Slavery, and the prejudice it fostered, remains the central tragedy of American history. How could it be that a nation founded on human equality was also home to one of the harshest labor systems the modern world has known? This exhibition looks for answers in the progress of Abraham Lincoln towards a higher realization of America's ideals. Lincoln hated slavery. Yet he did not support immediate emancipation. Lincoln became the great emancipator only when he and his nation were recast in the crucible of war.

Wichita State University Libraries has been selected as one of 63 sites for this four-year national traveling exhibition. This national tour kicks off in September 2006 and runs through May 2010. Two sets of this panel exhibition will tour concurrently throughout the country. Wichita State University Libraries is the only site in Kansas selected to host this exhibit! Learn more about the exhibition

The exhibition is free and open to the public. For information about visiting the exhibition, locating the WSU Libraries, or arranging a group tour, please see the visit section.

Sponsors for this exhibit: National Endowment for the Humanities, The Huntington Library, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, American Library Association, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial 2009 Commission, and Wichita State University Libraries.
More about our sponsors

"We were proclaiming ourselves political hypocrites before the world, by thus fostering Human Slavery and proclaiming ourselves, at the same time, the sole friends of Human Freedom."

Abraham Lincoln
Speech, Springfield, Il, Oct 4, 1854

View a slide show about the exhibition.

Wichita State University Libraries,1845 Fairmount, Wichita KS 67203-0068, 316-978-5130