The War of 1812 pitted the fledgling United States against Great Britain in a second war of independence. But what factors influenced Congress’ contentious decision to declare war in the first place?

Issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln almost three years into the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation played a crucial role in ending slavery across the United States and defining the principles that still govern the country today.

After the American Civil War, the American South attempted a rebrand. But would it accept the progressive social and political changes of the Reconstruction Era?