Sanitary Fair

Organizing these Sanitary Fairs offered ways for local communities to participate directly in supporting the war effort of the nation.

In February 1863, the women of Lowell, Massachusetts, organized a two-day "Mammoth Fair" occupying two exhibition halls and netting over four thousand dollars for the cause.

It included a six-mile-long parade of militiamen, bands, political leaders, delegations from various local organizations, and a contingent of farmers, who presented carts full of their crops.

Its organizers intended its displays of weapons, slavery artifacts and other items to illustrate for Union visitors the contrast between the "barbaric" Southern enemy and the "civilized" North.

[5] The fairs generally involved large-scale exhibitions, including displays of art, mechanical technology, and period rooms.

People in various cities and towns across the North contributed to the same war effort because they identified as having shared fortunes in their common nation.

[11][12] The building also featured an auditorium where local entertainers played, including a theater troupe that put on a well-received production of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money.