The 39th Congress of the U.S. was one of the most important Congresses in the nation’s history.
Meeting as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, it was the Congress that enacted legislation and proposed a constitutional amendment that was designed to secure the peace and prevent future wars. It passed more legislation than any other Congress up to that time. Among the most important statutes enacted was the act creating the Freedman’s & Refuges Bureau, the 1866 Civil Rights Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment.
The University of Akron Constitutional Law Center’s 39th Congress project addresses the important and continuing role of the actions of this Congress by posting materials about the 39th Congress, providing links to research materials about it, and biographical articles concerning members of the 39th Congress.
Articles
On Misreading John Bingham and the Fourteenth Amendment, Richard L. Aynes
The 39th Congress (1865-1867) and the 14th Amendment: Some Preliminary Perspectives, Richard L. Aynes
The Antislavery and Abolitionist Background of John A. Bingham, Richard L. Aynes
The Continuing Importance of Congressman John A. Bingham and the Fourteenth Amendment, Richard L. Aynes
The Impeachment and Removal of Tennessee Judge West Humphreys: John Bingham's Prologue to the Johnson Impeachment Trial, Richard L. Aynes
Student Work
Martin Welker: Ohio's Unsung Hero, Aaron Boothby
William Lawrence: Perspectives of a Reconstruction Republican on the 14th Amendment, Jeremy D. Burkhart
Robert Cumming Schenck: Ohio's Bitter, Fearless Fighter, Devin C. Capece
James M. Ashley, Robin J. Lau
Biography of Rufus Paine Spalding, Daniel J. Petricini