In the spring of 1865, the United States celebrated the end of four years of Civil War. As American soldiers laid down their weapons, four million formerly enslaved Black people in the South grappled with the daunting task of building new lives as free citizens in a nation still deeply divided over race.
With the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the challe ... Show More
Jun 2023
Reconstruction Era | The Radical Revolution | 2
<p>In December 1865, the first postwar Congress convened in Washington, D.C. With Black Southerners still facing rampant violence and discrimination, the Republican majority blocked the former Confederate states from rejoining the Union.</p><p>Determined to protect Black rights a ... Show More
42 m
Jun 2023
Reconstruction Era | Impeachment | 3
<p>In the spring of 1867, over President Andrew Johnson’s veto, the Republican-controlled Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts, putting the U.S. Army in control of the South and giving Black Southerners expanded political rights. For the first time they organized and attended ... Show More
42m 2s
Jun 2023
Reconstruction Era | The Bloody Chasm | 4
<p>In 1870, the ratification of the 15th Amendment enshrined Black men’s right to vote in the Constitution. Senator Hiram Revels became the first Black man to serve in Congress. Across the South, Black men were elected to office in unprecedented numbers.</p><p>But soon, the Ku Kl ... Show More
41m 29s
May 2019
The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age: An Interview with Stanford's Professor Richard White
<p>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 <em>The Republic For Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, ... 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
<p>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?</p><br><p>From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith ex ... Show More
34m 54s