Lights! Camera! Action! American cinema has been chronicling the American Story since the early days of silent, black and white films. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum invites you to a series of movies that tell the stories of key events and the people who have shaped our nation.

The America 250 Movies Series begins with the 1989 American epic historical war drama Glory. Starring Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman, Glory is a tribute to the Army's first black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, that was mustered up during the Civil War under the command of an inexperienced white New Englander.

Join us for Glory on Friday, June 19, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the ALPLM Union Theater. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Stay with us after the movie for a short discussion with one of our historians. This screening of Glory is free but advance registration is required.

Glory is rated R primarily for its graphic, intense war violence and pervasive language.

Check back to our events page at PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov for details on upcoming movies in the series, including Hamilton, On the Basis of Sex, and All the Presidents Men.