BGuthrie Photos: MI -- Dearborn -- The Henry Ford -- Museum -- Exhibit: With Liberty and Justice for All (Freedom and Union)

MI -- Dearborn -- The Henry Ford -- Museum -- Exhibit: With Liberty and Justice for All (Freedom and Union):

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Accessing as Spider: The system has identified your IP as being a spider.
IP Address: 3.145.77.114 -- Domain: Amazon Technologies
I love well-behaved spiders! They are, in fact, how most people find my site. Unfortunately, my network has a limited bandwidth and pictures take up bandwidth. Spiders ask for lots and lots of pages and chew up lots and lots of bandwidth which slows things down considerably for regular folk. To counter this, you'll see all the text on the page but the images are being suppressed. Also, some system options like merges are being blocked for you.
Note: Permission is NOT granted for spiders, robots, etc to use the site for AI-generation purposes. I'm sure you're thrilled by your ability to make revenue from my work but there's nothing in that for my human users or for me.
If you are in fact human, please email me at guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can check if your designation was made in error. Given your number of hits, that's unlikely but what the hell.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] HFMLJ2_160803_001.JPG	[2] HFMLJ2_160803_006.JPG	[3] HFMLJ2_160803_008.JPG	[4] HFMLJ2_160803_015.JPG	[5] HFMLJ2_160803_017.JPG	[6] HFMLJ2_160803_024.JPG
[7] HFMLJ2_160803_027.JPG	[8] HFMLJ2_160803_032.JPG	[9] HFMLJ2_160803_033.JPG	[10] HFMLJ2_160803_035.JPG	[11] HFMLJ2_160803_038.JPG	[12] HFMLJ2_160803_042.JPG
[13] HFMLJ2_160803_045.JPG	[14] HFMLJ2_160803_049.JPG	[15] HFMLJ2_160803_053.JPG	[16] HFMLJ2_160803_056.JPG	[17] HFMLJ2_160803_060.JPG	[18] HFMLJ2_160803_065.JPG
[19] HFMLJ2_160803_066.JPG	[20] HFMLJ2_160803_070.JPG	[21] HFMLJ2_160803_073.JPG	[22] HFMLJ2_160803_080.JPG	[23] HFMLJ2_160803_083.JPG	[24] HFMLJ2_160803_090.JPG
[25] HFMLJ2_160803_091.JPG	[26] HFMLJ2_160803_094.JPG	[27] HFMLJ2_160803_096.JPG	[28] HFMLJ2_160803_100.JPG	[29] HFMLJ2_160803_104.JPG	[30] HFMLJ2_160803_108.JPG
[31] HFMLJ2_160803_112.JPG	[32] HFMLJ2_160803_116.JPG	[33] HFMLJ2_160803_120.JPG	[34] HFMLJ2_160803_123.JPG	[35] HFMLJ2_160803_127.JPG	[36] HFMLJ2_160803_131.JPG
[37] HFMLJ2_160803_134.JPG	[38] HFMLJ2_160803_138.JPG	[39] HFMLJ2_160803_142.JPG	[40] HFMLJ2_160803_147.JPG	[41] HFMLJ2_160803_151.JPG	[42] HFMLJ2_160803_155.JPG
[43] HFMLJ2_160803_158.JPG	[44] HFMLJ2_160803_160.JPG	[45] HFMLJ2_160803_162.JPG	[46] HFMLJ2_160803_164.JPG	[47] HFMLJ2_160803_165.JPG	[48] HFMLJ2_160803_169.JPG
[49] HFMLJ2_160803_177.JPG	[50] HFMLJ2_160803_181.JPG	[51] HFMLJ2_160803_185.JPG	[52] HFMLJ2_160803_188.JPG	[53] HFMLJ2_160803_190.JPG	[54] HFMLJ2_160803_193.JPG
[55] HFMLJ2_160803_196.JPG	[56] HFMLJ2_160803_199.JPG	[57] HFMLJ2_160803_202.JPG	[58] HFMLJ2_160803_206.JPG	[59] HFMLJ2_160803_212.JPG	[60] HFMLJ2_160803_215.JPG
[61] HFMLJ2_160803_218.JPG	[62] HFMLJ2_160803_223.JPG	[63] HFMLJ2_160803_225.JPG	[64] HFMLJ2_160803_231.JPG	[65] HFMLJ2_160803_234.JPG	[66] HFMLJ2_160803_239.JPG
