what you are watching american history tv, all weekend every weekend c-span3. likein the conversation, us on facebook at c-span has. bookshelf,history his book, the counterrevolution resistance and the origin of the united states of america. he argues the front of abolition in england in the colonies upfront the fight for independence in the u.s.. he talks about his will look race what would touch revolution, the cuba during slavery. their tax slaves -- in the u.s. and cuba. this was recorded -- in los

angeles is about one hour and 20 minutes. >> thank you very much for the invitation, great to be back in my former home in southern california, los angeles, old friends and old faces. going to speak about these two i like to make an apology to begin with when the , former west german leader about four decades ago involvement was overcome with great of -- of grief when germany did to poland they apologize to the polish people not to apologize to the indigenous people who for

occupied southern california gore feel compelled to apologize to people of african descent who were murdered in enslaved old clothes that were subjected to atrocities and deprivations. at the end of the day those who still believe the process that led to genocide and enslavement was for humanity. it is unsurprising that given that so many people feel it is justifiable and worthwhile to have that genocidal incident that we have reactionary's sentiment even for what happened last tuesday i think black scholars could have written a

book like this on behalf of black scholars who should have done this decades ago and i hope you'll accept my apology for the thousands of the millions god who have suffered not the least because of the atrocities committed to the united states of america head al let me move on to a first of all, talk about this book. this is the book that will tell a news story about the origins of the united states of america and speaks to cultures about the united states of america and its creation and argues the creation was not a great leap forward for community. i cannot deny a they're not those to benefited

from accretion. the creation but proving to the african slave trade ousting those from great britain. britain has ousted to the abolition of slavery as a paragon of libri -- of democracy. and one of the reasons is because of the manic energy. and with that african slave trade to brazil is one of the many reasons more than in the other country because of the manic energy of the slave traders of the 30's and four days calling all across the atlantic to brazil. and those that formed the united states of america leading to the declaration of independence in 1776 that they rebelled against british rule because they suspected it was moving to abolition of slavery that would jeopardize the fortune a founding fathers with patrick henry and james madison. as a footnote after the formation of the united states of america there were slave owners. the short the says is from london

england to send the enslaved african man back to north america. hasn't the jury ruled did anybody see that? okay. the judge ruled that slavery would not be attained even though it did not speak the case to the colonies did not taken oracle said it would form a precedent to be applied to the north

american colony and its -- colonies to jeopardize its portion benghazi explained at length and this book with good reason for the rebels to believe

thereby jeopardize the many fortunes for the african slave trade. so then day is the store thesis but the longer explanation of that glorious revolution in 1888 that the rising merchant class up against the monarchy to the wake of the king this led to the erosion of the african company that was in charge of the african slave

trade. and there is the id deregulation but those that allow to into the african slave trade that they do with a profusion. and then descend upon west africa with the manic

energy of crazed beasts. tracking these across sea-land tech because as you may know the middle of the 18th-century that caribbean was more valuable and then sugar was not only used to sweeten t but believe better not that jamaica and antigua and barbados in particular were the major sites for profitability.

now that deregulation and the onset of that era. lead to predictable results. you may know that african slave trade is most profitable and why it has been so difficult to reach the aftermath that still haunts us. that is to say that some of the profits of these voyages said you could invest $1 to get 17 back. i am sure you have found some good sell their firstborn child. so with the onset of free trade with the african slave trade you have a tremendous increase in the number of africans. this leads to the

caribbean historians with they talk about of the take off of this system of capitalism that the african slave trade was the backbone of this system that is to say tremendous wealth was created. not only in terms of the africans but it led to the allied industry. because as i

detail shortly you need insurance policies to compensate slave traders but to finance the african slave trade and and then the carolinas with a at the center the authorities found that they have to build infrastructure and roads and bridges to get demolition there the of course, building roads and bridges it is also for the takeoff. so we see the african slave trade forms the foundation for this system of capitalism and as a footnote with the reparations act so what i am talking about provides further roughen now -- rationale for the centuries of free labor. deal may question is for what it

should be used for. so recapitulate but there is another consequence. and as you may know or confirm to be manacle and handcuffed to work for free under a white supremacist or racist particularly it in the caribbean where the numbers and ratios but the al number those europeans 20 / one so it creates of favorable condition. and down to end tiwa

