973.7L63 
 E5C43*i 
 
 Lincoln Dioramas 
 
 Chicago Historical Society 
 
LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/lincolndioramasOOchic 
 
LINCOLN DIORAMAS 
 
 CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Clark Street at North Avenue 
 Chicago, Illinois 
 
WHEN Abraham Lincoln was interviewed for the purpose of getting 
 material for a campaign biography, he said, with becoming modesty, "It 
 is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of me or my 
 early life. It can all be condensed into a single sentence, and that sentence you will 
 find in Gray's Elegy, 'The short and simple annals of the poor.' That's my life and 
 that's all you or anyone else can make out of it." Lincoln could not realize how im- 
 portant a role he was to play in history. In his rise from a simple log cabin to the 
 White House, he exemplifies the American way of life. 
 
 The Lincoln Dioramas were made by the Museum Extension Program of Illinois, 
 under the sponsorship of the Chicago Board of Education. The subjects for the 
 twenty dioramas were determined after careful study by the Chicago Historical So- 
 ciety in collaboration with a group of eminent Lincoln authorities. 
 
 Beginning in March of 1939, it was necessary to devote months of painstaking 
 research to assure accuracy in every detail before the plan for each diorama could be 
 drawn. From the time when actual construction work was begun late in 1939 until 
 November of 1941, never less than fifty craftsmen have been busily engaged in mod- 
 eling, carving and painting figures or designing the colorful backgrounds. More than 
 ten thousand figures were cast for the dioramas; of that number six thousand were 
 selected for use. These figures vary in size from one-half inch to nineteen inches. 
 The most difficult piece of sculpture in the dioramas is the reproduction of the Daniel 
 French Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. 
 
 Countless technical problems were encountered and solved during the three years 
 of construction. The backgrounds of each diorama were repainted many times until 
 an effect was achieved which gives the illusion of depth and seems to make the hori- 
 zons fade into infinity. A natural sunset in the Ohio River scene was finally accom- 
 plished after many days of experimenting with different types of gauze and chiffon. 
 
 An unusual material, lucite, was used in a number of the dioramas. The water- 
 fall, river, chandeliers, candlesticks and glass of water are all made of this modern 
 plastic. The icicles in the second diorama were made of blown glass. In this same 
 scene, what seem to be iron pots in the fireplace are actually wood, painted to look 
 like iron. The books on the shelves are small sections of a telephone directory bound 
 with pasteboard covers. The corn cobs hanging from the ceiling are plaster cast but 
 the shucks are real. The spinning wheel in this second diorama actually works. The 
 rag rug on the floor was woven in the same manner as a full size rug. The cotton 
 bales in the Ohio River scene were packed by a negro woman born and raised in the 
 cotton country. 
 
 This diorama series, the most recent addition to the Lincoln Collection in the 
 Chicago Historical Society, is arranged in chronological order beginning with the 
 Hodgenville Cabin scene on the right when entering the Diorama Gallery. The final 
 scene in the series is a reproduction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. 
 
 Notes concerning other Lincoln exhibits will be found on the last page of this 
 booklet. 
 

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 HODGENVILLE CABIN, 1809-1811 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, Febru- 
 ary 12, 1809. Nancy Hanks Lincoln, seated near the door of the cabin, holds her in- 
 fant son, while Abraham's sister Sarah stands nearby. Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's 
 father, is just returning to the house with a bucket of water from the spring shown in 
 the foreground. 
 
 Historians disagree as to Nancy Hanks Lincoln's physical appearance but seem 
 in perfect accord regarding her intelligence and remarkably keen perception. 
 
 Of Thomas Lincoln, it is said that he was slow and deliberate, inoffensively 
 quiet, but when aroused he was a dangerous antagonist. He had a liking for jokes 
 and stories, which was one of the few traits he transmitted to his illustrious son. At 
 the time of his marriage to Nancy Hanks, he could neither read nor write; but his 
 wife, who was gifted with more education, and was otherwise his mental superior, 
 taught him, it is said, to write his name and to read. 
 
 Lincoln himself could trace his line no farther back than to certain ancestors in 
 Berks County, Pennsylvania, whom he vaguely described as Quakers; but research 
 has disclosed a lineage reaching back to Samuel Lincoln who came from Hingham, 
 England, and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1637. 
 