[67] HFMLJ2_160803_240.JPG	[68] HFMLJ2_160803_243.JPG	[69] HFMLJ2_160803_246.JPG	[70] HFMLJ2_160803_250.JPG	[71] HFMLJ2_160803_253.JPG	[72] HFMLJ2_160803_256.JPG
[73] HFMLJ2_160803_261.JPG	[74] HFMLJ2_160803_263.JPG	[75] HFMLJ2_160803_265.JPG	[76] HFMLJ2_160803_267.JPG	[77] HFMLJ2_160803_269.JPG	[78] HFMLJ2_160803_273.JPG
[79] HFMLJ2_160803_277.JPG	[80] HFMLJ2_160803_279.JPG	[81] HFMLJ2_160803_281.JPG	[82] HFMLJ2_160803_286.JPG	[83] HFMLJ2_160803_293.JPG	[84] HFMLJ2_160803_298.JPG
[85] HFMLJ2_160803_301.JPG	[86] HFMLJ2_160803_303.JPG	[87] HFMLJ2_160803_305.JPG	[88] HFMLJ2_160803_309.JPG	[89] HFMLJ2_160803_313.JPG	[90] HFMLJ2_160803_316.JPG
[91] HFMLJ2_160803_323.JPG	[92] HFMLJ2_160803_327.JPG	[93] HFMLJ2_160803_330.JPG	[94] HFMLJ2_160803_335.JPG	[95] HFMLJ2_160803_340.JPG	[96] HFMLJ2_160803_345.JPG
[97] HFMLJ2_160803_350.JPG	[98] HFMLJ2_160803_351.JPG	[99] HFMLJ2_160803_352.JPG	[100] HFMLJ2_160803_356.JPG	[101] HFMLJ2_160803_367.JPG	[102] HFMLJ2_160803_370.JPG
[103] HFMLJ2_160803_372.JPG	[104] HFMLJ2_160803_375.JPG	[105] HFMLJ2_160803_381.JPG	[106] HFMLJ2_160803_383.JPG	[107] HFMLJ2_160803_386.JPG	[108] HFMLJ2_160803_389.JPG
[109] HFMLJ2_160803_397.JPG	[110] HFMLJ2_160803_401.JPG	[111] HFMLJ2_160803_405.JPG	[112] HFMLJ2_160803_407.JPG	[113] HFMLJ2_160803_411.JPG	[114] HFMLJ2_160803_413.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HFMLJ2_160803_006.JPG: Bronze Reduction of "Standing Lincoln" Statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1910-1922 One of the most famous sculptures of President Lincoln is Augustus Saint-Gaudens' "Standing Lincoln." This is a bronze "reduction" (meaning a copy on a smaller scale) of that famous 1887 sculpture. Saint-Gaudens depicts Lincoln in deep thought standing in front of a ceremonial "Chair of State." The original 11 1/2 foot bronze can be found in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois.
2. HFMLJ2_160803_008.JPG: Freedom and Union "The nation is worth fighting"
3. HFMLJ2_160803_015.JPG: The Two Extremes The Divide Deepens
4. HFMLJ2_160803_017.JPG: Slave Collar, circa 1860 The wealth and power of Southern plantation owners depended upon a large labor force of enslaved people. Slaves known for running away might have had to wear an iron collar like this, for punishment or to prevent them from running away again. The hooks caught on bushes or tree limbs, causing a violent jerking to the individual's head and neck.
5. HFMLJ2_160803_024.JPG: Human Property Only some men are created equal
6. HFMLJ2_160803_033.JPG: Slavery Pros and Cons
7. HFMLJ2_160803_038.JPG: Plantation Field Shoes, circa 1860 This footwear from about 1860 is thought to be plantation field shoes. The woven bark soles gave protection to the foot while working in the fields.
8. HFMLJ2_160803_042.JPG: Abolition The act of ending slavery
9. HFMLJ2_160803_045.JPG: Statuette, "The Fugitive's Story" by John Rogers, 1869 The John Rogers sculpture, "The Fugitive's Story," depicts well-known abolitionists -- John Greenleaf Whittier, William Lloyd Garrison, and Henry Ward Beecher -- listening to the pleas of a slave mother. Though fictionalized and composed well after the end of the Civil War (in 1869), the work was enthusiastically received by those who had admired these men and had worked to free the slaves.
