Historian Steven Hahn discusses how slavery in American history changed because of the Civil Rights Movement, understanding enslavement through narratives, memoirs, interviews and other historical documents, resistance by the enslaved, and Abolition vs. anti-slavery.
Steven Hahn received his PhD at Yale University and is currently Professor of History at New York University. He is a specialist on the international history of slavery, emancipation, and race, on the construction of American empire, and on the social and political history of the “long nineteenth century” in the United States. He has written for The Nation, Dissent, The New Republic, Le Monde Diplomatique, and The New York Times, as well as for the American Historical Review, and Past and Present. He is the author of The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry; A Nation under Our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration (winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Bancroft Prize, and Merle Curti Prize); The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom, and A Nation without Borders: The United States and Its World in an Age of Civil Wars, 1830-1910. Hahn has been actively involved in projects making history and liberal arts education available to a wider public, and is currently teaching in NYU’s Prison Education Program.
The Apple TV+ series "Lincoln's Dilemma," features insights from journalists, educators and scholars, as well as rare archival materials, that offer a more nuanced look into the life of the Great Emancipator. Set against the background of the Civil War, "Lincoln's Dilemma" also gives voice to the narratives of enslaved people, shaping a more complete view of an America divided over issues including economy, race and humanity, and underscoring Lincoln's battle to save the country, no matter the cost. The series is narrated by award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright ("Angels in America") and features the voices of actor Bill Camp ("The Night Of") as Lincoln and Leslie Odom Jr. ("Hamilton") as Frederick Douglas.
To view the entire series please visit:
https://tv.apple.com/us/show/lincolns-dilemma/umc.cmc.7003fizrrxznfhz1s20vv7ewy
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Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Introduction
00:15 - Slavery in American history
04:01 - The Haitian Revolution’s influence
12:17 - How to look at labor relations and resistance
20:17 - Family life for enslaved people
25:50 - Lincoln’s belief in free labor
28:07 - Lincoln’s empathy and its limits
33:48 - Enslaved people’s growing political awareness
42:06 - Who shaped U.S. political history
47:51 - Abolition v. anti-slavery
55:48 - Potential political allies for enslaved people
01:04:08 - Enslaved people punished for seeking freedom
01:07:18 - The story of the escaped slave, Harry Jarvis
01:11:25 - Refuting the myth of Black support for the Confederacy
01:15:49 - Understanding enslavement through storytelling
01:24:54 - Curating the national narratives of slavery
01:31:13 - A critical assessment of Lincoln’s position on slavery
01:39:59 - The view of emancipation from different lenses
01:42:08 - How the courage of Black soldiers influenced Lincoln
Steven Hahn, Historian, New York University
Interview Date: November 11, 2020
Interviewed by: Jackie Olive and Barak Goodman
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