“We gave up the Confederate Government. We gave up slavery. There is no reason why a colored voter should not seek the welfare of the country to which he has so many ties. The ends to be sought by good white men and good black men, in the act of voting, are precisely the same. Both want good laws and a good administration of them.”

In “We have a Duty to Perform” – the first episode of Season 2 of Hidden Legal Figures - we probe into the competing legal and political viewpoints that led to the beginning of Reconstruction and we introduce some major figures that were central to the legal efforts associated with it.