Historical Documents

S.123 — 38th Congress (1863-1865)
S.123 - A Bill To abolish slavery throughout all the States and Territories of the United States.
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Broadside of John Brown's Last Speech
John Brown's Speech to the Court at his Trial
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
John Brown Entrance Into Hell Song
John Brown's Entrance Into Hell.
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Liberator
The Liberator Comments on Nat Turner’s Insurrection
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Lee Letter
Robert E. Lee’s Demand for the Surrender of John Brown and His Party
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Additional Article to the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Sam Waterson
Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address, as read by Sam Waterston May 23, 2004
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Hand written Emancipation Proclamation 1863
Emancipation Proclamation 1863
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Amendments Proposed by the Peace Conference, February 8-27, 1861
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Reconstruction Amendments 1865-1870
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Charleston Mercury Article
The Insurrection
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Pamphlet
Democratic ticket. Our principals the Constitution. For President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky For Vice President Joseph Lane of Oregon
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Lincoln Assassination Headline
Announcement to the Army of the Death of President Lincoln
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
William Styron
The Confessions of William Styron by Yvonne French
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
John Brown Constitution Cover Page
Pamphlet, John Brown’s "Provisional Constitution and Ordinances for the People of the United States"
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Court Proceedings and Testimony Regarding the Denmark Vesey Rebellion
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Rep. Joe Courtney
Ahead of Oscars, Courtney asks Spielberg, DreamWorks to correct Lincoln inaccuracy that places Connecticut on wrong side of slavery debate
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Lincoln First Inaugural Address
First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Amendments Proposed in Congress by Senator John J. Crittenden
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Argument of Roger S. Baldwin Before the Supreme Court in the Case of U.S. Appellants vs. Cinque, and Other, Africans of the Amistad
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Mary Todd Lincoln letter
Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd Lincoln
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Cover Page
Fear of Insurrection: Chapter 12 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Lincoln, Hollywood, and an Opportunity for Historians- Excerpt
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Lincoln and Hamlin Image
Book Review by Chandra Miller Manning
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Amnesty Oath
Amnesty Oath of Robert E. Lee
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Abolition/Slavery Timeline
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
New York Daily Tribune, “Freedom Triumphant”
New York Daily Tribune, “Freedom Triumphant”
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
This political cartoon illustrates James Buchanan beset by figures who employ quotes from the Ostend Manifesto to legitimize their criminal acts.
Ostend Manifesto
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Fugitive Slave Bill Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Thoreau
A Plea for Captain John Brown- Excerpts
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Corwin Amendment
Joint Resolution Proposing a 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
H.R. 14
H.R.14 — 38th Congress (1863-1865)
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Ticket
Maryland state ticket. Election, Tuesday November 6th, 1860...For President of the United States John Bell of Tennessee. For Vice President of the United States, Edward Everett of Massachusetts
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

Collections

Lincoln at the Time of the Cooper Union Speech
Lincoln, the Orator by Harold Holzer
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Statue of the Freed Slave
The Slaves Freed, by Stephen Oates
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
John Brown
The Father of American Terrorism, by Ken Chowder
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
John Brown, the Abolitionist
The Father of American Terrorism, by Ken Chowder
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Abraham Lincoln & Hannibal Hamlin
America’s Oddest Election, by Harold Holzer
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

Historical Images

James Buchanan surrounded by criminal quoting the Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Doctrine
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Lincoln Photo
Abraham Lincoln on the day of his speech at the Cooper Union
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Lincoln cartoon
The National Game. Three "Outs" and One "Run" – Abraham Winning the Ball
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Secession Movement Political Cartoon
The "Secession Movement"
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Douglas Letter
Bust of Stephen Douglas over Northern Democratic Party's presidential campaign shield
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Stonewall Jackson
General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Political Cartoon
A Family Quarrel, or the Reason Why.
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Harvest of Death
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg. A Harvest of Death
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Freedmen's Bureau Cartoon
"The Freedman's Bureau"
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Sheet Music
“The Battle-Cry of Freedom” with Confederate Lyrics
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Jefferson Davis captured
[Jefferson Davis dressed in women's clothing being captured in a tent by two Union soldiers as two women and an African American man look on] / Francis Hacker.
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)