Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 13 (of 20)

This volume brings listeners into the heated early days of Reconstruction, capturing Senator Charles Sumner’s urgent pleas for a truly republican government. From the opening day of the 1865 congressional session, Sumner presents a series of bills and resolutions aimed at securing voting rights, impartial juries, and constitutional guarantees for newly freed citizens. His speeches are recorded in full, offering a vivid portrait of a legislator battling a nation still torn by war.

The collection also reveals Sumner’s fierce critiques of presidential policies and his relentless push for civil‑rights legislation, especially concerning the District of Columbia and the former Confederate states. Listeners will hear the cadence of 19th‑century oratory, the precise language of proposed amendments, and the passionate arguments that set the stage for the larger conflicts of the era. It’s an essential window into the political and moral struggles that shaped the United States in the aftermath of slavery.