 Such was the heritage of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
LINCOLN STUDYING BY THE FIREPLACE, INDIANA, 1824 
 
 In 1816, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to what is now Spencer County, 
 Indiana, a mile and a half east of Gentryville. Here in the winter of 1824-25, we see 
 fifteen-year-old Abe studying by the fire. His stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, sits 
 nearby knitting as her husband enters. 
 
 Lincoln's mother, Nancy, had died in 1818 when he was but nine years old. 
 Thomas Lincoln soon found another wife, Sarah Bush, a widow, who with her three 
 children came to the Indiana cabin. At one time there were nine people living in this 
 small cabin. 
 
 The Lincolns had reached their new home about the time Indiana came into the 
 Union. There were some schools, so-called, but no qualification was ever required of 
 a teacher beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. Lincoln was an easy-going back- 
 woods boy who did his part of the hard labor around the house, performed odd jobs 
 for neighbors and used his leisure time for self improvement by reading a few good 
 books. Among these were the Bible, Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress, Aesop's 
 Fables, Grimshaw's History of the United States, Weems' Life of Washington and 
 biographies of other important early Americans. 
 
 The Lincoln family remained in their Indiana home until Abraham Lincoln was 
 twenty-one when they moved to Macon County in Illinois. 
 
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 MIGRATION TO ILLINOIS, 1830 
 
 Through March floods and thaws, the Lincoln family migrated to Illinois, where 
 they settled in Macon County, about eight miles southwest of Decatur. Leaving Indi- 
 ana, they found the high water of the Wabash overflowing its banks into the low 
 prairie near Vincennes where they crossed. When young Abe's dog jumped out of 
 the wagon and was stranded in the icy water, he removed his boots and waded back 
 to save his pet. Notice the wooden stakes which marked the route through the flood- 
 ed area. 
 
 One of the chief reasons for Thomas Lincoln's decision to leave Indiana v<is the 
 fact that he still owed the government more than he was likely ever to pay toward the 
 completion of his purchase of Indiana land. 
 
 Before starting on the trip, Abraham Lincoln purchased thirty-six dollars worth 
 of needles, pins, thread, buttons and other small articles of domestic use, including a 
 set of knives and forks, which he peddled along the way. Several months later Lin- 
 coln wrote to the storekeeper that he had doubled his money on the sale of those 
 articles. 
 
 It is probable that in Vincennes on this journey, Lincoln saw Indians for the first 
 time. A few years later he fought against the Indians under Captain Jefferson Davis 
 in the Black Hawk War. 
 
LINCOLN, THE STOREKEEPER, 1833 
 
 Lincoln lived in New Salem, Illinois, from the summer of 1831 until 1837. Dur- 
 ing this period he was store clerk, captain in the Black Hawk War, surveyor, post- 
 master, law student and member of the State Legislature. Here in the spring of 1833, 
 he waited on trade in the Lincoln-Berry Store. His customer in this scene is Ann Rut- 
 ledge, who is said to have been his first sweetheart. 
 
 Lincoln's business venture in the Lincoln-Berry Store was not a success. The two 
 partners succeeded only in falling deeper into debt until the store "winked out," as 
 Lincoln said. The insignificant position as postmaster in New Salem then became 
 Lincoln's main source of livelihood. To augment his income, he also surveyed land 
 in the neighborhood. On calls to survey a piece of land, Lincoln often placed inside 
 his hat letters belonging to people in the neighborhood and distributed them along 
 the way. 
 
 In 1834 when he was elected to the legislature, Lincoln began his law studies. In 
 the autumn of 1836 he obtained a law license and on March 15, 1837, he moved to 
 Springfield, Illinois, and commenced his practice of law. 
 
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 SCENE ON THE OHIO RIVER, 1841 
 
 Lincoln is shown returning from a visit to Louisville, Kentucky, aboard the 
 steamboat Lebanon on the Ohio River, in September, 1841. He stands on the upper 
 deck looking down at a group of slaves shackled with chains. 
 