which often times leads the slave masters to make them a great track from the caribbean to the mainland. and also leads to a phenomenon whereby they escape their jurisdiction of the

british to set up and there is the theater that tomato would escape just as we know from 1791 through 18 '04 the ancient evolution occurred to escape the our jurisdiction to set up their own system. as many of you may know to liquidate that slave owning class. it was not beyond the realm of possibility been in the middle of the 17th century that the spanish were ousted from jamaica because the africans had decided it was time for them to go. then they decided it was time for the british to go. so then you have the slave masters deciding to cut their losses -- losses. if you are familiar red south

african history that may resonate because there is a parallel between the two. but in any case after making the great track with the slave masters and the slave owners are preceded by a revolt you know, by 70 and 39 perhaps the bloodiest revolt were the africanas rose up against the europeans because florida was controlled by the spanish. and doesn't shine state of what it is today. sova to break up the question of spain is the important part of the story. the spanish had begun to are forever, they had embarked that diverged from that of the british. but when the spanish began to warm africans, i will

just tell you i don't necessarily prescribed to this thesis but i will repeat it in any case. felt they had to are they ever kids because of religious reasons -- reasons because of the cold war taking place between catholic madrid and londoners felt because the

spanish had so many men that they had no choice but to arm africa. this was putting competitive pressure to do the same particularly when britain began to fight the spanish over control on the northern coast of south america and crossed cartagena via then they were in a manner stayed -- a stinging defeat to chase the redcoats from the shore at a time when the sellers of north america were reluctant to fight on

behalf of the british and south america because they had to engage in then nasty business because the time was better spent doing that for the colonial conquest. obviously this inflamed the ire of london and i should also mention another point as well to the rivalry between spain and britain and that is as you definitely know as a british possession called another earliest colonial conquest. but many were perceived not to be

reliable as well. so some of the leaders were irish because they defected to the other side. to fight the spanish. you may have of the referendum of scotland a few weeks ago they were threatening to leave the united kingdom and italy became part of it in 17 '07 in the midst of our story. the scottish were perceived as being politically unreliable five london helping to put pressure on london to our africans nettle the with the perceived reliability but also because spadefoots competitive

pressure to do the same so they can fight the spanish more competitively. says something that north american settlers that they thought to them is to say they felt africanas should not be harmed but to pick the wealth for the slaveholders so they see that deepening rift between that settler class

between the mainland and london and the elites in britain on the other hand,. but what happens of course, is one of the turning points in history is a conflict leading to the increase of eight african slave trade and speaking what is referred to as 1776 where britain decides to eliminate the competitive pressure. set out to reference about the rebellion that hiv-2 overthrow sliver in-house and there is evidence to suggest to our effort jim's from spanish florida had come across the border. you should also know the africans of south carolina is a country that invested in warfare with the civil war in angola only concluded with united states backing a terrorist against the regime. but many spoke portuguese and many were

catholic. there was a commonality with chevrotains from the carolinas. so brigid will try to eliminate the french threat in canada because there has been those from new york city and the fingerprints of the spanish cuban africans that they were collaborating with the french in quebec against the

british. so the seven year war is successful to erode if not eliminate and the turning point the british oust the french but of course, we know it still remains that there is a history yet to be written about a collaboration between the africans and quebec. but by eliminating the dual threats not only has more problems for itself. this is the narrative adds validity that's the british goes to the settlers to save the eliminated this on your behalf. so the repeat trips think the

tax money goes to the of 1 percent. so that is similar to the market of the devil. it deepens the rift between the crown to -- the crown and the run-up through 70 and 76 because of the growth of the abolition in london that the british might decide to cut the deal. that is what they believe because when people decide to revolt if you want to come across constituted authority that is said to be against though lot. so ask yourself what would make these

slave owners that are filthy rich revolt against authority to become traitors to the crown? and passed to be something tyrannosaur extraordinary. the prospect of slavery being abolished or worse case scenario with one dead and cutting a deal been the case of colonial virginia with the 13 colonies.