10. HFMLJ2_160803_049.JPG: Broadside, "Coddings Lectures on the Slavery Question," circa 1855 Beginning in the 1830s, some people -- mostly white Northerners -- began to speak out against slavery. Ichabod Codding, a clergyman born in Bristol, New York, became convinced while in college in Middlebury, Vermont, that he should devote his career to the anti-slavery cause. He traveled extensively in New England, New York, and Illinois lecturing on the evils of slavery.
11. HFMLJ2_160803_053.JPG: Pamphlet with Two Essays, "Bible View of Slavery, Examined" and "Bible View of Slavery, Reconsidered," 1863 In 1776 America's Founding Fathers established a nation based on the principles of freedom -- but that didn't include enslaved African Americans. Through the 1800s, the question of slavery escalated into civil war. John H. Hopkins, a controversial Episcopal Bishop from Vermont, argued in 1863 that the Bible did not forbid slavery -- but he still opposed Southern states seceding from the Union.
12. HFMLJ2_160803_060.JPG: Transferware Pitcher, circa 1840 Beginning in the 1830s, some people began to speak out against slavery. Most of these "abolitionists" were white Northerners who had never actually come in contact with enslaved people. This pitcher commemorates the martyrdom of Elijah P. Lovejoy, an anti-slavery newspaper editor in southern Illinois who was murdered by a mob of pro-slavery advocates.
13. HFMLJ2_160803_065.JPG: Ticket, "Anti-Slavery Bazaar," 1854-1855 Beginning in the 1830s, some people began to speak out against slavery. Most of these "abolitionists" were white Northerners who had never actually come in contact with enslaved people. The American Anti-Slavery Society hosted annual Anti-Slavery Bazaars -- large fundraising fairs to raise money for abolitionist activities. This Bazaar was held in Boston, Massachusetts.
14. HFMLJ2_160803_066.JPG: Harriet Tubman
15. HFMLJ2_160803_070.JPG: Running to Freedom The ultimate risk
16. HFMLJ2_160803_073.JPG: Leg Shackles, 1840-1880 The wealth and power of Southern plantation owners depended upon a large labor force of enslaved people. They justified their actions by considering enslaved people to be mere pieces of property. These shackles, from a Georgia plantation, attest to the brutal treatment of enslaved African Americans.
17. HFMLJ2_160803_080.JPG: The Christiana Revolt September 11, 1851
18. HFMLJ2_160803_083.JPG: Outrage Over Christiana No one blamed for slave owner's murder
19. HFMLJ2_160803_090.JPG: The Coming Storm Stirring the Emotions
20. HFMLJ2_160803_091.JPG: Frederick Douglass
21. HFMLJ2_160803_094.JPG: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," 1845 Frederick Douglass became a leader in the anti-slavery movement when he spontaneously stood up and spoke at an abolitionist meeting in 1841. Douglass wrote about his life as a slave to support the growing abolitionist movement. This book led to his career as a reform journalist. His gut-wrenching tales about life on the plantation in Maryland turned thousands of skeptical Americans into active abolitionists.
22. HFMLJ2_160803_096.JPG: Harriet Beecher Stowe
23. HFMLJ2_160803_100.JPG: Life Cast of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Hand, 1896 Harriet Beecher Stowe is best known for her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. The story tells of the trials of a slave family seeking freedom. It challenged many Americans' view of slavery and stoked the fires of the anti-slavery movement. A plaster cast of her hand -- used for this sculpture -- was made in 1896 a month before her death.
24. HFMLJ2_160803_104.JPG: "Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Negro Life in the Slave States of America," 1852 The trials of an enslaved black family seeking freedom are told in the pages of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The book became a national and international best-seller when first published in 1852. In one year, 1.5 million copies were sold in Great Britain. The book advanced anti-slavery sympathies throughout Europe and made Stowe an international celebrity.
25. HFMLJ2_160803_108.JPG: Wallpaper Fragment with Scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin, circa 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, became a national and international best-seller when first published in 1852. A number of illustrated editions were produced soon after. This section of wallpaper may have been based on one of the illustrations called "The Freeman's Defense." This section was removed from a house in Ireland -- a testament to the international acclaim of the novel.
26. HFMLJ2_160803_112.JPG: Playbill for "Uncle Tom's Cabin! or, Life Among the Lowly!," March 21, 1864 Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin about the trials of an enslaved black family seeking freedom became an instant best-seller when first published in 1852. Stage plays of the novel appeared soon after and some versions ran for decades. These productions varied in dramatic and literary quality. The book and plays stoked the fires of the anti-slavery movement before the Civil War.
