New exhibit on Civil War's aftermath coming to ALPLM

America’s Civil War ended slavery and offered African Americans new status as full citizens with the right to vote and hold office. It was, in many ways, a second founding of the American republic. But as visitors to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will see in a new exhibit, these rights were soon stripped away in a barrage of violence, political deals and hostile court rulings.

“The Second American Revolution,” opening at the museum June 5, will trace the efforts to rebuild America to match Lincoln’s vision and then document the backlash that gave rise to Jim Crow laws and decades of oppression.

The exhibit, part of the ALPLM’s commemoration of America’s 250th birthday, includes historic pieces such as the pen Lincoln used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, a copy of the constitutional amendment ending slavery, Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia and a chair from Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated.

Pen used to sign Emancipation Proclamation (Massachusetts Historical Society)

The exhibit also includes short films about refugee camps for people escaping slavery during the Civil War, an interactive collection of short biographies of women who worked to end slavery, a short film about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments and a timeline of efforts to reverse Reconstruction.

“After the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln’s tragic death, America had a chance to begin again on a more equal footing for all citizens. But this second American Revolution ultimately failed. The promises of new rights and new opportunities for African Americans were shattered,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. “This exhibit attempts to show how this injustice took place so that Americans today can learn from past mistakes.”

The exhibit was curated by Manisha Sinha, author of “The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920” and “The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition.” She is also the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and past president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.

"The betrayal of Reconstruction haunts American democracy. The nation still lives with the competing legacies of democracy and authoritarianism formed by the rise and fall of the Second American Republic,” Sinha said. “Democracy itself, Reconstruction reveals, can be systematically overthrown and repressed for long periods in American history."

Sinha will speak about the exhibit and her work at a special preview of “The Second American Revolution” on June 4 and sign copies of her book afterward. The reception is for museum members. To join Team Lincoln, visit PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov and click “Support Us.”

“The Second American Revolution” opens June 5 and runs through Jan. 17. Admission to the exhibit is included in the price of regular museum admission.

Patch promoting a branch of the Ku Klux Klan. (ALPLM)

The mission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is to inspire civic engagement through the diverse lens of Illinois history and share with the world the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. We pursue this mission through a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship built on the bedrock of the ALPLM’s unparalleled collection of historical materials – roughly 13 million items from all eras of Illinois history.

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