Five years ago Slate put out a well-regarded series on the history of American slavery. Unfortunately, it was behind a paywall and only Slate+ subscribers could hear it. Now the nine episodes are free to listen to. Here is the description of Episode 1 which looks at early English slavery in the colonies and the transformation of slavery in the late 1600s and early 1700s into a race-based regime that blocked all assertions of rights by Black people:
Slavery in America started out pretty bad in the 17th century. White colonists made it way, way worse in the 18th. What made this “terrible transformation” possible? In Episode 1 of the History of American Slavery, hosts Rebecca Onion and Jamelle Bouie explore how hereditary, race-based slavery took shape in colonial America. They begin their discussion by remembering the life of Anthony Johnson (1600?–70). Use the Player below to listen:
Our guests this episode are:
Ira Berlin, distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland and the author of Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Read an excerpt.
Peter Wood, professor emeritus at Duke University and the author of Strange New Land: African Americans, 1526–1776. Read an excerpt.
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