and he was under threat by the sellers talked about what they did circa 1863. and rose up against washington d.c. so that in order to preserve the devastates of america he had to free the slaves. with its benevolence even though there were like us to believe that.

and likewise the lord was also moved to pragmatism against the

sellers to revolt against constituted authority to rise up as one and overthrow british rule for the united states of america. though i say my book on the shelf it is the sequel because i talk about how after they establish the united states of america the africans online with the british against the ninth -- a united states of america in the world war of 1812. you have britain set washington d.c. on fire with an early form of preparation plundered the white house sending james madison and his gal dolly fleeing into the st. [laughter] one step ahead of the africans in the redcoats pursuing them and put that event with regard to the 200th anniversary. with that can get more discussion. but and in 1807 is the anniversary that tony blair and the prime minister and the queen of these people he would have thought there would be an official ceremony marking the end of the african slave trade. should we infer people were not happy? [laughter] i don't know. but to tell the story to understand how slavery

was involved this is part of the take away to understand how slavery was abolished or jim crow to make progress is in the future you have to understand what is happening in the world 1807, 1808, you have the 200 anniversary of the official abolition of the african slave trade. we was marked by tony blair, then prime minister, and the queen, but here in the united states of america where you have people of african descent, you would have thought there would be some sort of official ceremony involving high-level authority marking the official end of the african slave trade. should we inferred that people were not happy about the official end of the african slave trade? >> [laughter] >> in the second book i told a story about how the terms of trying to understand how and why slavery was abolished in the united states. this was part of the takeaway

add,his evening, i should that an work to understand how slavery was abolished, how jim crow was abolished, and in order ght makestand how we mi progress in the future, you have to understand it is a national there wast is to say a de facto alliance in the run-up to the abolition of slavery in agency five in the united states. a de facto alliance between britain and the enslaved population of north america. britain wanteday to reclaim its territory in the north america it's fair to say the africans did not want to be enslaved. they both had a common antagonist in washington that led to this de facto alliance. if you want understand how jim crow, the system of apartheid that followed slavery came to be

weakened during the lifetimes of many of us, like the brown versus board of education decision, 1954, where the supreme court says jim crow is unconstitutional. even those of supreme court in 1990 -- in the 1890's said it was fairly constitutional. the situation had changed. the u.s. was under competitive pressure from the socialist camp. statesld the united credibly charge moscow with human rights violations when people of color were treated so horribly? this created a dynamic that led to the erosion of jim crow. if you want to understand how we might be able to survive the adverse circumstances and consequences we now face, particularly in light of his brother's fortunate election

this past tuesday, we not only have to pay attention to the internal concept, what is happening within the four corners of the united states, we should understand what is going on in the world and how we can gain leverage in the international community in order to pressure the u.s. authorities. in that light i should mention one factoid that is surveying the press after wednesday on these elections, what caught my eye is that the parents of michael brown, the slain teenager of ferguson, missouri, left industries like a dog -- left in the streets like a dog brutally and callously by the police authorities. the parents of michael brown are on their way to geneva to raise up this question of police killings with the united nations. >> [applause]

professor horne: i am from st. louis. i don't know who is briefing the parents. obviously they have a good briefer. that was a wise move on their part. it was consistent with our history, which has been a history not only of struggle here in the four corners of the united states but trying to gain leverage in international community to bring to heal these white supremacist -- bring to heel these white supremacists and reactionaries that too often rule in washington dc. i'm going to move from this book .o this book this is a book that deals with the relationship between cuba and the united states in the context of slavery and jim crow from the middle of the 18th century up until the onset of

the cuban revolution 1959. that ifthe thesis is you want to understand the cuban let me back- well, up for a second. spain ruled cuba from the early teen 1500s -- the early 1500s until they were defeated by the united states, who then moved into cuba and tried to implant the kind of ferocious and militant jim crow that they obtained on the north american mainland. however the system of "race relations" they had obtained on the island of cuba was not altogether akin to the system in a north america. i have already made reference to the arming of africans, the fact that a so-called free negro

population was much more of the social structure of cuba. when the u.s. authorities moved and they tried to make cuba along the lines of the north american mainland, like florida, which they had taken over from spain circa 1820. partke a long story short, of the argument of this book is that in order to understand the cuban revolution and why the u.s. authorities were kicked out of cuba, you have to understand the revulsion toward the militant ferocious form of jim crow the u.s. authorities attempted to implant upon the island of cuba, which did not go down very well. it would be like you are trying to eat grass, and your system is not able to digest it adequately and it goes out. the cubans throughout the yankees-- threw out the because they cannot digest very well that ferocious jim crow.

