“Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

Abraham Lincoln, March 17, 1865, Speech to 140th Indiana Regiment.

I have been waiting to return to my original home museum, the Indiana State Museum of Science and Culture, to write about an exhibit, so a couple Sundays ago, I made an impromptu trip to the Circle City to make a visit to With Charity for All: The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. To catch everyone up, there were two separate exhibits dedicated to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. The first was the Library of Congress’ With Malice Towards None, and the second was the Indiana State Museum’s With Charity for All that showcased only a small sample of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. Although I was fortunate enough to see both exhibits when they opened in February, this post focuses on the Indiana State Museum’s exhibit With Charity for All.

With Charity for All Title Wall

The impressive Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection boasts over 300 documents, 22,000 books, 7,000 prints and engravings, 5,000 original photographs, 200,000 newspaper and magazine clippings, and other artifacts and Lincoln possessions that tell the many stories of one of the most important American presidents of all time, his friends, his family, and his government. The exhibit housed in the intimate 3rd floor Ford Gallery exhibit space highlights Lincoln’s time in the 19th state. (That would be Indiana for some of you who haven’t been to the ISM’s 2nd floor in a while.)

Some of the particular items of note include 1 of the 48 remaining copies of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln, and his Secretary of State William Seward, and 1 of the remaining 13 copies of the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery for good. (We have one now in Cincinnati in America I AM: The African American Imprint) There is also a letter to General Sherman requesting that the Indiana troops be allowed to return home to vote in the election of 1864, and a patriotic banner from the Ford Theater (I wondered if the exhibit was in the Ford Gallery for any specific reason…) the day of Lincoln’s assassination. Not to be left out of the story, some of Mrs. Mary Todd-Lincoln’s extensive collection of cartes de visit are on display and show a sample of individuals she knew.

Kids? There is a great video named “Penny for your Thoughts,” in the exhibit where kids answer questions and give answers about what they know about Abraham Lincoln. The kids from Indianapolis Public School’s Center for Inquiry provided honest and at times comical answers to questions posed about Honest Abe. If you want to show your kids early entertainment, let them take a look at the stereocards through a stereoscope.

My Professional Opinion –

It has been a long road for The Indiana State Museum team. From bidding on the Lincoln Financial Collection, winning the bid, and putting the exhibit together, the process has taken years. It was nice to see the finished product knowing how much effort went into the exhibit. The exhibit is small yet packed with amazing artifacts and information, clean, easy to navigate, spacious, and has a great selection of papers, photos, and artifacts from his life in the Hoosier state.

Go see this exhibit! You don’t have a lot of time, though. With Charity for All closes on Sunday, July 25.

For more information:

The Indiana State Museum Center for Science and Culture

Website: http://www.indianamuseum.org Twitter: @indianamuseum