National Park Service

The Civil War: 150 Years. National Park Service Sesquicentennial Commemoration.

Then: March 2, 1861

The Price of Peace

Former slave showing scars from whippings

To avoid war, Congress passes a constitutional amendment to protect slavery. Lincoln in his inaugural address says "I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable."

Now: July 29, 2008

A Long Due Apology

Seal of the United States Congress

146 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the United States House of Representatives passes a resolution apologizing for the "injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity" of slavery and Jim Crow laws.

« Back