this book starts in the middle of 18th-century. as part of the competitive competition between catholic ,pain and protestant britain the spanish had been trying to stir up the africans on madrid's behalf. that is one of the explanations for the massive slave revolt in new york circa 1741. you should also note that spain with thee collaborated rebels against british rule that helps to establish the united states. you cannot begin to understand how the rebels defeated one of the most powerful militaries on the planet in 1776 without understanding the external assistant that the rebels received from spain and france, which makes curious all of this blather in the 20th century. for example, during the cold war

period, the u.s. saying that cubans under castro should not be receiving assistance from moscow, or that the angolans were fighting u.s. backed terrorists in the 1980's, receiving assistance from the cubans. had they had the principle and 18th-century, the u.s. should not have been receiving assistance from the spanish and french. that was decisive in terms of the establishment of the united states. as was their tendency, the successful rebels against british rule repaid the spanish by then beginning to denude them of their colony. a lot of historians have made a good living like telling a sentimental story about how the u.s. helped to aid mexico circa 1810 and succeeding years helped

the spanish from mexico. that was supposed to exemplify this progressive anticolonial trent in the united states. what was happening is that the united states wanted to oust spain from mexico so they could descend on mexico, which they , establish in california, in which we are now sitting away from mexico. you can say the rest was from latin america in terms of this disinterested progressive assistance from the u.s. government to the rebels of mexico to deal with latin america. what is interesting about u.s. relations with cuba is the fact that after the establishment of the united states, the u.s. slave traders replaced the spanish in terms of supplying africans to cuba.

not only that, but many of the u.s. diplomats, what we would call ambassadors, are seemingly more involved in slave trading than they are in doing the nation's business. in particular attention to a close relative of a presently fainted thomas jefferson. i am speaking of nicholas tryst, who was a one-man show of tracking africans across the atlantic to cuba. in the 1840's, the u.s. slave traders are in the forefront of the african slave trade to cuba. , you know that texas was an independent country. date seceded from mexico in 1936. mexico had a president of african descent 180 years before the election of barack obama.

mexico had moved toward abolition. this was not pleasing to the so-called patriots in texas, so they seceded. in many ways it was a precursor to the confederate states of america. they set up this independent loan star republic in 1836 to 1845. the hallmark of independent texas was slave trade, particularly from the city of galveston, which you may know is not only the home of jack johnson, the heavyweight champion of the world circa 1910, etc. but also barry white. >> [laughter] professor horne: who of course lived in los angeles for quite a while.

but texas is a slave traded republic. the loan star flag can be found off the coast of brazil. it can be found off the coast of africa during this period. texas is under so much pressure, not only by our folk in north thatca, but by the british they decide to join the united states because they don't feel they can survive an independent slave trading public. they joined the united states to protect themselves from abolitionist london and our fury and anger. in any case with regard to cuba you should know that with regard to our folk, people like frederick douglas, martin ofaney, are on the forefront objecting to u.s. involvement in the slave trade to cuba, objecting to the fact that in terms of the coffee plantations,

sugar plantations on the island wereba, that disproportionately controlled by u.s. citizens. martin delaney, one of our greatest intellectual leaders, wrote what i consider to be perhaps still the leading novel in african-american literature of late, which has at the center of lack --t only only of african-american abolitionists fighting slavery in cuba, but also puts forth a prescient story about how cuba would be the hope of the americans. for those of you that are following what is going on with regard to west africa and ebola and that cuban authorities have outstripped many larger nations in terms of sending scores if not hundreds of epidemiologists, physicians, nurses, medics to be

on the front lines in terms of combating the ebola epidemic, ,utshining many larger nations western european nations who were largely responsible for the public health system in west africa because of their cruel and brutal exploitation for decades if not centuries. if you look at west africa or 1980's in the 1970's and there were cuban troops who came to angola to fight the apartheid authority. defeating them decisively in 1988. yes, yes. >> [applause] which set thee: stage not only for houston -- only for ousting the apartheid

authorities which created the gradations -- which created the conditions for independence. i recommend namibia highly as a place to visit or even repatriate for that matter. because of the assistance of the cuban military , the main the apartheid authorities in south africa more susceptible to listening to sweet reason and negotiating more credibly with the forces laid by nelson mandela because there was a story floating in is the apartheid authorities did not negotiate reasonably and credibly, and the cuban military may have to march

