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 University of New Hampshire School of Law in Concord, New Hampshire will host the traveling exhibit from April 11-22.
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.
The University of New Hampshire School of Law will host the "Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015" in the UNH School of Law Library (located on the 2nd floor, 2 White St., Concord, NH 03301.) The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for individuals. Groups larger than 10 interested in viewing the exhibit should contact Sue Zago, Law Library Director, for an appointment at 603-513-5129 or via email at sue.zago@law.unh.edu. There is no charge for admission.
In celebration of this visit, the law school's chapters of the Federalist Society and the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy will be hosting a symposium on Tuesday, April, 12th at 6 p.m. at the law school in room 204. This event will begin with a reception at 5:15 p.m. in the IP Library on the 3rd Floor of the UNH Law Library.
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, please 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, Apr 14, 2016
