Sean Wilentz Interview: The Contradiction of Slavery & Democracy

Wonderful, it is amazing how much there is still to be learned about Slavery, the Civil War, what people fought over I the 1960’s and later. I thought I knew a lot. After all, I was there/here and heard all the speeches. But now I have heard this and need to go back and hear it again with years of living with the results still leaking down the years. Mr Willetz and I are the same age, but our lives have run to different places and learning. Mr Willetz is amazing!

Outstanding content.

My 4th great grandfather fought in the civil war, the 8th USCT, enlisted in Paducah KY . This was excellent to listen to and learn

I tuned into this and have been fascinated by the details of the struggles over slavery, and the politics. It's an era I know something about but not that much. Also, it is clear to me from the conversational style of Sean Wilentz, that he is both thoughtful and knowledgeable, and, most importantly, that these events are live to him, and not just in the past.

Thank you. An amazing understanding of history and life.

My grandma great told me of standing on a hill watching Lincoln’s funeral train go by. She cried every time she told us about it.

It was difficult but necessary to listen to *un*emotionally. He brings up points, opinions and alternative approaches that are valid, if not exactly what are necessarily completely in agreement with or how others might interpret them. This is definitely worth "reading", re-reading, and re-reading again. It also deserves to be included into school curricula as "another viewpoint" to the standard. Well done, Mr. Wilentz, well done, Sir.

Well done.

Prof. Sean Wilentz's argument that slavery was a dilemma activated into a constitutional crisis by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is contained in the section that begins at 1:17:34 ("The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850") and ends at 1:29:35 ("Lincoln's misunderstood anti-slavery commitment"). What Prof. Wilentz says regarding Lincoln is that he represented one of many abolitionist orientations that achieved political power in the 1860 Election, and that for Lincoln and other abolitionists of his orientation, the dilemma was: how does one preserve the Constitution and get rid of slavery at the same time, given slavery was, in fact, constitutional? Other abolitionists-- whether politicians or regular citizens-- did not have that dilemma because for them the constitution (and therefore the Union) was less important, so that for them it was either/or. Not for Lincoln. whose only fundamental change in thinking had to do with deciding to emancipate by executive order in order to preserve the Union and end the constitutional crisis. I happen to think that when Gen. Pierre Beauregard's troops attacked Fort Sumter in April 1861, the constitutional crisis became moot; a federal installation of the U.S. government had been attacked and there would be a response-- and the Civil War began. The crisis would be resolved by winning or losing the war. If the United States of America had lost the war, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would not have meant anything for the Confederate States of America, which would have solidified its independence and maintained its slave economy.

This Is Fantastic. People should learn about this because of how cool the anti-slavery movement is. Tell DeSantis.

This is a really brilliant talk/interview. Sean is very eloquent and some of his language is very moving. Excellent.

🌿🇺🇲🌿 Clearly, it's an ongoing fissure. What a fantastic commentary. 🌿🇺🇲🌿

Canadian import @ 1963 5 years old and had never seen a black person. Still had Men. women. And Colored bathrooms at the local gas station. And drinking fountains. Things got better. Now things are going in reverse . Maybe it’s time to move back to Canada

We still have slavery, only in the form of economic slavery, slave wages, the ownership of land has always been the symbolic symbol of economic wealth and freedom, the wealth gap has never been greater than it is today, even immigration threaten this idea of democracy and Christianity, especially white Christian nationalism as education threaten them in todays division between the left and the right, which in many ways is hate labels, like right mean conservatism fascism and left mean liberal communism or socialism, another civil war is in no one best interests, there will be no winners if the radical extremists succeed in turning back the hands of progress etc etc…

Wonderful lecture

thank you!

Thanks!

Masterful synopsis.

Fascinating!!

I’m glad he talks fast enough