5. Telling a Free Story: Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in Myth and Reality episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 4, 2026 · 56 MIN

5. Telling a Free Story: Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in Myth and Reality

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The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119)Professor Blight discusses the rise of abolitionism. Blight begins with an introduction to the genre of slave narratives, with particular attention to Frederick Douglass' 1845 narrative. The lecture then moves on to discuss the culture in which antebellum reform grew--the factors that encouraged its growth, as well as those that retarded it. Professor Blight then describes the movement towards radical abolitionism, stopping briefly on colonization and gradualism before introducing the character and ideology of William Lloyd Garrison.00:00 - Chapter 1. Frederick Douglass and the Slave Narrative09:46 - Chapter 2. The Development of Abolitionism in the North22:37 - Chapter 3. Colonization and the Idea of Gradualism30:18 - Chapter 4. The Radicalization of Anti-slavery Thinkers38:43 - Chapter 5. The Ideas of William Lloyd Garrison46:42 - Chapter 6. Concluding Thoughts on Different AbolitionismsComplete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/coursesThis course was recorded in Spring 2008. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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5. Telling a Free Story: Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in Myth and Reality

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