Louisiana and Black Suffrage The right to vote was eventually guaranteed in the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. But it was not a right that most Americans recognized before or during the Civil War. The question of suffrage for… Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Wade-Davis Bill The Wade-Davis Bill contained three Reconstruction demands, according to historian Allan Nevins: “One, a requirement that the new constitutions cancel all debts incurred in aid of the…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Reconstruction Mr. Lincoln had set out his reconstruction in his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction issued on December 8, 1863. It stated: “And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that whenever, in any of the States of…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Passage Contemporary journalist Noah Brooks wrote: “It should be recalled that the House on the previous occasion, when it failed to pass, June 15, 1864, gave the amendment 95 ayes to 66 noes, a two-thirds vote being necessary; and when the…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Congressional Debate President Lincoln took an active role in recruiting congressional supporters for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in January 1865. Historian Allen C. Guelzo wrote: “This time, the Radicals could scarcely oppose…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Republican National Convention Abolitionist dissidents meeting in Cleveland on May 30, 1864 included in their new party platform support for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. “When the regular Republicans met in convention the following…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

13th Amendment Much of Mr. Lincoln’s actions regarding emancipation were dictated by timing. Illinois attorney Leonard Swett said he spoke to President Lincoln in October 1863 about a constitutional… Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Fort Pillow “Southern whites were accustomed to looking upon black men as slaves, and it was hard for them to accept the idea that black soldiers were free men who must be treated according to the laws of war, not the laws of…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Louisiana and Massachusetts “Despite the service of black soldiers in the Revolution and the War of 1812, Negroes had been barred from state militias since 1792 and the regular army had never enrolled black soldiers. The prejudices of the old order died hard. Lincoln had…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Pay and Promotion Historian Marvin Cain wrote: “The Negro troops so enlisted were not given a bounty, but instead received only laborer’s pay, thus serving for $6 a month less than white soldiers. Angered by this discrimination…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >