Lincoln, who won the 1860 election with less than 40 percent of the popular vote, was hardly an American hero in his day. A Northerner elected by Northern states in a four-candidate race, Lincoln took over a divided country wracked by racial tensions and brimming with dissension. The Whispering Gallery is a drab, grayish corridor bathed in dim, blue-green lighting. Off-kilter angles poke from doorways and picture frames. Hushed voices fall from overhead speakers. The walls are filled with anti-Lincoln editorial cartoons and quotations. While The Journey, Part I - focusing on Lincoln prior to his presidency - conjures largely positive feelings, the first steps into The Journey, Part II are a dose of harsh reality. In a brief period, [Mary Todd Lincoln] is thrust into a brutal social scene, the Civil War begins, the president is universally blasted and [Willie] dies.