27. HFMLJ2_160803_116.JPG: John Brown
28. HFMLJ2_160803_120.JPG: Free and Slave States
29. HFMLJ2_160803_123.JPG: Secede To formally withdraw
30. HFMLJ2_160803_131.JPG: Lithograph Portrait of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 On February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln delivered a carefully written speech at Cooper Union in New York City. This print quotes the speech, which detailed Lincoln's views on stopping further expansion of slavery and likely helped secure his nomination for the presidency. The image is based on a carte-de-visite made that day by pioneering photographer Mathew B. Brady.
31. HFMLJ2_160803_134.JPG: Political Trade Card, 1860
32. HFMLJ2_160803_138.JPG: Presidential Campaign Medallion, "For President: Abraham Lincoln of Illinois," 1860 The possessor of this small token supported Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. Trinkets, such as this one, reminded American citizens why they backed certain parties and candidates. Most tokens were just that -- small coins carried around in purses or pockets. This token, however, was attached to a ribbon and became an outward display of support for the Republican candidate.
33. HFMLJ2_160803_142.JPG: Tintype of Abraham Lincoln, Made from an Earlier Portrait Taken about 1858-1860 This tintype portrait of Abraham Lincoln was probably copied from a readily-available presidential campaign button for the 1860 Republican Party candidate. The campaign button itself was a copy of an 1858 ambrotype portrait taken by Roderick M. Cole, of Peoria, Illinois. The City Art Gallery of Moawequa, Illinois, may have made this copy tintype to honor President Lincoln during his life time or after his death.
34. HFMLJ2_160803_147.JPG: Life Mask of Abraham Lincoln by Leonard Wells Volk In the spring of 1860, Abraham Lincoln sat for sculptor Leonard Volk. Volk made a plaster cast of the future president's features in preparation for a portrait bust. Volk used the piece for later works, including a full-length statue. Following Lincoln's assassination, other artists consulted this unique three-dimensional document for drawings, paintings and other sculptures.
35. HFMLJ2_160803_151.JPG: Life Cast of Abraham Lincoln's Right Hand by Leonard Wells Volk In May 1860, sculptor Leonard Volk made plaster casts of the hands of the Republican presidential nominee, Abraham Lincoln. Volk was thinking of using these castings along with his recently competed bust of Lincoln to create a full-length statue. This casting -- made from the original but at a later date -- depicts the soon-to-be president's hand gripping a wooden broomstick handle.
36. HFMLJ2_160803_155.JPG: Lincoln's Bottom Line Keeping the country whole
37. HFMLJ2_160803_158.JPG: Abraham Lincoln
38. HFMLJ2_160803_160.JPG: Fighting for Good Reason
39. HFMLJ2_160803_169.JPG: United States Army Scrip, 1861-1865 Worth 5 cents in merchandise
40. HFMLJ2_160803_177.JPG: Confederate Bond, One Thousand Dollars, 1864 Samson and Pae foundry and machine shop was nestled among other Richmond, Virginia, industrial facilities. During the Civil War, the firm made and finished weapons, and supplied artillery projectiles. They acquired this bond in September 1864. A few months later, Confederate troops abandoned Richmond and set fire to supply warehouses. The fire raged out of control, destroying the Samson and Pae foundry.
41. HFMLJ2_160803_185.JPG: President Lincoln's Journey
42. HFMLJ2_160803_234.JPG: "Surrender of Lee!" April 9, 1865 The Daily Nonpareil Extra Report
43. HFMLJ2_160803_239.JPG: Music Sheet, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The Prisoners Hope," 1864 Composed by George F. Root during the Civil War, this song expresses the hopes of an imprisoned Union soldier. The song's melancholy verses give way to the chorus of "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" -- signaling the oncoming liberators and the time when the prisoner will return to his beloved home. It became a popular song during the war.
44. HFMLJ2_160803_246.JPG: Remainders of War Sharing the burden
45. HFMLJ2_160803_250.JPG: Statuette, "Council of War" by John Rogers, 1868 John Rogers created "Council of War" a few years after the end of the Civil War. This plaster-cast sculpture depicts the Union leaders discussing military actions. President Lincoln studies a map while General Grant points out his plans. Secretary of War Stanton listens from behind. The work became a popular memorial to Lincoln and his advisors for an American middle-class audience.
