Are we still living with the racial divide left over from the Civil War? This provocative audio documentary explores the history of a conflict that nearly tore America apart. Has it resurfaced today in the rise of white supremacism, election denialism, the attack on Critical Race Theory and the Confederate flags brought into the Capitol during the insurrection on January 6, 2021? Produced in association with WGBH/Boston.
You’ll hear historians Ty Seidule and Hilary Green as well as former US Senator Doug Jones (Alabama) explain the ideology that came to be known as the Lost Cause.
Over a third of all white families in the South actually owned human beings. And their 4 million African American captives had a monetary value estimated at $126 billion in today’s money.
So the Confederacy and its hero Gen. Robert E. Lee were defending the largest financial asset in the American economy, second only to land. We also consider how, decades later, the Lost Cause was romanticized in popular films, like Gone with the Wind and Confederate statues.
But the death toll from the Civil War is now estimated at 750,000 — the equivalent today of more than 7 million soldiers lying lifeless.
And we hear about recent efforts to change the names of American military bases from officers of the Confederacy to a more inclusive group of Americans, who protected the United States against an insurrection in 19th century.
This special will air on Friday February 3rd at 10 AM and 8 PM here on 88.3 FM KCPW.
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