Resurgent Russia, Slavery Politics in Early America
Putin’s Rising Russia Guest: Scott Cooper, PhD, Political Science Professor, BYU; Celeste Beesley, PhD, Political Science Professor, BYU; Fred White, PhD, Professor of Russian History and Culture, Utah Valley University Russia has become a dominant force in the Middle East – pushing the Syrian government closer to victory in that country’s brutal civil war and working alongside Turkey to broker a fragile ceasefire in the conflict. All – notably – without US involvement. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strong leadership and continues to openly question the conclusion of US intelligence officials that Russia hacked the recent presidential election in his favor. Next week, a confirmation hearing will be held for Trump’s Secretary of State, nominee Rex Tillerson, who has had a close working relationship with Russian officials as the CEO of Exxon Mobil. So there’s a lot to consider where Russia is concerned. And it’s interesting to note that we’ve just marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the USSR. Few experts then would have predicted that in 2017, we’d see Russia back in a position of such international influence. Politics of Slavery in Early America Guest: Matt Mason, PhD, History Professor, BYU, author of “Apostle of Union: A Political Biography of Edward Everett.” The Civil War wouldn’t end for another two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. And the Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves in ten Southern states that had rebelled from the Union. It would be several years before slavery was abolished throughout the country. Leading up to that point, the politics of slavery in America were not as straightforward as we tend to think, with Southerners for it, Northerners against. And slavery was not the primary reason the North and South went into Civil War.