Free at Last: A History of the Abolition of Slavery in America
The Free at Last: A History of the Abolition of Slavery in America was damaged during Hurricane Sandy and is no longer available for loan. Free at Last was the first Gilder Lehrman traveling exhibition and opened at Federal Hall on November 13, 1997. Over the next fifteen years it traveled continuously across the country to libraries, schools, and other educational institutions.
The goals of the Free at Last exhibition were threefold: to promote the study of American history and encourage public education about the importance of the abolition movement in the nation’s history, to provide access to some of the highlights of the Gilder Lehrman Collection for people unable to visit the archive in New York, and to strengthen the role of the library and museum as a forum for public discussion and education in local communities. The tour succeeded in increasing public awareness of the history of the abolition of slavery across the nation.