2 pretoria and oust the apartheid ruler. it led to the first democratic elections in south africa in the spring of 1994, the election of nelson mandela, which is why in 2013 one mandela had his funeral in south africa, one of the few heads of state who was asked to wask amongst all present president raul castro of cuba. >> [applause] in any case,ne: you should also know during the u.s. civil war, spanish cuba, or the spanish ruled cuba, was in a quandary. on the one hand they suspected that whoever won, the north of the self, during the u.s. civil

war, that the winners would want cuba. there had been a lust for taking cuba decades previously. there has been an effort to make cuba a state of the united states of america. that is one idea that is circulating in the minds of the spanish rulers in cuba. circulating that they should be in solidarity with their slaveholding comrades in the south in order to defeat the north. won,, if the south had they would be after cuba ousting the spanish. at the end of the day they decided to open the report to the confederate state of america. after the defeat of the confederates, there was tremendous pressure on cuba to bloody slavery, and a war interrupted to that end, leading to the rise of a figure who may be known to many,

antonio masao. heros considered to be a amongst black americans. you have many black americans today who carry the name. come on now. >> [laughter] professor horne: this eventually -- this eventuated in years of war. as the cubans and spanish are slugging it out, tiring out both sides, the united states decides to intervene in the war of 1898 and knocks out both sides and takes over the island of cuba, and as noted tried to implant a .ystem of jim crow this leads to the so-called race war in cuba circa 1912. thousands of africans are

.assacred on the island of cuba part of the story that i tell in this book that i think is a contribution to the historiography is that i highlight the role of the u.s. authorities in terms of the so-called race war. they are basically ruling cuba in a real sense. when you have africans massacred in cuba, it seems to me that the blood is on the hands of uncle sam. in any case, a turning point in the history of cuba comes with the russian revolution october 1917, which leads to the right of a communist -- rise of a communist party on the island of cuba. interestingly enough this commonest party is relatively strong, led mostly by africans, which is a major concern to the u.s. authorities because they

suspected correctly that these africans in havana would want to extend the system to africans across the florida straits like wishing under a brutal system -- languishing under a brutal system of jim crow. in there was quite a bit of solidarity with our folks on this side of the florida straits. the nine black youth in alabama that were slated for execution because of false allegations of sexual molestation of two american women. an international movement erupted to save them from the gallows. this movement also helps to establish the constitutional principles still in operation with regard to represent tatian -- with regard to representation of black people in the jury. there was tremendous solidarity in cuba on behalf of of the scottsboro 9 up to and

including cubans dying in protest on behalf of the scottsboro 9. there is a story i tell in this book. this is something you can talk about in question and answer as i conclude, about how black americans were proceeding to the end trying to understand -- were perceiving cuba. in any case, i conclude this book by talking about the fact an afro cuban by the name of francisco rodriguez plays a role in cuban history because he is a lawyer for the naacp when

jim crow is under assault in florida. .e is the chief attorney you may know you had a bus boycott in tallahassee that was in many ways more better-known than the bus boycott in montgomery alabama, which leads to a section of the 10 freeway named after rosa parks. francisco rodriguez was the chief attorney. this was in many ways an emblem of this long-term solidarity between cubans and black americans, between afro cubans and african-americans. i think what has happened since january 1, 1959 is a lot of that history has been forgotten

because of the cruel and illegal blockade embargo of cuba, which the united nations just condemned a few days ago by a vote of 188 to 2. i think the u.s. and israel or the only countries that voted in favor of this blockade, interestingly enough. us to removent for the mental blockade, which i think will be a prelude to removing the actual blockade. one of the stories i tell in this book in regard to the african slave trade, at a time we africans were commodities, you could be an afro floridian day.ay, an afro-cuban one perhaps unbeknownst to many of us, we had relatives in cuba. it is going to be difficult to find our relatives as long as there is a blockade.

