Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release: February 1, 2010	Contact: David Blanchette (217) 558-8970
	Team of Rivals New exhibit about President Lincoln's Cabinet and the start of the Civil War opens in October 2010 at Lincoln Presidential Museum Author Doris Kearns Goodwin will narrate exhibit and will help open it with several public appearances Springfield, IL — The new, little-known boss assembled a group of people whose egos he had bruised on his way to the top and gave them key jobs in the organization. And, while some of those people did all they could to undermine his authority, the new boss desperately tried to avert the worst crisis in the organization's history. The boss was President Abraham Lincoln, the group of people was his newly formed Cabinet, the organization was the 85-year-old United States of America, and the crisis was the impending Civil War. A new exhibit about these charismatic, difficult men and this critical time period in U.S. history premieres in October 2010 exclusively at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. This one-of-a-kind exhibition begins Illinois' commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and runs through August 2011. Titled Team of Rivals after the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the exhibit will feature original artifacts from Lincoln and his Cabinet displayed together for the first time and will use innovative video components and creative productions to immerse visitors in the tumultuous days leading up to the Civil War. Goodwin will act as the personal tour guide throughout the exhibit with recorded videos that narrate each section of the exhibit. She is also scheduled to be on hand to open the exhibit and deliver a public program in October. The exhibit will demonstrate how Lincoln chose his initial Presidential cabinet, composing it of men with differing viewpoints, some of whom were his opponents for the 1860 Republican Presidential nomination. They include William H. Seward of New York, Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury; Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; Gideon Welles of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith of Indiana, Secretary of the Interior; Edward Bates of Missouri, Attorney General; and Montgomery Blair of Maryland, Postmaster General. Seward, Chase, Cameron and Bates all vied with Lincoln for the Republican nomination. Visitors entering "Team of Rivals" will first learn how and why Lincoln chose his first Cabinet. They will move into a section covering his First Inaugural Address, including original Lincoln artifacts pertaining to the speech, then see a digital map that notes the Federal installations taken over by the Southern states before and during Secession. A winding corridor will follow the military and political path toward war as some of Lincoln's own Cabinet members work behind his back to undermine his authority. Fort Sumter will be examined before, during and after the battle that started the Civil War, and this area will include original artifacts from the fort and the commanders on both sides of the battle. The final section will feature in-depth information about Lincoln's Cabinet members along with displays of original personal artifacts from them. "Team of Rivals" will open just prior to the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's election as President, his Farewell Address to Springfield as President-elect in February 2011, and the start of the Civil War in April 2011. For more information about "Team of Rivals" or other programs and exhibits at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, visit www.presidentlincoln.org. ###