The American Bar Association has joined with the Library of Congress and its Law Library to present a special traveling exhibit commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The Wisconsin Historical Society will host the traveling exhibit on Magna Carta from June 28-July 31.
The exhibit will feature images of objects from the Library of Congress collections, an interpretive video and other materials illustrating Magna Carta's influence throughout the centuries and how it came to be recognized as the foundation of modern democracy.
"We are honored to host this exhibit, which explores the impact that an 800-year-old document still has today," says Michael Hollander, director of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. "The Magna Carta influenced the Declaration of Independence, as well as the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions. At the Historical Museum, we show how the past is relevant to our present and this exhibit will shed light on some of the core documents that serve as the foundation of our society."
The Wisconsin Historical Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 9 am-4pm, Sunday 11 am-4 pm, and closed Monday. Admission is by donation: Adults $5, Children (5 and up) $3, Wisconsin Historical Society members: free.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum is located at 30 N. Carroll St. on Madison's Capitol Square. The Museum features four floors of exhibition space and a unique museum store. Call 608-264-6555 for more information, or visit it online at http://www. wisconsinhistoricalmuseum.org/.
The ABA Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress unveiled "Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015" at the ABA Annual Meeting in Boston in August 2014. Curated by the Library of Congress, the exhibit features 16 banners, 13 of which reflect spectacular images of Magna Carta and precious manuscripts, books and other documents from the Library of Congress' rare book collections. The exhibit also incorporates a video, produced by the Library of Congress, showing the law librarian and the exhibit curator handling selected materials depicted in the exhibit and explaining their significance. The exhibit is to raise awareness about Magna Carta's enduring influence and to highlight treasures held by the Library and its Law Library.
The principles found in Magna Carta played a fundamental role in establishing the supremacy of the law in our constitutional, democratic society, including concepts embraced by the Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights. The importance of Magna Carta to American laws and freedoms was highlighted at the ABA Annual Meeting as Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. spoke of its significance. "When we talk about Magna Carta today, we're not celebrating antiquated relics of a time long past," he said. "Instead, we are referring to a small collection of provisions that express kernels of transcendent significance."
For information about hosting the ABA Magna Carta Traveling Exhibit, contact Elissa Lichtenstein at elissa.lichtenstein@americanbar.org.
For further information about ABA's "Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015," visit http:// ambar.org/mctravelingexhibit
Published: Thu, Jun 30, 2016
