America’s Long Struggle Against Slavery

Overview

Witness the centuries-long fight against the institution of slavery from the western coast of Africa to the plantations and battlefields of America.

Course Details

This comprehensive course explores the lengthy and complex history of the fight against slavery, from its origins to the post-Civil War era. With 30 insightful lectures, you will discover:

• The roots of resistance to slavery in Africa and the Americas.
• The significant figures and events that shaped the abolitionist movement.
• The evolution of societal norms and legal structures related to slavery.

Professor Richard Bell leads you through a narrative filled with resistance, oppression, and the enduring fight for freedom, providing a balanced view of this critical period in American history.

Video Lessons

1. Understanding the Fight against Slavery (25 min)

• Overview of resistance among enslaved Africans in the 17th and 18th centuries.

1. Origins of Slavery in the British Empire (26 min)

• The development of the slave trade and its early impact.

1. Opposing the African Slave Trade (26 min)

• Strategies employed by Africans to resist capture.

1. Shipboard Rebellion and Resistance (29 min)

• Resistance occurrences on slave ships.

1. A Free Black Family in Colonial Virginia (25 min)

• The story of Anthony Johnson and the complexities of early black life.

1. Quakers and Puritans Join the Fight (29 min)

• The role of Quakers in the anti-slavery movement.

1. Thomas Thistlewood’s Plantation Revolution (25 min)

• Insights into the plantation economy and its control tactics.

1. Phibbah Thistlewood: Sleeping with the Enemy (29 min)

• Women’s roles in resistance movements.

1. Slave Insurrections in the 18th Century (30 min)

• Significant uprisings like the Stono Rebellion.

1. Maroons: Those Who Escaped (27 min)

• The lives and struggles of runaway slaves.

1. Three Quaker Activists (29 min)

• Influential figures in early abolitionism.

1. Slavery in the War for Independence (27 min)

• Black participation in the Revolutionary War.

1. Taking Slavery to Court (28 min)

• Legal disputes challenging slavery in Northern states.

1. Charles Pinckney’s Counterrevolution (27 min)

• The blueprint for slavery in the U.S. Constitution.

1. The Haitian Revolution (27 min)

• The only successful large-scale slave revolt.

1. Founding the Free Black Churches (28 min)

• The establishment of religious institutions post-Revolution.

1. The Second Middle Passage (27 min)

• Domestic slave trade dynamics.

1. “Our Native Country”: Opposing Colonization (30 min)

• The debate about colonizing free blacks.

1. David Walker, Nat Turner, and Black Immediatism (27 min)

• Radical activists pushing for immediate abolition.

1. William Lloyd Garrison’s “Thousand Witnesses” (26 min)

• The shift to more aggressive abolitionist movements.

1. Surviving King Cotton (24 min)

• The realities faced by slaves in the cotton economy.

1. Roger Taney: Nationalizing Slavery (30 min)

• The legacy of Taney’s Supreme Court decisions.

1. Frederick Douglass and Aggressive Abolition (24 min)

• Douglass’s contributions to the abolitionist cause.

1. Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Tubman (31 min)

• The impact of literature and activism.

1. The Black Heart of John Brown (27 min)

• The complexities surrounding Brown’s legacy.

1. The Slaves’ Experience of the Civil War (25 min)

• Perspectives of enslaved individuals during the war.

1. US Colored Troops: Those Who Served (25 min)

• Contributions and challenges faced by black soldiers.

1. Fighting Slavery after Emancipation (25 min)

• Struggles for justice in the post-war context.

1. Slavery by Another Name (17 min)

• Understanding legacies of slavery post-Civil War.

1. Fighting Modern Slavery (22 min)

• Ongoing issues surrounding slavery and human trafficking.