ephemera.
The sections of the exhibition focus on:
- Young Lincoln's America
- The House dividing
- War for the Union
- The Emancipation Proclamation
- The role of black soldiers in the Civil War
- The final months of the Civil War and Lincoln's life
Read more about the exhibition: Background Essay by John Rhodehamel, Curator of American Historical Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
