Jan 26, 2021
We review the history of resistance by enslaved people in the United States, and how the Civil War changed things, leading to widespread self-emancipation. We then talk about the intended scope of the amendment, its passage through moral arguments, solidarity, bribery, and self-interested political calculation, and...
Jan 21, 2021
John Brown leads a raid on Harper’s Ferry and becomes a martyr. The Republicans prepare for their first real shot at the presidency. The Democratic convention disintegrates, the Northern and Southern wings propose competing candidates, and the Deep South prepares for its exit. Lincoln is elected, Southern states...
Jan 19, 2021
In the wake of Prigg, Congress passes its worst law. Abolitionists debate whether the Constitution is pro-slavery, anti-slavery, or neutral. For love of a railroad, Stephen Douglas blows up the Missouri Compromise, and a preview of the Civil War breaks out in Kansas. The Republican Party coalesces out of disparate...
Jan 12, 2021
For hundreds of years, enslaved people resist and escape. The delegates’ initial compromises in 1787 give disproportionate influence to slaveholders. Additional compromises, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and Missouri Compromise, both recognize and limit slavery. (Some) Northerners become concerned about...
Jan 5, 2021
We’re back, with a new season about the next era of constitutional development: Reconstruction. Join us as we discuss the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments and surrounding events, America’s subsequent retreat from the promises of Reconstruction, and the continuing struggles these amendments...