The Legacy of Slavery and Freedom in St. Louis Before the Civil War

Lea Vandervelde discusses her most recent book, Redemption Songs: Suing for Freedom before Dred Scott, a groundbreaking study of more than 300 freedom suits in St. Louis. Through the careful evaluation of 12 cases, the book offers insights into the practice of slavery and the lives of those enslaved in Missouri.

Presented on

September 15, 2016

About the Presenter

Lea VanderVelde

Lea VanderVelde, who previously taught at Yale Law School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Vienna, is the principal investigator for the Law of Antebellum Frontier project at the Stanford Spatial History Lab.

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