Exhibitions
The construction of a case adjacent to Special Collections in Morris Library to house a permanent, rotating exhibition of material from the Lincoln Collection was completed in August 1998. The initial exhibition of material from the Lincoln Collection featured Currier & Ives prints and other artwork, sculpture, a unique ceramic tile portrait of Abraham Lincoln, nineteenth-century illustrated sheet music published after Lincoln’s death, and a sampling of books from the Lincoln Collection’s extensive holdings. Ongoing exhibitions interpret aspects of Abraham Lincoln's life and his momentous times
- Lincoln-Douglas Debates and the Campaign of 1860: the Road to the Lincoln Presidency (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Fall 2016
An array of materials documenting the debates, the campaign, and the election, offering a unique historical look at this important series of events that led to the most volatile and divisive period in American history. - Looking at Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln in the Words of His Biographers (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2016
More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, than any other individual in American history. - Fort Sumter to the Appomattox Courthouse: the American Civil War (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2015
2015 marked the 150th anniversary of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War, which had officially commenced on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. - Selections from the Richard H. Stewart Abraham Lincoln collection (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2015
Celebrating the June 2014 gift from Mrs. Joan B. Stewart whose late husband, native Delawarean and University of Delaware alumnus Richard H. Stewart (1936-2013), was an avid student of history and a collector whose particular interest was the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. - The Union at the Crossroads: the Election of 1864 (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Fall 2014
Hoping to become the first incumbent president to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832, Lincoln was not confident he would win against his Democratic rival, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, Gen. George McClellan. - 1864: Year of Destiny (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2014
Remembering the year Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant commander in chief of all Union armies and ran for re-election against George McClellan, his former commander of the Army of the Potomac. - Books Acquired in Memory of Wililam W. Swayze, III (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Fall 2013
Celebrating the donor, a UD alumnus and past president of the Lincoln Club of Delaware, this exhibition highlights fiery political speeches, scarce abolitionist tracts, pro-confederacy publications, Confederate imprints and more from his gift. - Emancipation Proclamation and Its Legacies (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2013
Highlights people, organizations, and published material relating to life before and after the Proclamation. - A State Divided: Delaware During the Civil War (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
2011
Delaware was one of five border states—in addition to Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and later West Virginia—slave states that remained in the Union but bordered states that joined the Confederacy, mirroring the complexity of states’ rights, slavery, and support for the Union cause. - Selections from the Otto C. Rentner, Lincoln, and Civil War collection (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Fall 2011
Highlights from gift of Lincoln Collector and Chicago judge Otto Rentner (1887-1964). - Abraham Lincoln: A Bicentennial Celebration (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
Spring 2009
Major exhibitions celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. - The Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
2008
The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the attempt on the life of Secretary of State William H. Seward, the activities of the conspirators, and the investigation and trials which followed are among the most heavily documented events in history. - Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime (ONLINE EXHIBITION)
2006
This exhibition showcases documentary evidence of instances where people were affected by Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus.