Rare Copy of 13th Amendment to Go on Display
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The reconfigured Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery includes multi-media installations at kiosks. The show introduces major themes of American history through stories and figures.
(Photo by Glenn Castellano. Courtesy of the New York Historical Society.)
A rare copy of the 13th Amendment signed by President Abraham Lincoln will go on display at the New-York Historical Society on February 1.
The handwritten copy of the the measure that abolished slavery will go on view on the 147th anniversary of the signing, and will remain on viewing through April 1. It was one of 13 manuscripts Lincoln signed, in addition to the original. The copy that will be on display once belonged to Schuyler Colfax, who served as vice president under Ulysses S. Grant.
The museum said the copy was recently acquired by David Rubenstein, managing director of The Carlyle Group. He said he was pleased the first public exhibition would be at the New York Historical Society. "Along with the Bill of Rights, I believe the Thirteenth Amendment is the most important addition to the Constitution, and I hope as many people as possible will have a chance to see this Amendment in person," he said.
Congress passed the 13th amendment two years after Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. It represented the culmination of Lincoln's efforts to end slavery.
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