The Reckoning: Facing the Legacy of Slavery in America
by Spotlight Media LLC · 18 episodes
HistorySocietyCulture
The Reckoning traces the history and lasting impact of slavery in America by looking at how the institution unfolded in Kentucky. The state remained in the Union during the Civil War, but many white Kentuckians fought to hang onto slavery and the wealth the enslaved provided. In the years that followed, former Unionists and Confederates banded together to violently deny black citizens a seat at the table. As part of this story, we will meet members of two families, one white and one black, whose lives were intertwined through slavery. These families reflect how slavery touched nearly every person, place...
Latest episodes
-
28 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: Aftermath
In the wake of Lincoln’s murder, the Confederates successfully derailed efforts to connect them to the assassination plot. We also explore what happened to the various Copperhead c…
-
27 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: Fire and Pestilence
After a planned Copperhead insurrection in Chicago is thwarted, the Confederates pivot to new methods for terrorizing Northern cities using fire, bank robberies, and biological war…
-
25 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: Oh Canada
During the Civil War, neutral Canada became a haven for both exiled Copperheads and Confederate soldiers who had escaped from Union prisons. It then became a base of operations for…
-
25 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: The Union Fights Back
The summer of 1863 was a momentous period in the Civil War with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Fall of Vicksburg. It was also a turning point in a different kind of war being fou…
-
27 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: Birth of a Movement
The Copperhead movement was a coalition of several groups with varied histories and political goals, the seeds of which went back to the early years of the nation. But the election…
-
29 min
Copperhead Conspiracy: Introduction
During the Civil War, a group of Northern Democrats known as Copperheads came together to oppose the policies of Abraham Lincoln and his Republican Party. As the war progressed, th…
-
7 min
Copperhead Conspiracy Trailer
A six-part podcast series that tells a forgotten story from the American Civil War. A group of Northerners, angry at President Lincoln, conspired with Confederates to plan an armed…
-
37 min
Episode Ten: My Old Kentucky Home
If you live in Kentucky, it is hard to avoid hearing the state song, My Old Kentucky Home. But it is a song with a lot of historical baggage relating to the legacy of slavery and J…
-
58 min
Episode Nine: Facing the Past
There are clear lines that connect the legacy of slavery to many of our present day issues, including the racial inequities of COVID-19 infection and deaths, wealth inequality, and…
-
26 min
Episode Eight: Zebulon Ward
In addition to being a slave trader and the kidnapper of Henrietta Wood (which we heard about in our last episode), Kentuckian Zebulon Ward made a fortune as a pioneer of the convi…
-
25 min
Episode Seven: Henrietta Wood
In 1848, Henrietta Wood was delighted to be granted her freedom when her enslaver moved to Ohio, a free state. But five years later, she was kidnapped, taken across the river to Ke…
-
32 min
Episode Six: Lost Cause
In the years that followed the Civil War, many Kentuckians embraced the Lost Cause ideology, even if they had fought for the Union. And some joined armed vigilante groups that used…
-
28 min
Episode Five: Aftermath
Kentuckians fought on both sides of the Civil War but came together at war’s end to oppose a common foe—newly emancipated African Americans yearning for education, dignity, and a d…
-
28 min
Episode Four: The Civil War
The Civil War was a confusing time for enslaved people in Kentucky. Because the state remained loyal to the Union, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply and slavery remained…
-
32 min
Episode Three: Recovering History
Due to prohibitions against enslaved people learning to read and write, there are only a few written records left behind by formerly enslaved Kentuckians. But thankfully, over 100…
-
29 min
Episode Two: Sold Down the River
Kentucky was an important hub of America’s internal slave trade, with fortunes made by slave traders and those who invested in enslaved people as commodities. We hear from members…
-
30 min
Episode One: Hidden History
The history of slavery is often taught as a bitter chapter of America’s past that has been rectified. But in Kentucky that history has been rarely acknowledged, and is poorly docum…
-
29 sec
The Reckoning Promo
A promo for the upcoming first season of The Reckoning: Facing the Legacy of Slavery in America, coming September 30, 2020. More information at reckoningradio.org. Subscribe now.