Today, on the anniversary of the issuing of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln's Cottage launches its award-winning program, "Debating Emancipation," in an online version. "Lincoln's Toughest Decisions: Debating Emancipation" is an interactive program that puts students in the role of Lincoln's closest advisers. Using letters and other historical documents, students learn how the politicians of the time advised the President on this controversial issue. This innovative program is currently offered as a school/adult program at the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center at President Lincoln's Cottage and, thanks to a grant from the Motorola Foundation, is now available on LincolnCottage.org so that teachers around the country can use this program in their own classrooms.
The Cottage is located on a picturesque hilltop in Northwest Washington, DC, on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, also known as the Soldiers' Home. It is the most significant site associated with Abraham Lincoln's presidency after the White House. President Lincoln spent one quarter of his presidency here and was living here when he drafted the Emancipation proclamation and deliberated issues of the Civil War. Lincoln commuted three miles daily by horseback or coach to the White House, last visiting the Cottage the day before his assassination.
Opened to the public for the first time in 2008, the Cottage offers intimate, guided tours providing an in-depth, media-enhanced experience highlighting Lincoln's ideas and actions through historical images and voices. The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center, adjacent to the Cottage, houses thematic galleries and changing exhibitions providing visitors of all ages opportunities for in-depth exploration of Lincoln's life and times.
For more information visit www.lincolncottage.org/schoolsandgroups/offcampus.htm.
