ARTICLES

After the Civil War, the United States faced the difficult task of rebuilding the South and defining freedom for millions of formerly enslaved people. Explore Reconstruction's constitutional changes, political advances, resistance, and unfinished legacy.

On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. Discover how the final campaign unfolded, what Grant's surrender terms meant, and why Appomattox became the enduring symbol of the Civil War's end.