Don Wildman

They are moving into this new age, this new freedom, using slavery.

Virginia has everything to do with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

So there must have been conversation in that House of Burgesses and so forth talking about the fact that this is all about white men.

Don't worry, we're not talking about those other people.

Was that ever, you know, is that in the record, those specific distinctions?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But they were also working on the economy writ large of how do you secure this country's place in the world, I suppose.

I'm not forgiving them.

I'm just thinking, oh, my God, how are these minds at work at this time?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

And as we move into the 19th century, there is an enormous disparity in terms of population.

There's so many more slaves than white people in the South.

Of course, they're worried about that, and they should be.

Side by side with the reality in the North of a growing abolition movement.

Which in itself was triggered by, ironically, England, which has finally gotten on the right side of this after having started so much of it.

It's just such an interesting irony, I guess.

How did the explosion of the cotton economy impact slavery?

Many people do not recognize what a juiced up situation happened because of cotton as we come into the 19th century.

One of the most fascinating things I've learned about on this doing this podcast series is about how it becomes its own financial tool.