46. HFMLJ2_160803_253.JPG: Memorandum from President Abraham Lincoln, Making Lewis E. Johnson Paymaster of Volunteers, 1861 Handwritten on front: Lewis E. Johnson desires / to be a Paymaster of Volun / teers - He is the sone of / Hon. Reverdy Johnson, who / much desires the appoint / ment. / A. Lincoln / July 26, 1861 / I wish this to be done / when the time comes. / A. L.
47. HFMLJ2_160803_256.JPG: Memorandum about Draft February 1, 1864 Signed by Abraham Lincoln
48. HFMLJ2_160803_261.JPG: Broadside, "Wanted! Wanted! For the McComb Regiment... Plattsburgh... 1000 Volunteers...," 1862 At the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln called for volunteers to help save the Union. This 1862 broadside rallied men from northern New York to join. McComb's Plattsburg Regiment became the 96th New York Infantry Regiment. These soldiers served in Virginia and North Carolina for most of the war and were part of the troops to occupy Richmond, Virginia in 1865.
49. HFMLJ2_160803_265.JPG: Emancipate To set free
50. HFMLJ2_160803_267.JPG: Engraving, "The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before the Cabinet" 1866 Following the American Civil War, this engraving commemorated a crucial event and became popular for classroom display across the country. On July 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln first read the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet officers. Publicly announced by Lincoln in September 1862 to become law on January 1, 1863, it was the essential first legal step in eliminating slavery. Following the American Civil War, this engraving commemorated a crucial event and became popular for classroom display across the country. It illustrates President Abraham Lincoln's first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet officers on July 22, 1862. Seated with papers in his lap, he is surrounded by the members of his cabinet. Text printed below the image identifies the men, left to right, as Edwin M. Stanton (Secretary of War), Salmon P. Chase (Secretary of the Treasury), President Lincoln, Gideon Welles (Secretary of the Navy), Caleb Smith (Secretary of the Interior), William H. Seward (profile, Secretary of State), Montgomery Blair (Postmaster General), and Edward Bates (Attorney General). Alexander Hay Ritchie engraved this large black-and-white print in 1866 based on the painting that Francis Bicknell Carpenter made in 1864 for display in the White House. For the many American abolitionists, the Emancipation Proclamation publicly announced by Lincoln in September 1862 to become law on January 1, 1863, was the essential first legal step in eliminating slavery throughout the United States. For the almost four million enslaved Americans, it gave them the hope of freedom and becoming equal citizens in the country they labored for so long to build and maintain.
51. HFMLJ2_160803_269.JPG: Joining the Fight From slaves to soldiers
52. HFMLJ2_160803_273.JPG: Piece of Flag Used by the Corps d'Afrique, 79th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, 1861-1865 The Corps d'Afrique was a regiment of African-American soldiers created in June 1863, from three regiments of the recently formed Louisiana Native Guard. Although the men fought bravely, poor treatment by fellow Union soldiers and difficult field conditions contributed to the dissolution of this unit in April 1864. These fragments are said to be pieces of the Corps' regimental flag.
53. HFMLJ2_160803_277.JPG: Lithograph, "Gallant Charge of the Fifty Fourth Colored Massachusetts Regiment," July 18th 1863
54. HFMLJ2_160803_279.JPG: The President is Shot April 14, 1865
55. HFMLJ2_160803_281.JPG: American Icon of Change Abraham Lincoln Death in the Pursuit of Liberty Ironically, though President Lincoln was assassinated in this chair, it now represents the life of this extraordinary individual and his complete devotion to the pursuit of America's founding principles. Lincoln's Rocker from Ford's Theater
56. HFMLJ2_160803_286.JPG: Lithograph, "Death-Bed of the Martyr President," circa 1930 (Reproduction of an 1865 Print) Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865 plunged Americans into deep mourning. Before the existence of newspaper photos and television, lithographs helped people to understand the tragic event. This print depicts a room of the Petersen House, where the president died, across the street from Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Not all of these people were actually in the room the morning Lincoln died. This lithograph print shows a representation of the tragic event of Abraham Lincoln's death. It occurred in a room of the Petersen House, a boardinghouse across the street from Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., where the president had been shot. The group of people shown gathered at the president's deathbed includes Mrs. Lincoln, their two sons, the vice president, cabinet members, the Supreme Court chief justice, a senator, and the surgeon general. Not all of these people were actually in the room the morning Lincoln died. But sentiment about Lincoln sold well. So, the people were changed to appeal to popular taste. A key printed below the image identified each person depicted at Lincoln's deathbed. Left to right: Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury (replaced Salmon P. Chase in 1864); James Speed, Attorney General; Andrew Johnson, Vice President; Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts; Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War; Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; Robert Lincoln, oldest son; Joseph K. Barnes, Surgeon General; Mary Todd Lincoln, wife; Thomas (Tad) Lincoln, youngest son; Clara Harris (she and her fianc�, Henry Rathbone, had shared the President's box with the Lincolns at Ford's Theater the previous night).
57. HFMLJ2_160803_293.JPG: Rocking Chair Used by Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre the Night of His Assassination, April 14, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was sitting in this rocking chair during a production of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC when he was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Henry Ford purchased the chair in 1929 for the Museum, where it remains one of the most revered objects associated with the "man who saved the Union." The Lincoln Assassination Chair History 29.1451.1 Originally purchased as part of a parlor suite, the rocking chair was intended for use in a reception room in Ford's Theatre, which opened in 1863. The parlor suite was purchased by Harry Clay Ford (no relation to Henry Ford) manager of the Theatre. However, the comfortable rocking chair began to be used by ushers during their "down" time and the fabric became soiled by their hair oil. This stain is still visible on the back. Sometime in 1864, Harry Ford had the chair moved to his apartment across the alley from the Theatre in a belated attempt to keep it clean. Beginning with the Theatre's opening in 1863, President Lincoln became a frequent visitor. At some point, Mr. Ford began to supply the president and his party with comfortable seating furniture. Apparently, the president preferred this rocking chair, perhaps, due to his height. On the afternoon of April 14th, the chair was brought to the president's box along with a matching sofa and side chair. After the assassination, the Theatre and its contents was seized by the Federal government. After its seizure, the chair remained in the private office of the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. In 1867, the chair was transferred to the Department of the Interior and then sent to the Smithsonian Institution and placed in storage. For all practical purposes, the chair vanished from the public for half a century. Documentation at the Smithsonian indicates that it was catalogued into the collection in 1902. An unrelated Civil War event brought the red rocker back into the public eye. In the last year of the War, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was captured and his personal belongings were seized by the government. In 1913, the Davis heirs challenged the validity of this action. Their contention was upheld by the United States Attorney General as there had been no legal proceedings to acquire title to Davis's possessions--they remained the property of the heirs. President Woodrow Wilson returned the items by executive order. In 1927 Mrs. Blanche Chapman Ford, widow of Harry Clay Ford, the man who supplied the rocking chair for the president's box learned of the Davis case. As his widow and heir, she applied for return of her chair in November of that year. The precedent of the Davis disposition was recalled and by order of the War Department (where it had originally been accessioned as a deposit) the chair was ordered returned to its rightful owner, Blanche Ford. In the spring of 1929 the Curator of History at the Smithsonian delivered the rocker to her son. Mrs. Ford sold the chair at auction through the Anderson Galleries in New York on December 17, 1929. The purchaser was Israel Sack, the dean of antique American furniture dealers, and an agent of Henry Ford. Sack had observed that Ford delighted in furniture that had association with American historical figures. Sack, in turn, offered the chair to Mr. Ford, who purchased it and carefully documented its arrival in Greenfield Village in early 1930. There, the chair resided in the Logan County, Illinois Court House where Lincoln practiced law as a circuit rider in the 1840s. Mr. Ford had moved the Court House to Greenfield Village in 1929--the chair became the centerpiece of his Lincoln collection. In 1979, as part of the institution's fiftieth anniversary, the chair moved from the Court House to the Museum, where it remains today. By the early 1990s, conservators recognized that the fragile silk upholstery was degrading, even though the chair was always displayed in an exhibit case, requiring action. In preparation for conservation, eleven fabric samples were analyzed to determine the composition of both the fabric and the stains on the upholstery. The results aided conservators and curators in determining which stains should be preserved and which could be removed to minimize damage to the upholstery. Microscopic analysis determined that calcium sulfate commonly known as plaster of Paris was present in many of the samples, including a large area on the base of the chair back and seat. This stain is consistent with documentation that suggests the chair was stored in a basement after the assassination and prior to its purchase by Mr. Ford. A preliminary test for blood using the reagent Benzidine yielded positive results in two areas--the front of the seat and near the upper portion of the back. More extensive testing would be required to provide additional information regarding its origin. Given the chair's well-documented history and a lack of available samples of the President's blood and DNA, The Henry Ford has decided not to pursue further testing. In 1996, following testing, museum conservators carefully cleaned the delicate silk fabric and removed some plaster stains using a tiny spatula. The upholstery was then covered with a thin polyester fabric attached with adhesive and tiny stitches in order to hold the fragile fragments of the fabric together. After treatment the newly conserved chair returned to exhibit in the Museum. In 2006, the chair became a key artifact in a major exhibit on American freedom titled "With Liberty and Justice for All," where it may be seen today. For decades, visitors to The Henry Ford have sought out the so-called Lincoln Rocker. They are drawn to it not simply because of its role at the center of a tragedy, but as symbol of a beloved president. There is a unique sense of awe and reverence that the chair provides. As such, this rocking chair personifies the sacrifice made by Abraham Lincoln in fashioning a more perfect Union.
