In this edition of First Person One on One, Paul Schankman has a thoughtful conversation with noted historian Andrew Delbanco about his new book, The War Before The War, Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War.

Delbanco makes the case that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was the spark that finally lit the fuse leading to the American Civil War, by making it impossible for Northerners to continue to ignore the harsh realities of slavery in the South.

This interview was in partnership with the St. Louis County Library.