The second session of the first Republican-dominated Congress opened with many intent on destroying slavery as a means to win the war.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
The second session of the first Republican-dominated Congress opened with many intent on destroying slavery as a means to win the war.
A former U.S. vice president urges his fellow Kentuckians to resist the Federal occupation of their state.
Both Kentucky and Delaware try to stay neutral in the conflict, but Kentucky’s position greatly overshadows tiny Delaware’s.
The growing political, economic, and social differences in America were epitomized by the most crucial presidential election in the young nation’s history.
Jefferson Davis and his small Confederate escort reached the banks of the Oconee River in Georgia, while Federal forces rapidly closed in on them.
Jefferson Davis and his dwindling government-in-exile held what turned out to be their last council of war in their southward flight to avoid Federal capture.