In Dr. Matthew Clavin's new book, "Symbols of Freedom: Slavery and Resistance Before the Civil War," he shows how slaves adopted America's signature documents, songs and rallying cries as their own. From the National Anthem, to July 4th, to the phrase, "Give me liberty or give me death," enslaved Americans seized on symbols some cited as evidence the nation's people were ordained to be free, and used them to fight for their own freedom. Clavin establishes a pattern in the historical record that shows how America's slaves exposed the quintessential contradiction built into our founding principles. During our discussion, he also explains how he teaches the history of resistance and how we can use lessons of early America to inform today's battle for a more just society.

Dr. Matthew Clavin's website is at https://uh.edu/class/history/faculty-and-staff/clavin_m/

Information on his book from NYU Press can be found at https://nyupress.org/9781479823246/symbols-of-freedom/

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