On this day in 1865, eight months after the end of the war, the 13th Amendment was ratified, ending slavery. Also on this day in 1973 Congress confirmed Gerald Ford as Vice President. On to today's top election stories, beginning with "The Speech":

"Crucial Test for Romney in Speech on His Religion" (Michael Luo, New York Times) Whether it's the "biggest moment" in his campaign, as reporter Luo writes, Mitt Romney's speech today in Texas is certainly one of the most anticipated. It's scheduled for 10:30 am ET.

More on "The Speech":

"Romney to Take on Issue of Faith -- Vaguely" (Elizabeth Holmes, Wall Street Journal)
"Question of Faith in '08 Race" (Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune)
"Candidate Will Be on Familiar Turf for His Faith Address" (Michael Levenson, Boston Globe)

"As N.H. Primary Nears, Clinton Clings to Narrow Lead" (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post) A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Hillary Clinton with a 6-point lead over Barack Obama (35% to 29%). While still at a comfortable 9.6-point lead in the RCP Average, the race there is narrowing.

"Clinton, Edwards up the ante on foreclosures" (Peter G. Gosselin and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times) Almost as soon as Hillary Clinton was finished calling for a five-year freeze on mortgage rate hikes, John Edwards, never to be out "populisted," called for a seven-year freeze.

"Oprah Event Outgrows Arena" (Gina Smith, The State) First scheduled for the 18,000-seat Colonial Center in Colombia, S.C., Sunday's Obama-Oprah rally was moved to the 80,000-seat University football stadium. The campaign doesn't expect to fill the stadium, it said, only that everyone who wanted to attend now could.

"Huckabee Defends His Role in Ark. Rapist's Parole Case" (Susan Milligan, Boston Globe) Mike Huckabee has been on the defensive before, most notably on his tax record, but the case of a convicted rapist then-Gov. Huckabee released who then murdered two women could prove the most damaging.

"Rise a Surprise to All But Huckabee" (Stephen Dinan, Washington Times) In a better Huckabee news, reporter Dinan gives readers a look into the voters who are contributing to the Huck surge.

"Schilling for McCain" (Dan Tuohy, New Hampshire Union Leader) If you thought Rudy Giuliani's rooting for the Red Sox this past October was going to endear him to the players, think again.

"Obama Calling Youth to Service" (Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune) Campaigning on Iowa campuses yesterday, Obama said that calling the youth to serve would be a "a cause of my presidency."

"Clinton Volunteer Quits Over Obama Email" (Nedra Pickler, Associated Press) A vignette about how small actions by unassuming campaign volunteers can lead to major (for Iowa) uproars.

Get these and today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Election page.