Encounters: Political Activism in 1860 — and 2025

What does it mean to be politically involved? What do political action and freedom of speech look like? In 1860, during a time of deep political division and fears of a civil war, five young men from Hartford, Connecticut formed a campaign organization that became a nationwide movement and helped elect Abraham Lincoln. The attention-grabbing pageantry of the “Wide Awakes”—many of whom were too young to vote—provoked questions that remain relevant today.

A new exhibit at the Connecticut Museum tells the story of the Wide Awakes, featuring rare artifacts and documents from the Connecticut Museum collection. We invite you to join us on February 27 for a facilitated, small-group dialogue followed by a question-and-answer style conversation with University of Connecticut faculty and community partners. The aim is to develop a forum for respectful and challenging dialogue. Groups will examine artifacts from the exhibition in detail, using them as a window to contemplate the way Americans in the past thought about free speech, democracy, and political conflict. The program will spark conversation about how we can promote civic engagement in our own communities today.

The Encounters Series, part of the Democracy and Dialogues Initiative (DDI) at UConn, is working to increase democratic and civic capacity by supporting community dialogues on critical issues. DDI organizes audience-participation dialogues by which community members can dig deeply into complex topics through means of facilitated, small-group conversations and engagement with content-area experts.

The program will begin at 6:00 pm. Doors open at 5:30 pm, so please come early to browse the Museum galleries and share a light meal before the program begins!

This program is free and open to all members of the public. Pre-registration is required.

Questions? Contact Natalie Belanger, Public Programs Manager, at nbelanger@connecticutmuseum.org.