U.S. History

Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution

Simon Schama

About the Program

In "Rough Crossings" Simon Schama details how slavery impacted both the United States and Britain during the American Revolution. The author explains that British officers promised escaped slaves complete freedom and put them on ships to Nova Scotia and later to Sierra Leone in West Africa. Mr. Schama describes this as the first mass emancipation of slaves in the Americas. This event was hosted by the Washington Post Book Club in DC.

About the Authors

Simon Schama

Simon SchamaSimon Schama is an art history and history professor at Columbia University. He is the author of numerous books, including "Rough Crossings," which was the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.
Buy the author's book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

Program Information

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Past Airings

  • Sunday, July 5th at 4am (ET)
  • Saturday, July 4th at 3pm (ET)
  • Saturday, September 23rd at 2:30pm (ET)
  • Monday, September 18th at 5:45am (ET)
  • Sunday, September 17th at 7pm (ET)
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