Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War presents this perilous moment in our nation's history as you've never seen it before.

Your experience begins with a fast-paced video bringing you back to 1860 and a nation perched on the brink of war. Could the Constitution survive? Would our country survive?

Next, an engaging computer interactive introduces you to Abraham Lincoln, the man upon whom the hopes and fears of a nation rested. You are there on March 4, 1861, as Lincoln delivers his First Inaugural Address and raises his hand to take the Oath of Office as president.

Lincoln's struggle to preserve the nation and the Constitution come alive in the exhibition through an engaging blend of imagery, text, multimedia presentations and computer interactives.

• See original artifacts and documents, including rare signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery.
• Listen to Lincoln defend his record on civil liberties against critics who branded him a "tyrant."
• Help Lincoln solve the problem of slavery by choosing the right keys to unlock slavery from the Constitution.
• At a recreated Civil War jail cell, play a computer game that lets you hold or release prisoners being held as "subversives."
• Hear the Gettysburg Address as a message for our times, and tell us what you think Lincoln's words mean to us today.
• At a computer polling station, decide whether you would vote for Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election.

Core Themes

Neither a traditional biography of Lincoln nor a conventional exhibit on the Civil War, Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War explores how Lincoln met the enormous challenges of the Civil War and why his very human struggle still matters to us today. Though the Civil was a military conflict waged between North and South, at base it was a constitutional crisis-the severest test of the American experiment in popular self-government since the founding of the Republic. Lincoln understood this, and met the challenge.

From families with young children to Civil War buffs and history scholars, everyone will find something engaging in Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.

Walking through the Exhibition

The exhibition is organized into seven areas: The Impending Crisis, Meet Mr. Lincoln, Presidential Oath of Office, Crisis of Secession, Crisis of Slavery, Crisis of Civil Liberties, and Lincoln's Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours.

The Impending Crisis, a fast-paced video presentation, introduces the exhibition. Intermixing imagery, narration and period music, it dramatically traces the chain of events that began with Lincoln's election and culminated in Jefferson Davis' inauguration as president of the Confederate States of America-even as President-elect Lincoln traveled to Washington for his own inauguration.

On the eve of his inauguration in March 1861, Americans really knew little about Lincoln. This one-term congressman from Illinois had held no important military command, no leading position in business or industry. He had done well as a lawyer. He was a canny politician. But he had been influential only in his home state. Who was Abraham Lincoln? In Meet Mr. Lincoln, visitors can use an electronic touch-screen to learn about Lincoln's life before he became president.

In the next area, Presidential Oath of Office, visitors can hear Lincoln being sworn in as President on March 4, 1861. Also in this area, visitors can look through a replicated circa-1860 box camera to view battlefield images of the Civil War, interspersed with portraits of Lincoln, to see how the war exacted its own physical toll on him.

The core of the exhibition consists of three sections, each focusing on the key constitutional challenges-Secession, Slavery, and Civil Liberties-that tested Lincoln's leadership. Within each section, priceless original documents, such as signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery, will bring Lincoln's presidency to life. Audio segments, recorded by Sam Waterston, will reveal Lincoln's inner thoughts. Manipulative and electronic interactives will offer novel and engaging learning experiences.

In the Crisis of Secession, for example, visitors can play "The Secession Game"-a genuine board game from 1862. In the Crisis of Slavery, they can try to use the right "constitutional keys" to "unlock" the slavery problem. In the Crisis of Civil Liberties, visitors encounter a recreated jail cell and discover first-hand accounts of people suspected of disloyalty. Were their arrests justified? You decide.

Entering the last section of the exhibition, Lincoln's Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours, visitors will hear Lincoln deliver his moving address at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, and listen to comments from people in our time about what Lincoln's words and deeds mean to us today. At a talk-back station, visitors will be able to offer their own reflections.