Exhibition Reviews

Kym S. Rice and Benjamin Filene
Contributing Editors

Introduction

The contributing editors encourage readers to suggest representations of history in American public culture that might be reviewed. In addition to continuing coverage of museum exhibitions, they are interested in covering living history projects, historical pageants and reenactments, memorials, historic preservation projects, and virtual museums. Please contact:

Kym S. Rice Benjamin Filene Museum Studies Program Department of History George Washington University University of North Carolina, Greensboro 2035 F St., NW P.O. Box 26170 Washington, DC 20052 Greensboro, NC 27402 <kym@gwu.edu> <bpfilene@uncg.edu>      We would like to thank the American Association for State and Local History for providing information on the work of its members.
"Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War." National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA 19106.       Temporary exhibition, 2,500 sq. ft. Stephen Frank, vice president for research and exhibits; Krent Paffet Carney and the American History Workshop, designers.       Traveling exhibition. Feb. 12–June 4, 2006, The Lincoln Museum, Fort Wayne, IN; July 4, 2006–Nov. 1, 2006, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT; opens Feb. 12, 2007, Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK.       Internet: description of exhibition, photographs, calendar of museum events, and online store, http://www.constitutioncenter.org/visiting/changingexhibits/Lincoln.shtml.
Since Abraham Lincoln's first moves in facing down secession and mobilizing against rebellion in 1861, constitutional questions about presidential authority, war-making powers, civil liberties, and more have swirled about the man and his office. The issues remain salient today as so-called imperial presidents, from the Cold War through the current "war on terror," have invoked Lincoln's practices and precedents to justify claims to all manner of executive power and privilege: to initiate and wage war, detain alleged enemies, extend police powers over citizens, suspend due process, and cloak executive actions in secrecy. All those acts are now, as they were then, say the president's men, essential to "preserve liberty" and even to expand freedom. Such issues underscore the National Constitution Center's (NCC) compact but potent exhibit on Lincoln and constitutional issues during the Civil War era, and they give it a rare currency in engaging public considerations about the sources, uses, and limits of constitutional authority in wartime.	1
This view of the "Crisis of Secession" station, with a road-to-secession board game in the foreground, suggests the large amount of text, documents, images, and interactive activities packed into each station of the exhibition "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War." Courtesy National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   . . . There are about 1079 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.