Videos

Legal historian Paul Finkelman and Harvard law Professor Randall Kennedy presented talks on the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Reconstruction era. Paul Finkelman detailed why he belie…

University of Kentucky history professor Mark Summers talked about the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. This event was part of a symposium hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Socie…

Clemson University history professor Orville Vernon Burton talked about the origins of the 14th Amendment, and why it was essential and necessary to ratify after the South’s defeat in the Ci…

A panel of historians took questions on the 14th Amendment and Reconstruction era. This question and answer session was part of a symposium hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society comm…

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction era. The amendment’s first clause, known as the “Citizenship Clause,” states that “All per…

Author and law professor Rebecca Zietlow looked at the life and work of James Mitchell Ashley, an abolitionist and Republican congressman from Ohio during the Civil War and early Reconstruct…

Eric Foner talked about the challenges of establishing civil rights for freedmen in the Reconstruction period and beyond. This talk was part of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s annual s…

Paul Finkelman talked about the military trial of Henry Wirz, the Confederate commander of Andersonville Prison, where approximately 13,000 Union prisoners died. The concept of war crimes wa…

Gregory Downs talked about the role of Congress following the end of the Civil War. Professor downs said that when Congress met in December of 1865, occupation of the South, resignation of w…

Virginia Tech history professor Peter Wallensetin talked about the reconvening of Congress following the Civil War and how it attempted to address the end of slavery. “Restoration’s Unfin…

Carole Emberton talked about the pervasion of poverty among freed slaves during Reconstruction. She described the government’s attempt to provide aid by establishing the Freedmen’s Bureau, a…

Matthew Pinsker talked about Stephen Spielberg’s film, Lincoln, analyzing what was fact and what was Hollywood fiction. Professor Pinsker spoke about the historical significance of the event…

Albany Law School professor Paul Finkelman talked about the Dakota Sioux rebellion that took place in 1862 in the midst of the Civil War. Mr. Finkelman spoke about the political and military…

This week on The Civil War, author Iver Bernstein discussed the causes and consequences of the New York City Draft Riots of mid-July 1863, that resulted from the federal draft for additional…

Arizona State University history professor Brooks Simpson talked about the Lieutenant General Act of 1864. The act made Ulysses S. Grant a lieutenant general and gave him command of the Unio…

This week on The Civil War, we hear from Mischa Honeck, an author and research fellow at the German Historical Institute, who talks about German immigrants and their motivations for fighting…

This week on The Civil War, the closing discussion from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s 2012 Civil War Symposium. Several of the symposium’s presenters take questions from the audience…

Author Nikki Taylor talked about the issue of citizenship among free African Americans, and the story of Cincinnati’s Black Brigade. Then, history professor Diane Barnes talked about the abo…

This week on The Civil War, two speakers from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s 2012 Civil War Symposium. First, author Fergus Bordewich talks about the Joint Committee on the Conduct of…

On October 16, 1859, John Brown and 21 followers went to Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to strike a blow against slavery. The raid failed, but ignited the slavery debate. Sixteen months later, the…