Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Washington
Exhibitions, Performances, Activities Pay Tribute to 16th President
© Kat Long
Jan 1, 2009
Living the Legacy: Lincoln in Washington, DC is a four-month program of public events and performances to celebrate the Lincoln bicentennial, all taking place in the nation’s capitol. From January to April 2009, the city plays host to a nationwide tribute to “renew America’s appreciation of Lincoln’s ideals of freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity.” Exhibits at DC museums and landmarks; lectures, panels, and workshops; theater, film, and music performances; and guided tours are planned for the celebration, in addition to kid-friendly activities.
Museum highlights
The National Portrait Gallery will display its collection of portraits of Lincoln created during his lifetime in One Life: The Mask of Lincoln (through July 5). The National Museum of American History will host to exhibitions: America’s New Birth of Freedom: Documents from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum includes a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and letters regarding the Civil War (Jan. 16 through April 2009). A semi-permanent installation, Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life, will display its Lincoln-related holdings brought together for the first time (Jan. 16 through January 2011). The Library of Congress presents With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition with writings and artifacts, materials for teachers, a companion book, online exhibition and symposium (Feb 12-May 9).
Lectures and workshops
Led by Lincoln scholars, authors, and historians, numerous lectures and panel discussions are scheduled at cultural institutions in Washington. Many of the symposia will explore Lincoln’s concept of freedom and how it informed his actions against slavery. Emancipation and Race in the Age of Lincoln, a national conference with panel discussions and performances, is scheduled to coincide with Emancipation Day at Howard University (Apr. 16-18). Author John Stauffer will lead a discussion at the National Archives on Jan. 22 entitled Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Ford’s Theater, the site of Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, will hold a Monday night speaker series on Lincoln topics from February to May 2009. Many more readings and discussions are scheduled.
Experiencing Lincoln’s Life
Some events in Living the Legacy recreate life and culture from Lincoln’s time. The Willard Intercontinental Hotel will present selections from the dinner menu served at Lincoln’s second inauguration, held on March 6, 1865 (Mar. 6). Military bands and ensembles will play patriotic and popular music of the nineteenth century at the Lincoln Memorial in honor of Lincoln’s actual birthday (Feb. 12), while at the National Gallery of Art, choral groups from the Washington area will perform compositions and music written during Lincoln’s life (Apr. 17-19).
Tours in and around Washington will visit places of significance in Lincoln’s life. Experienced historians and docents will explain the historical references to Lincoln’s presidency at Harper’s Ferry and Antietam, sites of two major battles of the Civil War (Mar. 8); Gettysburg (Mar. 29), and the National Museum of the United States Navy (Feb. 18). Walking tours—some led by interpretive guides in costume—will explore a timeline of Lincoln’s assassination (Apr. 11 and Apr. 26), “civil and political Washington” sites such as Ford’s Theater, the White House, the Willard Hotel and the National Theater (Apr. 19), and the life experiences of a free black woman during Lincoln’s era (begins May, ongoing).
The main event in the four-month celebration will be the rededication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, four-score-and-seven-years after President Warren Harding unveiled the monument in 1922. A day-long program of events will accompany the ceremony.
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