 A gentleman had purchased a dozen negroes in different parts of Kentucky and 
 was taking them to a farm in the South. Lincoln described the slaves as being chained 
 six and six together, a small iron clevis was around the left wrist of each and this was 
 fastened to the main chain by a shorter one so that they were strung together precisely 
 like so many fish upon a trotline. They were being separated forever from their 
 friends, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, wives and children. The memory 
 of this constantly returned to depress Lincoln and did much to increase his determi- 
 nation to free the slaves. 
 
 In order that he might recover from the combined strain of overwork and shock 
 at the breaking up of his wedding plans, Lincoln had been induced to visit Louisville. 
 Early in August he started on his journey, traveling by stage coach. He rested in Louis- 
 ville for almost two months and returned to the North improved in mind and body. 
 
RIDING THE CIRCUIT, 1849-60 
 
 In Lincoln's day, lawyers rode the circuit, going from one county seat to another 
 to attend court. Here we see Lincoln, the attorney, arriving at the Court House square 
 in Metamora, Woodford County, Illinois, for the semi-annual session of the Circuit 
 Court. Court week was a busy time. People from the surrounding countryside came 
 into town to buy their semi-annual supplies and mingle with their friends. 
 
 In his more than twenty-three years at the bar, Lincoln had no less than one 
 hundred and seventy-five cases before the highest court of Illinois, a record unsur- 
 passed by his contemporaries. When speaking to juries, he took great pains to make 
 himself understood. He spoke directly and exclusively to them. His statements were 
 clear and simple. His sentences were short, compact and distinct; his words plain and 
 familiar. He spoke the language of the jurymen, the speech of the people. He never 
 made notes on testimony, but remembered every word of it. He never asked an un- 
 necessary question and never attempted to confuse or distract or alarm witnesses. In 
 the conduct of the most exciting case, Lincoln displayed no emotion; perfectly calm, 
 he appeared to be without either enthusiasm or apprehension. 
 
SPEAKING IN CHICAGO, TREMONT HOUSE, JULY 10, 1858 
 
 The Tremont House, which stood at the southeast corner of Lake and Dear- 
 born streets, was the scene of the beginning of Lincoln's unsuccessful campaign for 
 the United States Senate against Judge Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln addressed a 
 large group of people from the Lake Street balcony of the hotel on the evening of 
 July 10, 1858. The Tremont House speech is important because then Lincoln de- 
 clared, perhaps more emphatically than ever before, his opposition to slavery. 
 
 The Chicago Press and Tribune reported that "the audience assembled to hear 
 Hon. Abraham Lincoln on Saturday evening was in point of numbers, about three- 
 fourths as large as that of the previous evening, when Douglas held forth; and in 
 point of enthusiasm about four times as great . . . The essential difference in the two 
 demonstrations was simply that the Lincoln audience was enthusiastically for Lincoln, 
 and the Douglas audience was but qualified in favor of anybody." When Douglas 
 spoke on the preceding evening, July 9, Lincoln was present and heard himself re- 
 ferred to as a kind, amiable, high-minded gentleman, a good citizen and an honor- 
 able opponent. 
 
 On July 24, when Lincoln once again visited Chicago, he challenged Douglas to 
 a series of joint discussions, and Douglas, under protest, accepted, designating seven 
 cities, each in a congressional district where neither had yet spoken. 
 
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 FREEPORT DEBATE, AUGUST 27, 1858 
 
 One of the most important of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates was held at 
 Freeport, Illinois, on August 27, 1858. The occasion drew one of the largest crowds 
 ever assembled in northern Illinois. The two contestants for the United States Sen- 
 ate debated from a platform set in a grove near the Brewster House. Lincoln is an- 
 swering his opponent, Judge Douglas, who sits nearby. 
 
 A little before two o'clock, the speakers had been escorted to the stand. Arrange- 
 ments had been made by the supporters of Douglas to take their champion over in a 
 splendid carriage, drawn by white horses. The Republicans chose a more appropri- 
 ate conveyance, chartering a regular old-fashioned Pennsylvania wagon for Lincoln 
 and a group of farmers from the district. 
 
 There was a very large crowd. Communities from all over the state were repre- 
 sented, including a delegation from Carroll County and special trainloads of specta- 
 tors from Amboy, Dixon, Polo, Galena, Rockford, Marengo and Belvidere. Lincoln 
 and Douglas were greeted by a storm of applause and deafening cheers. 
 
