On this week’s Project Censored Show: History Matters. Historian and author Claudio Saunt is featured on the program for the hour. He addresses the mass expulsion of Native American Indians from the Southern US in the 19th Century, an event that would be described as the “Trail of Tears.” Prof. Saunt refers to this so-called “removal” as a deportation and extermination policy in his 2020 book Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory. His talk examines this little known history, including the political maneuvering by President Andrew Jackson to narrowly push the Indian Removal Act through Congress, as well as contemporary ramifications of such events.
Notes:
This program was recorded at an online discussion for KPFA-FM on March 31, 2021; the event was hosted by Mickey Huff via Zoom. Claudio Saunt is Richard B. Russell Professor in American History and Co-Director of the Center for Virtual History at the University of Georgia. He is the author of four books, including Unworthy Republic, the subject of today’s show, which was the winner of the 2021 Bancroft Prize.
The Project Censored Show:
- Host: Mickey Huff
- Producer: Anthony Fest
Music-break information:
- “Trail of Tears” by Patrick Myers
- “We Are Chickasaw” by Jesse Lindsey
- “Trail of Tears” by Patrick Myers