JEFFERSON MORLEY: SNOW-STORM IN AUGUST

IN 1835, the capital of the United States was known as Washington City. The President at that time was Andrew Jackson, who was pro-slavery. But at least 4000 inhabitants of the city were former slaves called “free men”. Racial tensions and relations in the Washington City reflected the conflicted feelings of the country as a whole. There were many white people who still believed in slavery of course; but others who thought we should end slavery but send the Black Americans back to Africa. True Abolitionists were gaining ground, but their ideas and literature were considered subversive in Washington. The Red and Blue dynamics we see in the political landscape today was started at this time. Key players included Francis Scott Key, who penned The Star Spangles Banner, but who had a later political career in which he became a champion of slavery. Tune in tonight when we talk about this complicated story of race, politics and little known American history with reporter, correspondent and writer JEFFERSON MORLEY. Morley’s new must-read history is titled SNOW-STORM IN AUGUST: WASHINGTON CITY, FRANCIS SCOTT KEY AND THE FORGOTTEN RACE RIOT OF 1835.