logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2022
36m 32s

Civil War | Finding Freedom | 8

Wondery
About this episode

During the Civil War, Black people in America took the opportunity to free themselves and to serve the Union cause. At great personal risk, tens of thousands of refugees -- men, women and children -- fled Southern slave owners for Union lines. They enlisted in the Union Army and served as cooks, laundresses, nurses and even spies. On today’s show, Wayne State University history professor Kidada Williams joins host Lindsay Graham for a conversation about the Black experience during the Civil War. Professor Williams is host of the podcast Seizing Freedom, which tells stories of Black Americans’ quest for liberty, equality and joy.

Listen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/historytellers

Support us by supporting our sponsors!


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Yesterday
Evolution on Trial | A Clash of Giants | 1
In 1925, the famous politician and presidential contender William Jennings Bryan returned to the limelight to lead a new crusade against the teaching of evolution. With Bryan’s support, Tennessee became the first state to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools.The Americ ... Show More
38m 28s
Jul 2
Typhoid Mary | Cook, Carrier, Captive | 3
In 1906, a New York health department investigation into an outbreak of typhoid fever led to the discovery that a cook, Mary Mallon, was an unsuspecting ""healthy carrier"" of the deadly bacteria. This discovery forever altered Mallon’s life, thrusting her into a national spotlig ... Show More
41m 2s
Jun 25
Typhoid Mary | Destroying Angel | 2
After spending two years in forced isolation on a remote island in the East River, Mary Mallon fought back, insisting that she posed no danger to the public and city officials had overstepped their authority in keeping her against her will. She finally managed to secure her freed ... Show More
34m 28s
Recommended Episodes
May 2019
The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age: An Interview with Stanford's Professor Richard White
The Civil War and its decades-long aftermath continue to define American life well into the twenty-first century. Today we chat with Stanford's Professor Richard White, author of The Republic For Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-18 ... Show More
44m 20s
Nov 2019
The Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation
During the 1870s, more than a dozen African American men, many of whom had been born into slavery, were elected to the U.S. Congress. These political pioneers symbolized the sky high hopes of millions of former slaves during the years right after the Civil War. It was a period th ... Show More
44m 31s
Feb 2024
Origins of the Civil War
The war between the Union and the Confederacy is a major turning point in the history of the United States. But why did it happen? From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith explore how the ... Show More
34m 54s
Feb 2021
Classic Tides | Boxing, Race, and the Gilded Age: An Interview with Professor Louis Moore
Boxing has a long past, one deeply connected to race, labor, and broader developments in American history. Professor Louis Moore joins me to talk about those topics and about his outstanding book, I Fight For a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915.Find Profe ... Show More
36m 30s
Feb 2024
Introducing: Black History, For Real
A 109 year old Black woman fights for reparations for her neighborhood that was burned to the ground when she was a child. The first woman on to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List was a Black Panther. The richest person of all time, an African king, gave away so much gold that ... Show More
19s
Oct 2023
What if the South Won the Civil War?
What if the Civil War had ended differently, with the South seceding from the Union? Would slavery have continued? Would the southern states have continued as a whole? Would any other states have followed suit? To explore this hypothetical history, Don spoke to Aaron Sheehan-Dean ... Show More
42m 24s