ever,ms to me that we, as should be in the vanguard of trying to eliminate this cruel and illegal blockade, if only for reasons of self-interest so we can rediscover our relatives on the other side of the florida straits. thank you very much for your attention. >> [applause] >> come to the mic for any-- speak loud. >> [laughter]

[chatter] >> face the audience if you don't mind. >> [laughter] pleasehorne, could you elaborate and talk about the immediate -- the media situation in cuba. professor horne: you're --erring to a cynosure core to assat shakur, who was incarcerated by the u.s. authorities and was able to escape their clutches. since was ablee to find refuge on the island of cuba where she still resides. a couple points. one is that part of the success struggles is, our the ability to have a rare base.

i am going to talk tomorrow base forico as a rear people with african-american descent. just as we did with underground railroad canada. there was a similar underground railroad to mexico. when we had this relationship with the british, we had a rear base in bermuda and in the bahamas. in my book i talk about what happens in november 1841 when these africans are being transported from virginia to the kmart of the slave trade, which was new orleans. they revolted off the shores of the bahamas and overthrew their captors, sailed into the bahamas. when the arrived in the bahamas, abolitionist britain freed them all to the consternation of the u.s. authorities. the bahamas was our reader base.

-- our rear base. cuba particularly became our rear base. the black panthers found refuge in cuba for years. similarly our sister assata shakur. rear base in a cuba and was able to escape the clutches of the u.s. authorities. going forward in the 21st century as our struggle escalates and intensifies against these rapacious rulers who are now occupying the halls of congress and washington dc, that many of us will find the need to have a rear base. if history is any guide, cuba will continue to serve as that rear base. i am happy that you mentioned shakur.ssata

in many ways she exemplifies not only the struggle that we all cherish, but also how it is possible to escape the clutches of these u.s. authorities, to escape the jurisdiction of the u.s. authorities. dr. horne, appreciate all the information you are sharing with us this evening. can you expand on the cente guerrero, a general who defeated the spaniards, gave mexico their independence. someone who should be widely known not only here but in mexico. professor horne: i don't want to preempt what i am going to say tomorrow, but-- >> [laughter]

professor horne: plus i don't want to repeat your very illumi nating words, but suffice it to say it is difficult to explain sometimes that the system of white supremacy here in north america was not necessarily the same as the system that obtained in other parts of the americas. in many ways the system was worse. i say that for a couple points. when ian smith, the ruler of the runaway republic, southern rhodesia, declared independence of the white minority machine -- minority regime, he argued he was walking in the footsteps of the rebels of 1576. he had a point because the

rebels of british rule in 1776 were trying to escape the logic of the abolition of slavery. ian smith was trying to escape the logic of decolonization of africa, one man, one vote. in many ways the establishment of the united states of america, contrary to the opinions of some of our friends on the left, was a great leap backwards. it was a particularly great leap backwards for the indigenous population and african population. know in terms of the rather easy argument oftentimes put forward that the kinds of liberties and rights established in the united states outweighs the atrocities. what do you do realize is that when the united states was

formed and they fought this war against britain, this was basically a more sound. zone.ically a war how do you attract migrants to a war zone? you have to make more enticements and emoluments they would have at home. there you have the acceleration of what is called bourgeois democratic life to show how the limitations of those so-called bourgeois democratic rights -- you know has been so difficult to extend it to the rest of us. we are still trying to get the legitimate right to vote. voter suppression is a hallmark of the united states in 2014. one of the top items on the agenda of this incoming

republican congress will be ever more devious and devilish ways to circumscribe the right to vote. it is much too easy to suggest that the so-called bourgeois democratic rights -- it is not the argument they would make to the socialist camp. they say it was a disaster,. if you order -- if you argue otherwise, you are callous and maybe usually was her job. that is the argument used in regards to rationalizing what happened on these shores. what's that's a step forward -- why is it that canada, that did not revolt against british rule, has a better standard of living

