Videos

Professor Paul Finkelman lectured on the 1857 Dred Scott case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that slaves were not protected by the Constitution and were not American citizens. This…

Panelists discussed President Lincoln’s timing of the release of the Emancipation Proclamation. They focused on the legal grounding for the proclamation and what it accomplished. The panelis…

Lesley Gordon talked about the First Battle of Bull Run and the ensuing panic in Washington, D.C. She showed slides during his presentation, after which she responded to questions from membe…

Eric Walther talked about Congress in 1860. Prior to the Civil War, secessionists in the thirty-sixth Congress worked actively to undermine the Union, both in Congress and around the South. …

In the keynote address, James Oakes talked about the emancipation debate during the secession crisis. Prior to the start of the Civil War, Washington, D.C., was deeply focused on the issues …