58. HFMLJ2_160803_298.JPG: Mourning the President One death too many
59. HFMLJ2_160803_301.JPG: Woodcut Commemorating the Death of Abraham Lincoln, "Memento Mori," 1865 President Lincoln's assassination produced an outpouring of grief. His death linked him with the hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers that had sacrificed their lives during the Civil War. His life and the causes he embodied--the Union and Emancipation of enslaved African Americans--touched admirers and detractors alike. This print pays tribute to Lincoln through an image and a quote from the Roman poet, Virgil.
60. HFMLJ2_160803_305.JPG: Mourning Badge for Abraham Lincoln, 1865 This mourning badge was handmade from a small oval tintype portrait of President Abraham Lincoln. Set into a rope-twist brass frame, it is surrounded by a black crepe rosette and black and white ribbons. This would have been worn on clothing during the spring of 1865 by the many American citizens who felt a strong bond with the martyred President.
61. HFMLJ2_160803_309.JPG: Photoprint: "Town Mourns President's Death" Original scene from 1865 Enlargement made 1930-1950
62. HFMLJ2_160803_313.JPG: Different and Inferior The status of African Americans
63. HFMLJ2_160803_316.JPG: Man Wearing Ku Klux Klan Robe and Hood, circa 1870 This is one of the earliest known images of members of the Ku Klux Klan, founded in 1866 as one of many Southern vigilante groups intent on maintaining "white supremacy." For a century after the Civil War, African Americans were free but not treated as equals. Some angry white citizens responded with violence.
64. HFMLJ2_160803_323.JPG: Loyalty Oath to the United States of America, Issued for W. F. Ready, June 13, 1866 To be re-admitted into the Union after the Civil War, a majority of citizens in each Confederate state had to formally renounce secession and show support of the Constitution. The signer of this loyalty oath proclaimed his allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, the union of those states, and laws regarding the emancipation of slaves.
65. HFMLJ2_160803_330.JPG: Loyalty Oath to the United States of America, August 3, 1865 To be re-admitted into the Union after the Civil War, a majority of citizens in each Confederate state had to formally renounce secession and show support of the Constitution. The signer of this loyalty oath proclaimed his allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, the union of those states, and laws regarding the emancipation of slaves.
66. HFMLJ2_160803_335.JPG: Trade cards, 1882: Postcards, 1910-1935 These images illustrate the simplistic and stereotyped concept most whites had of African Americans in the decades after the Civil War.
67. HFMLJ2_160803_340.JPG: Reconstruction Making a "New" South
68. HFMLJ2_160803_345.JPG: Wood Engraving, "The First Vote," on Cover of Harper's Weekly, November 16, 1867 This 1867 issue of Harper's Weekly shows blacks lining up to cast their ballots. Congress had recently approved measures allowing African Americans the right to vote -- a right later ratified in the 15th Amendment. Southern states however worked to find ways to disenfranchise black voters; and by the end of the century had in large part succeeded.
69. HFMLJ2_160803_350.JPG: Harper's Weekly Cover, "Another Step Towards Civilization," May 31, 1879 African Americans, able to move more freely after the Civil War, searched for new opportunities. White landowners sought to control this movement of labor that disrupted the plantation economy. In 1879, leaders gathered in Vicksburg, Mississippi to discuss ways to improve the situation. This Harper's Weekly illustration lampooned the convention as a spider trap to blacks who succumbed to empty pledges of white landowners.
70. HFMLJ2_160803_351.JPG: Harper's Weekly Cover," Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants," January 24, 1885 The cover of this 1885 issue of Harper's Weekly celebrated the freedom of the slaves twenty-two years after emancipation. Drawn by the famed illustrator, Thomas Nast, the image shows a black and a white man tapping on the Liberty Bell -- a symbol of American freedom.
