A new exhibit opening next month at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) will explore the turbulent years following the Civil War and the struggle to fulfill President Abraham Lincoln’s vision for America.

The exhibit, titled “The Second American Revolution,” opens June 5th and examines the nation’s effort to rebuild after the Civil War while granting newly freed African Americans the rights of full citizenship.

Museum officials say the exhibit focuses on the Reconstruction era, a period that brought constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedom, voting rights, and equal protection under the law for African Americans. However, organizers say those gains were soon undermined through violence, political compromise, and court decisions that paved the way for segregation and Jim Crow laws across the South.

The exhibit is part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s commemoration of America’s upcoming 250th birthday and is designed to encourage visitors to reflect on both the progress and setbacks that shaped the nation after Lincoln’s death.

Among the historic artifacts featured in the exhibit is the pen President Lincoln used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that declared enslaved people in Confederate states to be free. Visitors will also see a copy of the constitutional amendment that officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Additional items on display include Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia highlighting the violent backlash against Reconstruction, as well as a chair from Ford’s Theater, the site of President Lincoln’s assassination in April of 1865.

Museum leaders say the exhibit tells the story of how the nation attempted to redefine freedom and equality following the Civil War, while also acknowledging the resistance and oppression that followed.

“The Second American Revolution” opens to the public June 5th at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.

For more information on ALPLM and it’s currently active exhibits, visit presidentlincoln.illinois.gov.