The Founders' Library

Civil War and Reconstruction

Share

The Historic Documents in this set cover the Civil War and Reconstruction from 1861 to 1877.  During this period, Americans engaged in a bloody Civil War and debated how best to reconstruct the nation to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence. These debates culminated in our nation’s first civil rights laws and the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.  Many scholars refer to this period as America’s “Second Founding.

Selected by

Allen C. Guelzo

Director, Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University

Darrell A.H. Miller

Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law

Civil War and Reconstruction Documents

Loading...
The Constitution