Reconstruction Begins in the Sea Islands | Port Royal and Civil War Emancipation скачать в хорошем качестве

Reconstruction Begins in the Sea Islands | Port Royal and Civil War Emancipation

Reconstruction didn’t begin in 1865. In many ways, it started while the Civil War was still being fought. In this episode of Public History with Justin, Jake, and Molly, Jake Wynn and Molly Keilty are joined by public historian Rich Condon for a deep dive into the earliest phase of Reconstruction - years before emancipation was federal policy and long before the war came to an end. The conversation centers on the Port Royal Experiment in South Carolina, where Union forces occupied the Sea Islands in late 1861 and thousands of enslaved people seized an unexpected chance at freedom. Rich traces how contraband camps, paid labor, land ownership, education, and Black self-governance emerged almost overnight - creating a blueprint for what Reconstruction could have been nationwide. Along the way, the discussion explores Fort Monroe and the “contraband” decision, the role of the Treasury Department, the creation of Black regiments, and how white Union soldiers’ views on slavery changed when confronted with its realities. The episode also follows the long arc of Reconstruction - from early promise to violent backlash, rollback, and erasure - and how its failures were created by white opponents in the South. From the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement to the present day, the questions raised in Port Royal still matter. 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on public history and memory ⭐ Rate and review the podcast to help others find it #CivilWarHistory #Reconstruction #Podcast