1865–1876 Archives

Echoes of Enslavement

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students discover “echoes of enslavement” in their own state — discrete sites of remembering, forgetting, honoring, lying, or distorting — in this lesson based on the book How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith.

“Mrs. Francis E. W. Harper,” portrait with Frances Harper’s name misspelled, taken from page 748 in The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters… printed by Porter & Coates (Philadelphia, 1872).

April 14, 1875: Frances Harper on Grassroots Organizing During Reconstruction

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper spoke in Philadelphia at the Centennial Anniversary of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, urging African Americans to continue organizing for justice.

Outdoor portrait of Navajo Treaty signers at Fort Sumner, June 1868.

June 1, 1868: Navajo Treaty of 1868

Bringing an end to the Navajo Wars, the Navajo Treaty of 1868 created a sovereign nation for the Navajo peoples and returned those interned at Fort Sumner following the Long Walk.

Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families

Book — Non-fiction. By Judith Giesberg. 2025. 336 pages.
The story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery.

The New Orleans Riot at Mechanics' Institute | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

July 30, 1866: New Orleans Massacre

The New Orleans Massacre occurred when white residents attacked Black marchers near the reconvened Louisiana Constitutional Convention.

Sept. 19, 1868: Camilla Massacre

As African Americans marched peacefully in response to their expulsion from elected office, more than a dozen were massacred near Albany, Georgia.

Voices of a People’s History of the United States, 10th Anniversary Edition

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. 2014. 704 pages.
Speeches, letters, poems, and songs for each chapter of A People’s History of the United States.

Haymarket: A Novel

Book — Fiction. By Martin Duberman. 2005. 330 pages.
Historical novel for high school and adults on the Haymarket struggle.

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery

Picture book. By Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 2013.
Story of John Price's escape to freedom with the help of the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue.

June 13, 1866: 14th Amendment Passed

The 14th Amendment to the constitution was passed, granting citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”

June 19, 1865: “Juneteenth” Emancipation Day

Juneteenth — June 19th, also known as Emancipation Day — Juneteenth — is one of the many commemorations of people seizing their freedom in the United States.

Marker stone at the Little Bighorn Battlefield, Montana.

June 25, 1876: Battle of the Greasy Grass (Battle of Little Big Horn)

Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho defended their land in the battle of the Greasy Grass (Battle of Little Big Horn).

Frances Harper, William Sylvis, Isaac Myers, and John Roy Lynch pictured. They were leaders of the Reconstruction Era in US history

When the Impossible Suddenly Became Possible: A Reconstruction Mixer

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 25 pages.
A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.

Teaching Activity by Adam Sanchez

Radical members of the first South Carolina legislature after the war.

Jan. 14, 1868: South Carolina Constitutional Convention

The South Carolina constitutional convention met with a majority of Black delegates, adopting a constitution that provided for all people regardless of race, economic class, or gender.

Company E 4th U.S. Colored Infantry at Fort Lincoln Photo

April 9, 1865: Civil War Officially Ends

The U.S. Civil War ended when the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in south-central Virginia.

May 25, 1865: Black Virginians Cast Freedom Ballots

African Americans tested their right to vote and when denied, cast their own “freedom ballots,” on election day in Norfolk, Virginia.

Feb. 3, 1868: First Freedmen’s Bureau Teacher Appointed in Lafayette Parish

Walter H. Williams was the first Black teacher appointed to a Freedmen’s Bureau School in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana during Reconstruction.

Feb. 26, 1870: Wyatt Outlaw Murdered

Wyatt Outlaw, a Union veteran who became the first Black town commissioner of Graham, North Carolina, was seized from his home and lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan known as the White Brotherhood, which controlled the county.

Juneteenth: Teaching Outside the Textbook

Juneteenth — June 19th, also known as Emancipation Day — is one of the commemorations of people seizing their freedom from slavery in the United States. Yet, if the right wing has its way, it will be illegal to teach students about Juneteenth.

Sept. 6, 1870: Black Women Vote in Wyoming

Following a suffrage bill that recognized women’s right to vote and hold public office in Wyoming, Black women there became the first to vote in a U.S. territory in 1870.

Oct. 19, 1870: First African Americans Elected to the House of Representatives

For the first time, African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives in 1870.

Oct. 25, 1868: St. Bernard Parish Massacre

The St. Bernard Parish massacre of African Americans was carried out by white men to terrorize the recently emancipated voters in Louisiana.

Oct. 30, 1870: Protest of Racist Policies on Streetcars in Louisville

Reconstruction era protest of racist discrimination on streetcars in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dec. 6, 1865: 13th Amendment Ratified

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially ended the institution of slavery.

A Peoples History of the United States Book | Zinn Education Project

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005, with a new introduction by Anthony Arnove in 2015. 784 pages.
Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details lives and facts rarely included in textbooks—an indispensable teacher and student resource.

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