71. HFMLJ2_160803_352.JPG: Indenture for "...Colored Children Named William, Dennis & Henry," July 20, 1866 Immediately after the Civil War, defeated white Southerners tried to remake the South as they had known it before the war. With slavery abolished, some whites devised labor contracts which forced African Americans back into near-slave conditions. This indenture, imposed on three orphaned children, required them to work for a white master until they came of age.
72. HFMLJ2_160803_356.JPG: Indenture for "...Colored Child Named Maria,." December 21, 1865 Immediately after the Civil War, defeated white Southerners tried to remake the South as they had known it before the war. With slavery abolished, some whites devised labor contracts which forced African Americans back into near-slave conditions. This indenture, imposed on "a poor orphan colored child," required her to work for a white master until she came of age.
73. HFMLJ2_160803_367.JPG: Photomontage Showing President Lincoln with Congressional Supporters of the Proposed Anti-Slavery Constitutional Amendment, 1865 The Emancipation Proclamation only declared freedom to slaves in rebel states. So in 1864, President Lincoln drafted a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to legally abolish slavery forever. Congress approved this Thirteenth Amendment January 31, 1865, but it took 10 months before the necessary states ratified it so it would become law. Unfortunately, President Lincoln did not live to see that happen.
74. HFMLJ2_160803_370.JPG: The Thirteenth Amendment Abolishing slavery forever
75. HFMLJ2_160803_372.JPG: Joint Resolution of the United States Congress, Proposing the 13th Amendment to Abolish Slavery, 1865 The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, not the Emancipation Proclamation, formally abolished slavery in the United States. With the adoption of this amendment the United States found a final solution to the issue of slavery. The word "Duplicate" at the top indicates the bill was passed by Congress but had not yet been ratified by the states.
76. HFMLJ2_160803_383.JPG: The Divide Remains
77. HFMLJ2_160803_386.JPG: Advertising Poster, "Old Fashion Molasses," circa 1900 This turn-of-the-twentieth-century advertisement was used to sell Old Fashion Molasses. This and similar ads with depictions of African American also reflect the racial prejudices of the time. To white consumers this seemingly innocuous image of a smiling African-American woman idealized nonexistent times when whites believed they ruled benevolently and blacks "knew their place." The added stereotypical language also supported this racial view.
78. HFMLJ2_160803_389.JPG: Mechanical Bank, "Bad Accident," 1891-1911 During the last quarter of the 1800s, America witnessed one of the worst eras of discrimination against African Americans. Degrading images -- like those portrayed in this bank -- were intended to convince white people that African Americans were inferior, second-class citizens. African-American leaders continually challenged these stereotypes and sought changes to the status quo.
79. HFMLJ2_160803_397.JPG: Trade Card, about 1880; Postcards, 1913-1941 These mass-produced cards show typical racial stereotypes of the time.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Henry Ford Museum

Henry Ford Museum began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects, which he began collecting as far back as 1906. Today, the 12 acre (49,000 m�) site is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items:

* The museum features a 4K digital projection theater, which shows scientific, natural, or historical documentaries, as well as major feature films.
* A model of the nuclear-powered Ford Nucleon automobile
* An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
* The 1961 Lincoln Continental, SS-100-X that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated.
* The rocking chair from Ford's Theatre in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was shot.
* George Washington's camp bed.
* A ten-person safety bicycle made in 1896.
* A collection of several fine 17th- and 18th-century violins including a Stradivarius.
* Thomas Edison's alleged last breath in a sealed tube.
* Buckminster Fuller's prototype Dymaxion house.
* The bus on which Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
* Igor Sikorsky's prototype helicopter.
* Fokker Trimotor airplane that flew the first flight over the North Pole.
* Bill Elliott's record-breaking race car clocking in at over 212 MPH at Talladega in 1987
* Fairbottom Bobs, the Newcomen engine
* A steam engine from Cobb's Engine House in England.
* The Automotive Hall of Fame, adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum.
* A working fragment of the original Holiday Inn "Great Sign"
* A Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny"-class steam locomotive built by Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. The Allegheny was the most powerful steam locomotive ever built.
* Behind the scenes, the Benson Ford Research Center uses the resources of The Henry Ford, especially the photographic, manuscript and archival material which is rarely displayed, to allow visitors to gain a deeper understanding of American people, places, events, and things. The Research Center also contains the Ford Motor Archives.
* To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Henry Ford Museum exhibited a vast array of artifacts and media documenting the Titanic's voyage and demise. The exhibit was hosted from 31 March to 30 September 2012.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].