Brunonians whose travels take them to southern Vermont in the next two years will have the chance to view artifacts from the John Hay Library’s McLellan Lincoln Collection at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home in Manchester, VT. The artifacts will be part of an exhibit opening on Saturday, September 5, 2009 entitled “The American Ideal: Abraham Lincoln and the Second Inaugural.” The Second Inaugural is considered one of Lincoln’s greatest speeches, and the exhibit aims to demonstrate how Lincoln helped bring life and meaning to the promise of the American ideal of equality, justice, and opportunity for all.
The exhibit is the first effort in a partnership formed by the Brown University Library and Hildene to promote the legacy of Abraham Lincoln by collaborating on public programming for their respective Lincoln holdings.
This fall, Hildene and Brown are partnering to bring a Lincoln Essay Competition, with prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500 and up to ten honorable mention awards of $200 each, to Providence-area eighth graders. The contest will launch in mid-September.