Intro – Abraham Lincoln’s life and legacy has long been studied, written about, and dissected in an effort to understand the man who so profoundly shaped history. Yet his journey from frontier youth to wartime president to emancipator is larger than just his personal story—it intersects and reveals the lives of those whose futures where shaped by his actions; indigenous communities navigating colonization and displacement, enslaved people seeking freedom, Black soldiers fighting for their future, and women advocating to be seen and heard in a changing nation. Through these objects, we invite you to explore the stories which illuminate the past while connecting us to the founding American ideals of honesty, liberty, and democracy. This is not just a story about one man—it is a story about a country in transformation.