This paper investigates the role of Henry S. Lane in Reconstruction politics and how it challenges traditional historiography by investigating political speeches and actions during this controversial time in American history. While many scholars focused on Lane’s early political career and involvement in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln as a Republican candidate for the 1860 presidential nomination, a historical ambiguity, or gap, forms as traditional narratives conclude the senator’s political career in 1865, despite his ending in March 1867. This gap in the historical narration of Lane’s life obscures the senator’s final push to mend the societal wounds caused by the American Civil War and create a nation that firmly stands by its founding promises of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” His involvement in the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill of 1865 and 1866, the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, and the February 8th, 1866, Congressional speech titled “Reconstruction and Amendments to the Constitution” frames Lane as an active contributor to Reconstruction politics. Lane’s dedication to the implementation of civil rights and advocacy to hold the South accountable for their treasonous actions toward the United States serves as a case study to view the complexity of the Reconstruction Era through the eyes of a Southern-born, Northern politician.