#227: 40 Acres, a Mule, and an Early Civil Rights Champion (Bruce Levine)

Politics and Polls

An often-forgotten champion for racial justice in America is Thaddeaus Stevens, a 19th century statesman. He was a leader of the young Republican Party's radical wing, fighting for anti-slavery and anti-racist policies long before others endorsed them. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he saw the Civil War as a second American revolution — an opportunity to remake the country into a true multiracial democracy. In this episode, Sam Wang takes a deep dive into the life of Stevens with historian Bruce Levine, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois and the bestselling author of four books on the Civil War era. They also discuss "Special Field Order 15," which later became known by the wartime phrase "40 acres and a mule," in which some freed Black families were given 40 acres of tillable land.