The over 150-year-old antislavery documents currently on display at the Lincoln Memorial are being removed after exposure to unsafe temperatures, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a spokesperson for philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin.
“The National Park Service (NPS) has informed us that the documents on view for the Lincoln Memorial celebration were exposed to temperatures modestly above the optimal conditions for long-term preservation,” the spokesperson said in a Wednesday statement to The Washington Post.
“Out of an abundance of caution, these sacred documents are being temporarily relocated while the National Park Service resolves the environmental challenges driven by the heatwave engulfing Washington DC.”
Griffin had bought the documents - rare copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, bearing the original signatures of Abraham Lincoln and other American Civil War-era officials - at auction for a reported $18 million in 2025.
Griffin’s copy of the Emancipation Proclamation is one of 27 remaining copies printed for the 1864 Great Central Fair in Philadelphia. His copy of the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery in the United States, is one of only 15 known signed copies.
The original documents are housed in the National Archive.
Griffin's copies have been on loan at the Lincoln Memorial’s new undercroft exhibition since its opening in late June, in honor of the United States’s 250th anniversary. Their display was slated to be open through June 2027.
The $69 million exhibit takes up some 15,000 square feet in the basement of the memorial, allowing visitors a glance into the site’s concrete foundations while telling the story of how it was built.
Documents will be moved to a climate-controlled facility
The documents will be moved to a climate-controlled facility. There, they will undergo a detailed inspection to identify the extent of the damage, a person familiar with the matter shared with The Washington Post.
The move comes after City Cast DC reported on Wednesday, citing NPS employees, that the screens designed to protect the documents from light are defective, and that the temperature inside the display case has repeatedly risen to over 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
On its website, the National Archives’ recommended temperature for historic documents should stay between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature in Washington however rose into the 90s (Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, and is expected to rise to over 100𝇈F on Thursday.
“The National Park Service is committed to the preservation of these historic resources and would not display them if their preservation or security were compromised,” said a National Park Service Spokespereson in a Wednesday statement to The Washington Post. “Once this work is complete, the documents will be returned. Our absolute priority is their long-term preservation.”
Responsibility to strengthen the American promise
"Most Americans know these documents from textbooks. Very few ever have the chance to stand in front of them and reflect on what they changed,” explained National Park Foundation President and CEO Jeff Reinbold at the opening of the exhibit in June. “Not only for the nation, but for millions of individual lives.”
“Bringing them to the Lincoln Memorial this year creates a powerful connection between the ideals carved into this monument and the unfinished American story they represent, he said and thanked Griffin for “helping make that experience possible for visitors from around the world."
“Since our founding, America has been on a journey to form a more perfect union," said Griffin at the exhibit opening. "The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment marked a profound step forward, abolishing the scourge of slavery and moving the country closer to its founding ideals."
“As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, I am proud to partner with the National Park Foundation to share these sacred documents as a reminder of our ongoing responsibility to strengthen the promise of America.”