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Illustration of the funeral procession of the late Captain Cailloux, 1863.

The Case for Posthumously Awarding André Cailloux the Congressional Medal of Honor

Cailloux’s valor, and the Black troops he led in battle, electrified northern opinion and gave federal race policy a strong jolt.
Painting of Lincoln and his cabinet by M.S. Carpenter, 1863.

Did the Constitution Pave the Way to Emancipation?

In his new book, The Crooked Path to Abolition, James Oakes argues that the Constitution was an antislavery document.
Portrait of Robert Carter III

Like Washington and Jefferson, He Championed Liberty. Unlike the Founders, He Freed his Slaves

The little-known story of Robert Carter III.
‘The Proposed Emigrant Dumping Site’; cartoon by Victor Gillam from Judge magazine, March 22, 1890

Whose Freedom?

On the ways that people have conflated freedom with whiteness but pays too little attention to the force of freedom as a concept.
A cartoon by Thomas Nast, depicting Johnson as a king and the race riots that occurred at a Radical Republican convention in New Orleans.

‘The Failed Promise’ Review: The Mad King and the Lost Cause

Frederick Douglass and Republican legislators had high hopes for Andrew Johnson—but ended up impeaching him.
Statue of Dred Scott and wife

Allegiance, Birthright, and Race in America

What the Dred Scott v. Sandford case meant for black citizenship.
"Head of a Negro" (1777 or 1778), by John Singleton Copley.

The Declaration of Independence’s Debt to Black America

When African Americans allied themselves with the British, the Patriots were enraged, and they acted.
Restaurant with 'Help Wanted' sign
partner

‘Help Wanted’ Signs Indicate Lack of Decent Job Offers, Not People Unwilling to Work

The 19th-century antecedent to today’s complaints of labor shortage.
Tucker Carlson wearing a t-shirt with a photograph of Abraham Lincoln on it.

The Right May Be Giving Up the “Lost Cause,” but What’s Next Could Be Worse

The GOP’s new embrace of Lincoln, emancipation, and Juneteenth is no sign of progress.
A group of formerly enslaved people at a county almshouse, c. 1900.

Juneteenth Is About Freedom

On Juneteenth, we should remember both the struggle against chattel slavery and the struggle for radical freedom during Reconstruction.
Laundresses with Union soldiers, circa 1863.

On Juneteenth, Three Stirring Stories of How Enslaved People Gained Their Freedom

Millions of Americans gained freedom from slavery in a slow-moving wave of emancipation during the Civil War and in the months afterward.
Ashton Villa in Galveston

Celebrating Juneteenth in Galveston

I had sung the Black National Anthem countless times, but hearing those words reverberate around me in this place, on this day, moved me in a new way.
Map of Indian Territory

The Troubling Paradox of Slavery in Indian Territory

My ancestors were enslaved—but their freedom came at a price for others.
Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Keckley over a map of Washington DC.

How Black Women Brought Liberty to Washington in the 1800s

A new book shows us the capital region's earliest years through the eyes and the experiences of leaders like Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Keckley.
Thaddeus Stevens

The Radicalism of Thaddeus Stevens

Thaddeus Stevens understood far better than most that fully uprooting slavery meant overthrowing the South’s economic system and challenging property rights.
Prince Hall portrait

A Forgotten Black Founding Father

Why I’ve made it my mission to teach others about Prince Hall.
Picture of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

On Abraham Lincoln’s Convoluted Plan For the Abolition of Slavery

Although he did not openly endorse every one of the many precepts of the antislavery Constitution, Lincoln framed his positions entirely within its parameters.
Statue of "Freedom" on top of the U.S. Capitol

Philip Reed, The Enslaved Man Who Rescued Freedom

The ironies abound in the story of Reed, who made it possible to erect the statue that remains on the top of the Capitol dome today.
African American men who escaped slavery at a US Army Camp.

John Wolcott Phelps’ Emancipation Proclamation

The story of John Wolcott Phelps and his push for Lincoln to emancipate all slaves.
Lithograph of William Costin.

The Mount Vernon Slave Who Made Good: The Mystery of William Costin

David O. Stewart discusses the relationship between William Costin and the Washington bloodline.
Breakfast Room at Belle Grove Plantation in White Chapel, Louisiana

Troubled Indemnity

A history of the United States shifting the financial burden of emancipation onto enslaved people.
Freedmen's memorial.

Of, By & For the Freedmen

On the aesthetics and history of the Freedman’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Why 'Glory' Still Resonates More Than Three Decades Later

Newly added to Netflix, the Civil War movie reminds the nation that black Americans fought for their own emancipation.

For the First Time, America May Have an Anti-Racist Majority

Not since Reconstruction has there been such an opportunity for the advancement of racial justice.

Racist Litter

A review of Eric Foner's The Second Founding.
A drawing of the National Emancipation Monument.

The Statue That Never Was

How a monument that championed black sacrifice in the name of emancipation was forgotten.

The True Story of the Freed Slave Kneeling at Lincoln’s Feet

The Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C., has become a flashpoint in today’s reckoning with racist statues.
Emancipation Memorial seen through fence grating

What Frederick Douglass Had to Say About Monuments

In a newly discovered letter, the famed abolitionist wrote that ‘no one monument could be made to tell the whole truth'
Portrait of George Washington bathed in light while his enslaved personal servant, William Lee, is behind him in the shadows.

George and Martha Washington Enslaved 300 People. Let’s Start With Their Names

The man who supposedly never told a lie figured out how to stretch the truth when it came to human bondage.
Freedmen's Memorial

Yes, the Freedmen’s Memorial Uses Racist Imagery. But Don’t Tear It Down.

Keep in mind what it meant to the people who created it.

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