In the rush to get my podcast finished, I forgot all about The Abolitionists – a new American Experience 3-parter which begins tonight. I doubt this will be as lovable as Ken Burns’ work, or even as accessible as Death and the Civil War – as this review reminds us, the Abolitionists were a prickly lot. That said, there’s no denying the effect they had on society. As one of my favourite quotes goes, “a crank is a small instrument that makes great revolutions.”
This is an in-your-face set-up with the Abolitionists themselves coming across as harsh, strident and even anxious to carry their feelings into acts of rioting and violence not formerly hooked to the abolition wagon.