Lincoln's Trial & Tribulations is a living history program held each summer in Oakland Illinois about the 1847 Matson Slave Trial. Please see our main website at www.matsontrial1847.org.
The Matson Slave Trial is: - one of the top five trials in Coles County, - one of the ten most important cases in which Abraham Lincoln participated, - a turning point for the local free black community at Brushy Fork.
Participants will: * Tour the 1847 Dr. Rutherford Home, * Enjoy an 1847 meal, * Watch the story of the trial & the tribulations around it, and * Challenge your preconceived notions of history.
It is a story of bittersweet daring and historical mystery, involving one of the most divisive issues of our country’s early history, slavery. It reveals hidden parts of our local history, affirms our faith in our legal system, raises questions about our moral bearing and actions, and reflects how we remember or mythologize our heroes.
This is the overview of last year's program. Hope you will join us this year!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Did you notice our new logo for this year? We are very excited to unveil it! You might also have noted that we added Lincoln to the program title to make it clearer why this important. Thanks to Rodney Ash for designing it for us.