Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise

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Reconstruction begins where, for most Americans, the story of the Civil War ends: The North is victorious and slavery is abolished. But what happened next was one of the most important decades in American history, a moment when our country grappled with its original sin and imagined — and briefly enacted — a more perfect union. Drawing from archives, letters, diaries, court records, eyewitness testimonies and some of America’s most accomplished scholars and storytellers, Reconstruction: The U...

Episode List

Introducing Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise

Jun 18th, 2026 4:01 PM

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Prologue: Malcolm Gladwell and President Obama

Jun 18th, 2026 4:02 PM

Malcolm Gladwell and President Barack Obama introduce us to one of the most chaotic, complicated, and fascinating times in American history, revealing why Reconstruction still defines our country today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After the War

Jun 18th, 2026 4:02 PM

Frederick Douglass was one of the few activists to see his goal achieved within his lifetime — the abolition of slavery. Journalist Kai Wright shares how Douglass discovered a new purpose after President Lincoln’s assassination: campaigning for a bold new Constitution. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Love and Sacrifice

Jun 25th, 2026 7:01 AM

In 1865, Rebecca Primus left the comfort of her Northern home to help establish a school in the South. She exchanged intimate, sometimes romantic letters with her friend Addie Brown. Their correspondence offers a window into a remarkable relationship. Writer Ashley C. Ford breaks down these letters with scholar Farah Jasmine Griffin, discovering how the letters illuminate Black life on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nine Black Men

Jun 25th, 2026 7:01 AM

Alabama State University is one of America's earliest historically Black colleges. Historian Kellie Carter Jackson shares the institution’s hidden origins. Founded during Reconstruction by nine formerly enslaved men, the story reveals a fierce struggle over education — a battle that unfolded at the very moment Black Americans were gaining political power for the first time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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