and is a more suitable place to live, particularly for working class people. they have this health care system that we should have in the united states. you may have heard two days after the election of tuesday, the supreme court has reached out to adjudicate once again the affordable care act. don't be surprised if it is left sprawling in the dust. we have a control group as the social scientists say. canada did not have a revolt against british rule. it is a better place to live. the united states had a revolt against british rule and it has been a living hell for people of color particularly. what about australia? australia, which has a history similar to that of the united states, the forcible implantation of white supremacy, there is a thriving historiography that criticizes the origins of australia. even historians on the left and

the united states america, they are tricking the kool-aid. they are talking about the united states as this great leap forward, a complete bourgeois democratic revolution. you might as well make the that apartheid was a greatly forward for humanity because it forms a template that would be applied to nelson mandela. apartheid brought forth nelson mandela. this is nuts. this is insanity. this is the sort of mental gymnastic that many of our progressive friends have been forced into. so no wonder the movement on the left is so weak in the united states. they have not even be able to escape the creation myth that led to the creation of this country.

once again to reiterate the takeaway, we have been able to advance thus far from slavery to where we are today not only because of our constant struggle , our constant unrelenting struggle, but because of our ability to take advantage of the international situation and having friends in the international community. fullywe learn this lesson apparently the way the parents of michael brown have learned this lesson, i think we will be perpetually in trouble. >> [applause] >> first of all i would like to thank you for enlightening me. you said, as you may well know -- i did not know about any of this stuff. >> [laughter] >> i went to a certain university of california school in westwood.

i won't mention its name. >> [laughter] >> a professor said the people liked it the way it was in the south. my response to her was, if blacks couldn't vote, natives couldn't vote, poor white guys couldn't vote, if 90% were disenfranchised, how could you say they liked it the way it was? i won't tell you what her response was, but it wasn't positive. if iestion to you is, theoretically went to a good , howrsity and i don't know can we enlighten society? i heard from one of those leftists you are talking about that drink the kool-aid -- oh, this is a great country, blah blah blah. i had no idea that as an african descendent i was actually fighting against the american revolution.

experts thatby the everything was cool here, that my perspective should be like thomas jefferson's. i knew better than that. professor horne: what you are raising is the fact that there is a battle of ideas. there are many battles in this country. there are battles against police brutality, battles in favor of better housing, battles in favor of adequate health care. there is a battle of ideas that undergirds all those other battles. and universities are part of the battle of ideas. with all due respect to my said, somelars, as i of them need to do some retraining. they need to ask different questions.

they need to look at different sources. one of the things i found doing this book on 1776 was that a lot of these scholars who write about colonial north america, the period before, they don't do research in london. it is like doing research on .uerto rico theses i put forward into this book is the construction of whiteness, what i call the original identity politics. it is a militarized identity politics. that thee many ways rebels against british rule are able to prevail is that they escape or at least seek to escape from the religious cold

war, protestant versus catholic, and change the axis from religion to raise -- religion to race. that letter project is much more capacious. of lebanese someone descent like ralph nader can be defined as white. it helps to curb the antagonisms of german versus british, russian versions pole. you cross the atlantic and magically you are transmuted into white. the problem is for those that are not defined as white. what is interesting about a lot of the scholars, they take for granted the concept of white. they don't interrogate it. they take it for granted and don't look at its construction,

its historical evolution. part of the job of historians is to track change over time. intohouldn't parachute 1776 and assume that white is something that has been around forever. dubois pointed out it is a recent historical construction. there is a battle of ideas going on. hopefully what we are doing here is pushing back successfully against those retrograde forces. >> [applause] >> my question is, could you tie in what was going on with the constitution at that time? there were ideas put out for slavery to be abolished, but of course those people didn't succeed.

but during that time there was a lot going on with the constitution, and the basis of that was the whole issue of slavery and their wealth being subjected to taken away. professor horne: fortunately there has been a lot of scholarship on slavery and the constitution. the short answer to your question, i would focus on the 3/5 compromise. that is for congressional representation -- today there are approximately 435 house districts and they are drawn on the basis of population. but what happens if you have slaves in your district? should you count them as a full person for purposes of congressional representation, or should you not?

