Civil War and Reconstruction
Justifying Secession
Jefferson Davis, Farewell Speech to the United States Congress
Jefferson Davis’s justification of secession and announcement of his loyalty to the seceding states.
Conducting the War
The Prize Cases (1863)
The Supreme Court decision holding that Lincoln’s 1861 blockade of Southern ports was Constitutional.
Ex Parte Vallandigham (1863)
A Supreme Court decision refusing to rule on whether the Lincoln Administration’s policy of sending civilians to military tribunals was legal.
Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation Suspending Writ of Habeas Corpus, 1863
1863 proclamation made by Abraham Lincoln suspending the writ of habeas corpus
Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Erastus Corning and Others (1863)
Lincoln’s response to a group that criticized his administration’s policy of suspending habeas corpus and other civil liberties.
Robert E Lee, Last Order (1865)
1865 "farewell address" delivered by Confederate commander Robert E. Lee to the Army of Northern Virginia
Saving the Union
Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address (1863)
1863 address delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery
Slavery and Emancipation
Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
1863 proclamation by Abraham Lincoln freeing enslaved people living in the states under rebellion.
Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Horace Greeley (1862)
Lincoln’s letter explaining his view on the emancipation of slaves early in the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
1862 proclamation by Abraham Lincoln promising to free enslaved people in the states under rebellion if the rebellious states did not rejoin the Union
Reconstructing the Nation
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