 The election of Douglas to the United States Senate after his series of debates 
 with Lincoln was a great personal triumph. Lincoln felt the defeat keenly but before 
 two weeks had passed he could treat the matter in a joking vein and declare he was 
 "convalescent." 
 
NOTIFICATION OF NOMINATION, SPRINGFIELD, MAY 19, 1860 
 
 At the close of the Republican National Convention in Chicago, a special train 
 carried the official committee to Springfield to notify Abraham Lincoln of his nomi- 
 nation as the Republican candidate for the presidency. In the parlor of his home, Lin- 
 coln received the committee at about 8:00 o'clock in the evening. George Ashmun, 
 president of the convention is shown handing Lincoln the official letter. The glow of 
 festive bonfires may be seen through the windows. 
 
 What Mr. Lincoln's feelings may have been over his nomination will never be 
 known; doubtless he was gratified, but there was no visible elation. After the mo- 
 mentarily assumed dignity, he was himself again — plain Abraham Lincoln — the man 
 of the people. 
 
 After the formalities, Lincoln said, "Mrs. Lincoln will be pleased to see you, 
 gentlemen. You will find a pitcher of water in the library." There was humor in the 
 invitation to take a glass of water, for when it was known that the committee was 
 coming, several citizens called upon Mr. Lincoln and informed him that some enter- 
 tainment must be provided and that they would be glad to furnish the liquors. 
 "Gentlemen," said Lincoln, "I thank you for your kind intentions, but most respect- 
 fully decline your offer. I have no liquors in my house, and have never been in the 
 habit of entertaining my friends in that way. I cannot permit my friends tc do for me 
 what I will not do myself. I shall provide cold water — nothing else." 
 
SPRINGFIELD CAMPAIGN RALLY, AUGUST 8, 1860 
 
 The Springfield Campaign Rally was a large and most magnificent political dem- 
 onstration. It was composed of delegations of Illinois Wide Awake Clubs which had 
 been organized throughout the country to further Lincoln's Presidential Campaign. 
 Lincoln, surrounded by intimate friends, reviewed an eight mile parade which passed 
 his home from early morning until afternoon. 
 
 At the head of the procession was a large rolling ball, indicating the onward 
 march of Republican principles. The Springfield Woolen Mills was represented by 
 an immense wagon containing a power loom, driven by a small steam engine. During 
 the procession, they made several yards of substantial jeans cloth, from which a pair 
 of pantaloons for Mr. Lincoln were cut and made up. In the Williamsville delegation 
 was an immense wagon drawn by twenty-three yoke of oxen. This wagon carried a 
 series of workshops showing a blacksmith shoeing a horse, another forging a shoe, 
 a wheelwright making a wheel, a gang of men splitting rails, and carpenters, tin- 
 ners, weavers and shoemakers. 
 
 The Wide-Awakes originated in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Republicans 
 all over the North wrote to Hartford, asking for information to form these clubs 
 which were Republican party auxiliaries. They were semi-military in character, but 
 political in purpose and played an important role in Lincoln's campaign parades. 
 
LEAVING SPRINGFIELD FOR WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 11, 1861 
 
 In spite of the cold and rainy morning, hundreds of Springfield friends and 
 neighbors gathered at the Great Western Railway station to bid farewell to the 
 president-elect. Every head was bared as he delivered his eloquent remarks from the 
 rear platform of his special train. The military guards at each side of the train were 
 Major David Hunter on the left and Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth on the right. 
 
 The simplest and best known version of Lincoln's "Farewell Address," is given 
 here: 
 
 "My friends — No one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this 
 parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter 
 of a century, here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know 
 not how soon I shall see you all again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, 
 greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washing- 
 ton. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon 
 which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid 
 which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for sup- 
 port, and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assis- 
 tance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. Again I bid 
 you all an affectionate farewell." 
 

 
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 THE FIRST INAUGURAL, MARCH 4, 1861 
 
 Lincoln took the oath of office as President of the United States from a plat- 
 form erected on the east steps of the unfinished capitol building. He stands under the 
 canopy with Chief Justice Robert E. Taney, who administered the oath of office. 
 
 When Lincoln came forward on the stand it was evident to those who knew him 
 that he had been especially dressed for the occasion. He wore a dress coat probably 
 for the first time in his life; a brand new silk hat, and a heavy gold-headed cane com- 
 pleted a costume in which the owner looked, and was, exceedingly uncomfortable 
 and awkward. After standing hesitantly a moment, his cane in one hand and hat in 
 the other, he placed the cane in the angle of the railing, but the disposition of the 
 hat evidently puzzled him. There was no room on the small table and he did not like 
 to put it on the floor, so there Lincoln stood in the concentrated gaze of assembled 
 thousands, clutching the glossy beaver and looking around in painful embarrass- 
 ment. Stephen A. Douglas, who occupied a seat on the inaugural stand, voluntarily 
 rose and graciously took the hat and held it until the conclusion of Lincoln's inau- 
 gural address. 
 
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, SEPTEMBER 22, 1862 
 
 Lincoln had prepared a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in July, 1862. 
 On the advice of his Cabinet, its release to the public was postponed until five days 
 after the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam on September 17. The Cabinet mem- 
 bers present listen to Lincoln as he reads. He commented as he went along as though 
 he had considered the Proclamation in all its phases. This Proclamation stated that 
 on January 1, 1863, all slaves in States or parts of States in rebellion against the 
 United States "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free" and the Federal Gov- 
 ernment would "recognize the freedom of such persons." 
 
 The final Proclamation was signed by the President on January 1, 1863. On that 
 afternoon, when Lincoln sat at his desk with pen in hand, he said, "I never, in my life 
 have felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper." 
 
 The original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was on exhibit at the Chi- 
 cago Historical Society prior to the Chicago Fire of 1871. During the fire, an officer 
 of the Society, risking his life, tried unsuccessfully to remove the Proclamation from 
 the burning Museum building. 
 
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 ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, OCTOBER, 1862 
 
 On October 1, Lincoln paid an unannounced visit to the Army of the Potomac 
 to inspect the condition of the forces after the Battle of Antietam. He spent several 
 days riding through the camps and conferring with officers. Lincoln is talking with 
 General George B. McClellan, Commander of the Army of the Potomac. To the rear, 
 in civilian clothes, is Allan Pinkerton, Chief of the Secret Service. 
 
 General McClellan was generally criticized for not striking more quickly at the 
 scattered Confederate forces and, after the Battle of Antietam, for not pursuing Lee's 
 army. Early in October McClellan was asked by the President: "Are you not overcau- 
 tious when you assume that you cannot do what the enemy is constantly doing?" 
 
 If McClellan overestimated the Confederates, it must be remembered that, de- 
 spite the hampering influence of officious meddling and machinations of political 
 leaders, he had whipped into an effective fighting unit the Army of the Potomac 
 which, before his command, had been a heterogeneous mass of raw recruits. 
 
 Two years later in 1864, the Democratic party met in convention on August 29 in 
 Chicago and nominated General McClellan for President to run against Lincoln. 
 McClellan received 21 electoral votes to Lincoln's 212. 
 
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, NOVEMBER 19, 1863 
 
 Lincoln, surrounded by his cabinet, foreign ministers, secretaries and officers of 
 the Army and Navy, is shown delivering his immortal address. At the dedication of 
 the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysbury, Pennsylvania, the orator of the day 
 was Edward Everett of Massachusetts. His scholarly and lengthy speech was follow- 
 ed by the concise, historic masterpiece of President Lincoln. 
 
 Conflicting stories are told as to when Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address. 
 One colorful version, which has been discounted, says Lincoln had not prepared his 
 speech in Washington and expected to make notes during the journey. With a bro- 
 ken stub of a pencil and on a piece of wrapping paper he picked up from the floor, he 
 wrote what has been termed one of the greatest speeches of history. Authorities, how- 
 ever, generally agree that the address was completed in Washington, although Lin- 
 coln made minor changes at Gettysburg. At the dedication, the President read slowly 
 from manuscript. Tired by the two hour oration of Edward Everett, the crowd ap- 
 plauded without enthusiasm. Contrary to the general belief, some American critics 
 recognized the literary merit of the address almost at once; others for partisan rea- 
 sons, belittled or denounced it. 
 
LINCOLN'S FIRST MEETING WITH GRANT, MARCH 8, 1864 
 
 General Ulysses S. Grant visited the White House for the first time on the eve- 
 ning of March 8, 1864. Unaware that President and Mrs. Lincoln were holding a re- 
 ception, he appeared in his worn and faded service uniform. He was warmly wel- 
 comed by President Lincoln, who, although he had never met Grant, had recently ap- 
 pointed him Lieutenant General, making him Commander-in-Chief, under the Presi- 
 dent, of all the armies of the United States. 
 
 As Grant entered a hush fell over the room. The crowd moved back and left the 
 two chief men of the nation facing each other. It was an impressive meeting. For only 
 an instant they stood there. Then Grant passed on into the East Room. He was cheered 
 enthusiastically by the crowd of assembled guests. They recognized in him the plain 
 man his friends had claimed him to be — homespun, unaffected, sincere and resolute. 
 
 Later the President informed Grant that the formal presentation of his military 
 commission would be made the following morning at ten o'clock. 
 
 When General Grant escaped from the close air of the reception, he wiped his 
 brow and with a long breath of relief said, "I hope that ends the show business." 
 
LINCOLN ENTERING RICHMOND, APRIL 4, 1865 
 
 Abraham Lincoln first entered the surrendered city of Richmond, Virginia, the 
 day after it had ceased to be the capital of the Southern Confederacy. This visit to 
 Richmond was arranged at the last minute; it was in no way a triumphal entry. Ac- 
 companied by his son, Tad, the President walked through the city to the Executive 
 Mansion which Jefferson Davis had left so recently. 
 
 All along the way, the streets and windows were crowded with both negro and 
 white spectators. One aged negro broke through the line to pay homage to the man 
 who had given him his freedom. But, on the whole, it was a silent crowd. They made 
 no sign of either welcome or hatred. 
 
 The burning and evacuation of Richmond was the dramatic and tragic end of the 
 Confederate capital and signalled the fall of the Confederacy which took place six 
 days later at Appomattox Courthouse. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, 
 and the members of his cabinet had hurriedly left Richmond, with the hope of re- 
 establishing their government west of the Mississippi river. Mobs temporarily took 
 control, looting shops and warehouses until the Union troops entered the city on 
 April 3. 
 
THE PARDON, APRIL 14, 1865 
 
 One of Lincoln's last official orders was an act of mercy. During the afternoon 
 of the day of his assassination, he signed a pardon for a young soldier sentenced to be 
 shot for desertion, remarking, "Well, I think the boy can do us more good above 
 ground thanunder ground." The boy's mother is seen kneeling before the President 
 in his office, weeping in gratitude for her son's life. 
 
 Throughout the war years, petitioners on behalf of both Union and Confederate 
 prisoners of war came to the president's office every hour of the day. Most of the 
 soldiers whose lives hung in the balance were young, as only ten percent of the Union 
 troops were over 30 years old. 
 
 Generals in the army objected to Lincoln's leniency in granting pardons. He was 
 severely criticized by one weekly newspaper of the day which charged he had ulterior 
 motives for pardoning military rebels. On at least one occasion, Stanton, Secretary of 
 War, held up one of Lincoln's pardons and strenuously objected when the presi- 
 dent's order was carried out. 
 
 One of the most dramatic pardons was that for Private William Scott who was 
 court-martialed for sleeping on sentry duty and sentenced to be shot. Scott vindi- 
 cated Lincoln's faith in him by his outstanding bravery in battle. 
 
FORDS THEATRE, APRIL 14, 1865 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln attended the April 14 evening performance at Ford's The- 
 atre in a festive mood, for the war was over and a great burden had been lifted from 
 the President's shoulders. Major H. R. Rathbone and his fiancee accompanied them. 
 Lincoln was enjoying the performance of Laura Keene in the comedy, "Our Ameri- 
 can Cousin," when John Wilkes Booth, his assassin, entered the box and fired the 
 fatal shot. 
 
 The Presidential party had arrived at the theatre late. The play was already in 
 progress, but the orchestra struck up "Hail to the Chief," and the audience rose and 
 cheered. After Lincoln had acknowledged the applause by bowing repeatedly, he 
 seated himself in the comfortable armchair which had been provided for him and 
 proceeded to enjoy the comedy. 
 
 It was during the second scene of the third act that John Wilkes Booth entered 
 the Lincoln box. After firing the shot, Booth leaped for the stage, shouting "Sic Sem- 
 per Tyrannis," and fled. As he jumped, his spur caught in one of the American flags 
 draped below the President's box and threw him to the stage, breaking his leg. 
 
 Booth was later killed in capture on April 26 when he was discovered hiding in 
 a tobacco shed on the Garrett farm near Port Royal, Virginia. 
 
LINCOLN MEMORIAL, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Near the western end of Potomac Park in Washington, D. C, stands the stately 
 marble structure dedicated to the memory of Abraham Lincoln. Set in the central hall 
 of the Memorial is the marble statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, one of 
 the largest statues ever carved, weighing 150 tons without its pedestal. 
 
 On the wall, over the head of Lincoln, these words appear: "In this temple, as 
 in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham 
 Lincoln is enshrined forever." 
 
 A movement in favor of the erection of a suitable memorial to Abraham Lincoln 
 had been started almost immediately after his assassination. Congress passed acts in 
 both 1867 and 1902 authorizing its construction but no real progress was made until 
 a commission was created on February 9, 1911. The architect, Bacon, the sculptor, 
 Daniel Chester French and the artist, Jules Guerin collaborated to create the four fea- 
 tures of the memorial: the statue; inscriptions of the Gettysburg Speech and Second 
 Inaugural Address; and symbolic paintings of the union of the United States which 
 Lincoln had saved. The building was dedicated on May 30, 1922, before a crowd of 
 50,000 spectators. 
 
 "Now he belongs to the ages." 
 
The massive head of Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum, sketched on the cover, domi- 
 nates one wall of Lincoln Hall on the third floor of the Society's building. Near this 
 head is a life mask and an impression of Lincoln's hands taken after his nomination 
 to the presidency. The countless handclasps of his well-wishers caused Lincoln's right 
 hand to swell; this accounts for the noticeable difference in size between the bronze 
 impressions of the two hands. 
 
 On either side of the large G. P. A. Healy portrait of Lincoln are cases exhibiting 
 personal effects, including the coat the President wore to Ford's Theatre. Mounted 
 directly in front of the Healy portrait is a manuscript of timely interest; Lincoln's 
 definition of a democracy. 
 
 The east exit of Lincoln Hall leads directly to the replicas of the Lincoln Spring- 
 field Parlor and the Petersen Bedroom in Washington, D. C. The furnishings in the 
 parlor were used by the Lincoln family during their residence in Springfield, Illinois. 
 It is said that the old fashioned horsehair rocker near the fireplace was one of Lin- 
 coln's favorite chairs. 
 
 The simple, wooden dresser, chair and bed are placed in the Society's replica of 
 the Petersen Bedroom just as they stood in the original room in Washington, D. C, 
 when Lincoln was carried there after he had been shot by Booth at Ford's Theatre. 
 The Society secured these original furnishings through a Chicago collector and has 
 exhibited them since the middle 1920's. A copy of this Lincoln deathbed was made 
 for exhibition in the Petersen House in Washington, D. C. 
 
 The exhibit immediately following the Lincoln rooms shows a series of three 
 typical middle 19th century stores of the Lincoln period; a pharmacy, general store 
 and postoffice, and shoe shop and saddlery. In the Pioneer Room stands a replica of 
 the Lincoln birthplace cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky. This cabin was exhibited at 
 the Century of Progress, 1933-34, and following the close of the fair, it was brought 
 to the Society. 
 
 Including the Lincoln books and manuscripts on public view in the Lincoln 
 rooms, the Library has a collection of over 700 books, almost 740 pamphlets and 
 more than 135 manuscripts relating to Lincoln. 
 
 The windows of the Lincoln Alcove on the third floor look out upon the impres- 
 sive St. Gaudens' statue of Lincoln which stands near the promenade leading from 
 the Chicago Historical Society into the heart of Lincoln Park. 
 

 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 973.7L63E5C43LI C001 
 
 LINCOLN DIORAMAS CHICAGO, ILL 
 
 3 0112 031813717