Originally published on August 12, 2015 (Episode 25)
Introduction
Edward Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism reignited debates about slavery and capitalism for some, but among historians another debate about methodology, and what counts as new. In this episode, Bob Elder joins Al to consider Baptist’s arguments and their implications. While affirming that Baptist discusses uncomfortable truths, they also challenge aspects of his interpretation, situating it within broader debates about slavery’s economics, morality, and memory.
About the Guest
Robert E. Elder is a historian of the American South and author of The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the Deep South, 1790–1860.
For Further Investigation
Edward Baptist, The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (Basic Books, 2016)
Trevor Burnard, “‘The Righteous Will Shine Like the Sun’: Writing an Evocative History of Antebellum American Slavery.” Slavery & Abolition 36, no. 1 (2015): 180–85.
Sven Beckert, Empire of Cotton: A Global History (Vintage, 2015)
Robert William Fogel and Stanley Engermann, Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Slavery (W.W. Norton & Company, 1995)
Herbert G. Gutman, Slavery and the Numbers Game: A Critique of Time on the Cross (Illinois, 2023)
💬 Listen & Discuss
How should historians weigh Baptist’s argument that slavery built American capitalism? Where do you see strengths—or blind spots—in his approach? Share with anyone who thinks about America’s history of slavery and racism.
