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Events & Classes > Collins Gallery > Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times

Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln, November 8, 1863 by Alexander Gardner. The Gilder Lehrman Collection GLC00245

Location, time

About the exhibit

More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other American, yet our knowledge of our most famous president is dominated by a series of iconic images: the son of an illiterate frontier farmer who taught himself to read, the bearded man in the stovepipe hat, the savior of the Union, the Great Emancipator, the martyred leader. This exhibit invites visitors to look beyond the myth. Through Lincoln's own words in speeches, letters and proclamations, explore and understand the 16th president's life, accomplishments and legacy.

Related events

Opening Reception

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln, June 3, 1860 by Alexander Hesler. The Gilder Lehrman Collection GLC04199

Join us for refreshments and a Lincoln trivia contest conducted by Michael Burton, Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission chair. "Illinois" Doug Tracy will perform songs and music from the Lincoln era, and actor Steve Holgate will make a brief presentation as Abraham Lincoln.

Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Town Hall

Local Lincoln scholars Richard Etulain and Elliott Trommald will lead a community discussion around topics and issues that Lincoln faced in his own time and which are still relevant today such as race, leadership and power. The topics are intended to invoke a public discourse about Lincoln, his times and the impact he had and still has on America.

Writing Abraham Lincoln

A reading and discussion with professor Tony Wolk and his students from a recent Portland State University course entitled "Lincoln and Literature." In addition to reading from their stories — which feature an imagined Lincoln — they will briefly discuss our obsessive fascination with Lincoln, especially in this the year of his 200th birthday. Wolk is the author of three novels featuring Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln: A Novel Life, Good Friday and Lincoln's Daughter.

 

Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times is a national traveling exhibition organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The traveling exhibition has been made possible in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to expanding American understanding of human experience and cultural heritage.

Local support is provided by Portland State University; Portland Community College, Cascade Campus; the Friends of History at Portland State University and the Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

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