Today it’s easy to wonder how anyone could seriously defend slavery, but in the antebellum US, plenty of people did just that. We’ll look at how one Southerner, George Fitzhugh, tried to make the case. In contrast we’ll consider how effectively two moments of self-expression by George Harris in Uncle Tom’s Cabin anticipate and counter Fitzhugh’s arguments. We’ll also consider the lights this debate shed on controversial issues in the US today.

This HYBRID format program will be held at the Walnut Hills Branch Library and also livestreamed via Zoom.