ARTICLES

The Emancipation Proclamation changed the course of the Civil War, but it did not immediately free every enslaved person in the United States. Learn what Lincoln's 1863 proclamation did, where it applied, and why its limitations matter.

Bleeding Kansas turned the national debate over slavery into armed conflict. Learn how disputed elections, rival governments, the Sack of Lawrence, and retaliatory violence pushed the country closer to Civil War.

The Compromise of 1850 temporarily eased a national crisis over slavery and western expansion. Learn what its five measures did, why the Fugitive Slave Act caused outrage, and why the settlement could not prevent the Civil War.

The Underground Railroad was a secret network built on courage, cooperation, and enormous personal risk. Learn how freedom seekers, guides, and communities challenged slavery and helped people pursue freedom.