Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation April 1, 2009

The exhibition addresses these questions: Was Lincoln really the "Great Emancipator" whom generations of Americans have been taught to revere? Or did Lincoln reluctantly embrace emancipation only after the actions of abolitionists in the north and enslaved African Americans in the south left him no other choice? Was Lincoln's paramount object saving the Union or freeing the enslaved? Why did emancipation become a Union war only in 1862, and how did that momentous shift in policy influence the outcome of the conflict?

Monday - Thursday, 9:30am - 9:00pm; Friday and Saturday, 9:30am - 5:00pm; Sunday, 1:00- 5:00pm

Metrorail: Gallery Pl-Chinatown, Metro Center Metrobus: 42, 80, P6, X2

Official Website: http://www.dclibrary.org