The importance of place

Lincoln’s Cottage: This site’s newer approach to engaging visitors in the story of slavery and emancipation encourages them to think about connections between past and present. Their focus on educating young visitors is propelled by an understanding that the youth are the next defenders of human rights. The site’s education program is grounded in Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society member Hannah Townesnd's 1846 pamphlet, the Anti-Slavery Alphabet, which was created to explain the horrors of slavery to the children of that era. Staff at the site also focus on PLACE, welcoming students (school groups) into the room where Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, offering them a safe space to grapple with their thoughts about racially charged violence in their own hometowns. Being in that PLACE grounded their conversation in hope, optimism, and responsibility. (Lincoln Cottage)