the 3/5 compromise is like the idea of the camel being a horse designed by a committee. to say that is what comes out of this debate, they debate between africans as humans and as furniture. the question of slavery in the constitution is also reflected in the ability of the slave owners to force legally and states thatally don't have slavery to return that property. that is if an enslaved african escapes north of the mason-dixon line. you probably know that the united states not only tried to enforce the rights of slaveowners to get their property back north of the mason-dixon line on the basis of alleged constitutionality, but they're trying to force other countries like the british

empire, bermuda, canada, to return this property. that becomes a point of contention between london and washington. that contention leads to war in 1812. it repeatedly leads to conflict. you are correct to suggest that slavery was at the heart of politics in the united states, is reflected in the constitution, is reflected that a disproportionate amount of slaveowners -- excuse me, of the u.s. presidents were slaveowners. i know this is an audience that carries the pictures of the president wherever they go -- >> [laughter] here,sor horne: this chap andrew jackson, who was not only a slave owner, but probably a slave trader, and was responsible for some of the most violent and vicious degradations

against the indigenous population. what is interesting about the united states is who we refer to as the cherokee population. they are willing to assimilate and engage in the kind of pursuits that the euro-americans tdo. that is not save them from being expelled from georgia. andrew jackson is largely responsible for that. one of the ways he is catapulted into prominence is in the summer of 1816, when the africans and what was then spanish florida force,tablished the negro which is probably the most strongly armed and kamman of -- most strongly armed encampment of african-americans. compared to the black panthers, they had pop guns compared to what those in the negro fort

had. introduction was catapulted into prominence by destroying the negro fort. >> to say the least you are extremely impressive tonight. extremely educational. i feel like you took me from kindergarten to phd level in the past hour. in the pantheon of our great , like dubois, bill robison, malcolm x, didn't they threatened to take the united states before the international community in regards to genocide and degradation? could you elaborate? professor horne: first of all a petition circa 1946 with the nation to then

newly born united nations in regard to human rights violations against those of african descent. most prominent effort was all robison, in league with william patterson and the civil rights congress. this was a very significant effort. it's got a tremendous amount of international support. turning pointk, a in our struggle against jim crow. it put the international spotlight on the united states at a time when it was prattling all over the world about alleged human rights violations in other countries. robeson-patterson petition made the u.s. authorities seem like what they were, which was hypocrites. and malcolm x of course talked

about taking the u.s. authorities to international bodies, and traveled a great deal to that end. you may know the 1970's, the national conference of black lawyers tried to do the same thing. it is an idea that won't go away because it does not seem that our problems are going away anytime soon. there are only so many remedies and solutions to our problem, one of which is trying to make more friends and allies in the international community to lengthen the battlefield, to not be restricted to the four ,orners of the united states where future folks may suggest that a retrograde reactionary forces have a certain amount of capability and potency. the way that we outflank them, the way we drove the tables on and makereate friends

friends, not least amongst those that have a bone to pick with them. we can start with havana, cuba for example. thank you very much. >> [applause] >> on history bookshelf, hear from the country's best-known american history writers of the past decade every saturday at 4:00 p.m. eastern. and you can watch any of our programs anytime when you watch our website c-span.org/histo you are watchingry. you are watching american history tv on c-span3. >> sunday night on "afterwards," a connecticut congresswoman talks about her efforts to

protect social programs in "the least among us: waging the battle for the vulnerable." >> when social security reached its lowest point, we had ronald reagan and tip o'neill who came acted, and congress acted to make social security solvent into the future. all of this wringing of hands about social security and being insolvent can be solved immediately by lifting the cap. >> watch "afterwards" at 9:00 eastern on c-span2's book tv. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. created as aan was public service by america's table -- cable television companies and is brought to you

by your cable or satellite provider. next on american history tv, an antiques furnishing curator talks about early 20th century electronic household appliances. he discusses different ways manufacturers marketed new products to consumers who were predominantly housewives. the daughters of the american revolution museum hosted this 40 minute event. >> i am going to introduce today's speaker, served as a curator of furnishing for historic interiors for the daughters of the american revolution museum, where he is responsible for furniture, glass, silver, and interior rooms. he earned a masters of arts from george washington university. he is a nationally recognized furniture and architectural historian and has lectured on these subjects for museums and historic properts.