these were radicals in the house like thaddeus stevens, the chairman of the ways and means committee. a very powerful leader. also people like henry winter davis, eliza washburn. in the senate, people like charles sumner and benjamin wade. and they really drove the agenda and pushed the lincoln administration not only to prosecute the war more vigorously, but to have a reconstruction after a war that was not so lenient toward southern states and was going to ensure that political rights were extended to african-americans. ms. elloitt: the war ends in 1865. i have you get to be first african-american members of congress? it does not happen right that day.

these were radicals in the house like thaddeus stevens, the chairman of the ways and means committee. a very powerful leader. also people like henry winter davis, eliza washburn. in the senate, people like charles sumner and benjamin wade. and they really drove the agenda and pushed the lincoln administration not only to prosecute the war more vigorously, but to have a reconstruction after a war that was not so lenient toward southern states and was going to ensure that political rights were extended to african-americans. ms. elloitt: the war ends in 1865. i have you get to be first african-american members of congress? it does not happen right that day. mr. wasniewski: it did not happen right away. the role of the radicals becomes more assertive after the end of the war. after lincoln was assassinated, president johnson takes over and has an even more lenient view than lincoln of how the southern states are going to be readmitted, and he is pushed constantly by the radical republicans. in a short time, roughly for five years, they pass a series of constitutional amendments and also l