1st Floor - McGuinn Gallery
May 30, 2009 - Jan. 3, 2010

Visitors to the History Center on Saturday, Jan. 2 and Sunday, Jan. 3 - the exhibit's last weekend at the museum - will pay just $5 and enjoy the blockbuster exhibit Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War and Lincoln Slept Here for half the normal $10 adult admission price.

The exhibit will close on Sunday, Jan. 3.

 Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War and Lincoln Slept Here, presented by PNC Financial Services Group, is a collaborative exhibition created by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and the Senator John Heinz History Center.

The exhibition details how Lincoln’s momentous struggle to save the Union transformed our nation, the Constitution, and himself. It focuses on several key struggles that Lincoln dealt with during his presidency, including secession, civil liberties, and slavery, while examining Lincoln’s success in saving the nation. During this time, Lincoln struggled to maintain his family, his sense of humor, and his health.

Visitors will get up-close-and-personal with key Lincoln artifacts, including:

• Rare original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment
• Printed copies of Lincoln’s first and second inaugural addresses
• Lincoln’s bed and bedroom set from Pittsburgh’s Monongahela House hotel
• Life masks and rare photos documenting the toll of the Civil War and his presidency
• Lincoln’s well-worn writing desk, complete with the President’s scribbles
• A handwritten note to Secretary of War (and former Pittsburgh attorney) Edwin Stanton on the status of “colored troops
• A rare presidential campaign button featuring Lincoln and vice presidential candidate Hannibal Hamlin 
• Lincoln’s famous top hat

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War and Lincoln Slept Here shows how Lincoln shaped the nation through dozens of artifacts, more than 100 photographs, and a variety of interactive activities where visitors can:

• Experience a fast-paced video showing America on the brink of war that will help visitors understand Lincoln’s world-changing decisions
• Stand alongside Lincoln and hear his first inaugural address from 1861
• Decide whether or not to vote for Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election as part of an interactive computer polling station
• Look inside a recreated jail cell and decide the fate of prisoners based on their crime

History Center Enhances Exhibition with Personal Look Called "Lincoln Slept Here"
The History Center augmented the exhibition with Lincoln’s bed and bedroom set from the Monongahela House, the downtown Pittsburgh hotel that hosted the president-elect on Feb. 14, 1861, en route to his inauguration, as well as displays that explore a variety of Lincoln’s personal characteristics.

The recreated Monongahela House bedroom set includes a number of items from the Lincoln room, including his bed, wardrobe, bureau, dressing mirror, marble-top parlor table, chairs, wash stand, and chamber pot from the historic hotel.

Using these recently re-discovered Lincoln items, the History Center explores his visit to Pittsburgh on the eve of the Civil War and the details of Lincoln’s pre-inauguration speech that was intended to soothe the public’s growing fear over a possible war.

The History Center also included images of Lincoln’s other beds. Lincoln Slept Here will document Lincoln’s birth bed from Hodgenville, Ky., and his White House bed, along with his bed from the Wills House in Gettysburg, Pa., and his death bed from the Petersen House in Washington, D.C.

Among the key characteristics explored in the exhibit are Lincoln’s sense of humor, physical appearance, role as a family man, and his legacy after death.

For Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War and Lincoln Slept Here press materials, please click here.

Preview the exhibit in the video below courtesy of CBS Radio Pittsburgh: