"It Illuminates the History of Not Only the School, but of New York, Too"

"After the revolution, King's College changed its name to Columbia. Then slavery was abolished gradually in New York. Little by little Columbia's direct connection fades away. But New York City in the 1830s and '40s is still very tied into the cotton trade. We don't like to think about this as New Yorkers, we like to think of it as a bastion of liberalism. But New York was a pro-slavery city. The economy was very connected to the South and to slavery."

Gillian B. White at The Atlantic interviews Eric Foner about Columbia University and Slavery, a historical research project.