The "Battle Hymn" Revision, White Liberals, and Malcolm X

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In this episode, we explore the origins of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," reflecting upon the myths and realities of the "white liberal" abolitionist orientation of writer Julia Ward Howe and the pacifist abolitionist elites, and their motivations for rewriting "The John Brown Song." Viewing the "The Battle Hymn" as an intentional replacement on the part of the abolitionists, we consider the raw liberationist ethos of "The John Brown Song" and why it was replaced, and the significance of its mythology in our own thinking about the antebellum and Civil War eras. Drawing upon the searing analysis of Malcolm X and the 1963 March on Washington, DeCaro draws his own conclusions about what happened to "The John Brown Song" and why. This narrative is based upon an essay from DeCaro's book, John Brown, Emancipator.
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Chapitres

1. The "Battle Hymn" Revision, White Liberals, and Malcolm X (00:00:00)

2. Julia Ward Howe intro (00:00:25)

3. The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" story (00:00:45)

4. The "Battle Hymn" story revisited (00:03:15)

5. James Freeman Clarke (00:03:45)

6. The "John Brown Song" background (00:04:15)

7. Boyd Stutler on the "John Brown Song" (00:06:40)

8. The Ellsworth revision attempt (00:08:55)

9. Our John Brown had lambs, too (00:09:40)

10. Julia Ward Howe's motivations (00:10:00)

11. Aesthetics and politics (00:10:15)

12. The abolitionists' ambivalence toward John Brown (00:11:05)

13. The "John Brown Song" revealed (00:11:30)

14. Julia Ward Howe, abolitionists, and John Brown (00:12:45)

15. Julia Ward How's racism (00:15:00)

16. Unsettled by the "John Brown Song" (00:15:45)

17. Fast-forward: The March on Washington, 1963 (00:16:30)

18. Malcolm X's critique of the March (00:16:55)

19. Malcolm's useful wisdom for history (00:18:30)

20. Another grassroots phenomenon (00:18:45)

21. The Song, like the March, had to be controlled (00:19:00)

22. The "John Brown Song" vs. "The Battle Hymn" (00:20:15)

23. Layers of crimson sentimentality (00:21:00)

24. All has been blurred (00:21:45)

25. Listen to the voices of slaves (00:22:05)

26. A soldier's testimony (00:22:20)

27. The real "word of the hour" (00:23:25)