S08 E04 California, a Slave State: Birth of a State

In this episode, Jean Pfaelzer (Prof. Emerita, University of Delaware) describes the untold history of slavery, slave revolts, and resistance in California, based on her award-winning book California, A Slave State. Interviewed by Karen Clopton, JD, Chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow, Pfaelzer looks West to upend the notion of slavery in the United States as only a North-South struggle. Pfaelzer establishes that freedom from slavery is a struggle, not a status. Slavery endures even to the present day in the sex trade, field work, sweat shops, and marijuana industry. This is the history of how California’s distinct multi-racial population rose from the struggles and ranks of the unfree. Full transcript available at

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S08 E04 California, a Slave State: Birth of a State is an episode from C19: America in the 19th Century by C19 Podcast.

This episode is 00:39:43 long.

This episode was published on Nov 15, 2024.

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