Lincoln's Last Speech: Wartime Reconstruction and the Crisis of Reunion

On April 11, 1865, only two days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Abraham Lincoln gave his final public address. Using this speech, author and Civil War historian Louis P. Masur traces the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas and debate over reconstruction policies during the war, allowing us to walk the path that brought him and the nation to reunion.

Louis P. Masur is Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Lincoln's Last Speech: Wartime Reconstruction and the Crisis of Reunion.