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ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN NEW YORK:
A RAIL SPLITTER BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
In honor of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, The Rail Splitter, a national association of Lincoln scholars and collectors, is hosting a major exhibition featuring rare artifacts, documents and memorabilia.
The exhibit is at Federal Hall, opposite the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street in lower Manhattan. Free and open to the public from February 9 through April 30, 2009. Federal Hall, where George Washington was sworn in as our first president in 1789, is a National Park Service historic site.
New York City elevated Lincoln to a presidential contender in February 1860, when he traveled to the Cooper Institute for his “right makes might” address. Commemorative events here and across the nation will draw attention to questions that still resonate, including the appropriate extent of executive power and Constitutional rights during war time. In the Rail Splitter exhibit, two seemingly disparate elements come together. One: that individuals can have a profound impact on their society and help better the human condition. Two: that democracy is an ongoing project that requires spirited involvement.
Exhibit highlights include:
• Lincoln’s pre-presidential career in law and in politics, including the sword he chose for a duel (Library of Congress);
• Elections of 1860 and 1864 —two of the most important campaigns in American history (the phrase “Honest Old Abe” was invented at the time; he was a calculating politician who guided in the creation of his own slogans and imagery in a time of vitriolic campaigns);
• The Confederate States and its leadership
• The evils of slavery
• The Emancipation Proclamation (“official edition” signed by Abraham Lincoln)*
• New York City in the Lincoln era – from the horror of the 1863 Draft Riots, to a famous photograph capturing seven-year-old Teddy Roosevelt leaning out the window of his family brownstone to watch Lincoln’s funeral procession as it proceeded down Broadway in 1865;
• Lincoln’s family circle,
• The national tragedy of assassination
Each original artifact or document, from Lincoln’s life-mask to a note written to the Treasury Department carpenter requesting boards so Abe’s young son “Tad” could build a dog house, humanize the man. Interspersed throughout are highlights of Lincoln’s timeless remarks, an enduring reflection of his leadership qualities and commitment to the office of the presidency and the cause of the Union. The exhibit aims to envelop the viewer in the dramatic Civil War epoch, through a visual and auditory experience, showcasing original artifacts and documents, patriotic music, and selected writings.
The exhibit will include items borrowed from national institutions, regional museums, and private collectors. The Railsplitter Editor Don Ackerman relates, “Many of our Rail Splitter Society members have acquired Lincoln artifacts through dogged efforts over the course of decades. Their efforts preserve history, serving as the basis for research and publications, and unearthing previously unknown details of the past. We called in our chits with colleagues and friends, many of whom agreed to exhibit their most prized possessions for the first time.” Among the items loaned by collectors
The Amendment Abolishing Slavery, original ratification copy signed by Secretary of State
William H. Seward.*
Abraham Lincoln 1857 letter explaining an occasion he skirted the truth with his wife.*
The Lincoln Trunk, left by Abraham and Mary Lincoln with their possessions that
they wished her Cousin Lizzie Grimsley to preserve in Springfield as he was
leaving for the presidency.*
Abraham Lincoln’s Folding Dividers (Calipers), with letter of Robert Todd Lincoln presenting
them as a relic a month after the assassination, noting that the recipient must have seen
the President using them many times marking distances on civil war maps.*
Abraham Lincoln document signed allowing the suspension of “the writ of Habeas Corpus
on any military line between the City of New York and the City of Washington...”*
Abraham Lincoln autograph document signed. List of stockholders, including himself,
that Lincoln filed as evidence in his most important railroad case (and only the second
known instance of stock owned by the future president). The Illinois Supreme Court
ruled in favor of Lincoln and the railroad, setting a precedent upholding the binding
nature of stockholders’ contractual and financial obligations to the company.*
*Loan arranged by Seth Kaller, Inc. For more information on asterisked items, see links above or call (914)289-1776.
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Friday Afternoon Speaker's Series: TBA
Seth Kaller, “Lincoln's Documents of Freedom: Fact, Fiction and Forgery.”
As a leading dealer of historical documents specializing in building important institutional and private collections, Mr. Kaller has handled every Lincoln signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment to have publicly sold over the last 25 years. Mr. Kaller’s work on Lincoln’s habeas corpus documents and many of Lincoln’s most significant letters provides a unique perspective. Note: if you think you have an original Gettysburg Address, bring it for authentication!
For an up to date list of all presentation and more information please see the Rail Splitter exhibit website, Lincoln in New York.
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