Unit 7: America’s Second Founding: Slavery, the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction

Constitution 101 with Khan Academy

Learn about the history of slavery in America, the constitutional legacy of the Civil War, the push for emancipation, and the ways in which the Reconstruction Amendments transformed the Constitution forever.

Videos in Playlist: 27

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Videos in Unit 7 Playlist

Why did the Reconstruction Republicans push for the 14th Amendment?
(Run time: 2:42 minutes)
Why did President Lincoln and his Republican allies push for the 13th Amendment?
(Run time: 2:17 minutes)
How would you describe slavery at America's founding?
(Run time: 4:07 minutes)
How did the Louisiana Purchase and the Missouri Compromise shape early debates over slavery?
(Run time: 5:42 minutes)
How did Abraham Lincoln root his anti-slavery politics in America’s founding?
(Run time: 3:45 minutes)
Why was the 15th Amendment important?
(Run time: 3:31 minutes)
What is the importance of the “criminal exception” language in the 13th Amendment?
(Run time: 2:55 minutes)
How did the Reconstruction Republicans secure ratification of the 15th Amendment?
(Run time: 6:01 minutes)
What is the constitutional legacy of Reconstruction?
(Run time: 1:42 minutes)
What divided President Johnson and the Republican Congress at the height of Reconstruction?
(Run time: 5:02 minutes)
What was Reconstruction?
(Run time: 1:21 minutes)
Who was Phillis Wheatley?
(Run time: 1:36 minutes)
Who was John Bingham?
(Run time: 6:35 minutes)
What were the debates over President Lincoln’s use of presidential power during the Civil War?
(Run time: 6:51 minutes)

What is the constitutional legacy of the Civil War?
(Run time: 4:36 minutes)
What were the final events that led to Southern secession and the Civil War?
(Run time: 4:36 minutes)
How did the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act reshape the debates over slavery?
(Run time: 6:09 minutes)
Is the Constitution a pro-slavery or anti-slavery document?
(Run time: 5:54 minutes)
How did the anti-slavery movement use the Declaration of Independence to attack slavery?
(Run time: 3:47 minutes)
Why was Frederick Douglass an important figure in the fight against slavery?
(Run time: 4:00 minutes)
What role did the issue of slavery play at the Constitutional Convention?
(Run time: 4:03 minutes)
What role did African Americans play in the push for the 15th Amendment?
(Run time: 2:07 minutes)
Why is the 13th Amendment important?
(Run time: 2:25 minutes)
Why is President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address important?
(Run time: 2:35 minutes)
Who was David Walker?
(Run time: 1:18 minutes)
Was Southern secession unconstitutional?
(Run time: 6:32 minutes)

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Unit 7: America’s Second Founding: Slavery, the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction

Constitution 101 with Khan Academy

Videos in Unit 7 Playlist

More from the National Constitution Center

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Explore the Constitution

Dive Deeper

Constitution 101 Course

Start your constitutional learning journey

America’s Town Hall

Watch videos of recent programs

Constitution 101 Curriculum

Explore our new 15-unit high school curriculum.

Address

Hours

New exhibit

The First Amendment

Unit 7: America’s Second Founding: Slavery, the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction

Constitution 101 with Khan Academy

Videos in Unit 7 Playlist

More from the National Constitution Center

Constitution 101

Media Library

Founders’ Library

Education

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