This is the full text of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, "An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication."
This is the full text of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, "An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication."
Examine an image of the 1868 South Carolina legislature, the first state legislature with a black majority.
This is the full text of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution, which granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” including former slaves recently freed.
Historian Douglas R. Egerton describes the life and political career of Mississippi politician Blanche K. Bruce, the first African-American to serve a full six-year term in the United States Senate.
Misconceptions about the history of Reconstruction persist today. Historian James Grossman describes the importance of establishing an accurate history of Reconstruction.
The misconceptions of the Dunning School and the Lost Cause were embodied in some of the most significant works of American popular culture in the twentieth century. Perhaps most influential film of that century’s first half, The Birth of a Nation was steeped in the Dunning School’s interpretation of Reconstruction.
Read, view, and listen to President George Washington’s letter to Moses Seixas and the Hebrew congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, promising tolerance and religious liberty for all.
Read, view, and listen to Moses Seixas’ letter to President George Washington expressing hope that the new United States would grant respect and tolerance to all citizens.
Examine measures of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867.
Alexander White, a white congressman from Alabama, describes the role that “carpetbaggers” and “scalawags” played in Reconstruction politics.
Learn about George Washington’s 1790 Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, an important moment in the history of religious freedom in America.
Examine the history of the United States' entrance into World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor.