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The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The man who proposed reparations in the 1860s

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Politics, News, News Commentary, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.511.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2021

⏱️ 63 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Vox’s Dylan Matthews talks with historian Bruce Levine about his book Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary and Fighter for Racial Justice. They discuss how Stevens — a person with anti-racist ideals so far outside the mainstream of his time — managed to be so effective, how he developed those ideals in the first place, and how to continue his fight today. Host: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent, Vox Guest: Bruce Levine, Author; Professor (emeritus) of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign References:  Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary and Fighter for Racial Justice by Bruce Levine (Simon & Schuster; 2021) Lincoln (2012; directed by Steven Spielberg; written by Tony Kushner, based on Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns-Goodwin) The Birth of a Nation (1915; directed by D.W. Griffith; written by D.W. Griffith and Frank E. Woods) Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy (1956) The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution that Transformed the South by Bruce Levine (2014; Random House)   Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by:  Producer: Erikk Geannikis Editor: Amy Drozdowska Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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Meers fits? Lover noise jump suit? Watch and rewatch meers fits? Like young offenders?

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Watch and rewatch meers fits? Are you thinking this is great but where can I watch meers fits?

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Watch now on all fours? I've heard it's the UK's biggest free streaming

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service. Now we've told you what to do. Watch and rewatch meers fits? Watch and rewatch

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0:58.6

Hey, this is Dylan Matthews. I write for Vox about everything from anti-poverty efforts

1:02.9

to animal welfare to the best ways to do full answer P. And this week I'm your host for

1:07.9

Vox Conversations. I've been a political nerd all my life and like most political nerds

1:20.7

I like to talk about my favorite presidents. But I actually prefer talking about my favorite

1:24.9

members of Congress. You don't learn these folks names in school usually but they built

1:29.0

the America we live in today. Many of them had big dreams that would have made America

1:33.8

better than it is. At the absolute top of my list is a guy named Thaddeus Stevens. He's

1:39.8

not quite a household name. You might have seen Tommy Lee Jones play him in Steven Spielberg's

1:44.5

movie Lincoln. He was also the basis for the villain in DW Griffiths infamous movie Birth

1:49.7

of a Nation. But he was more effective and more fascinating than his pop culture representations

1:54.9

make him seem. Stevens ran the House Committee in charge of funding the Civil War and played

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