Episode 114: How Slavery Helped Grow the American Catholic Church

The Way of Improvement Leads Home: American History, Religion, Politics, and Academic life. - A podcast by John Fea

Did you know the Jesuits were some of the largest slaveholders in colonial America? Our guest in this episode is Rachel L. Swarns, author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved And Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. We discuss the Jesuit's 1838 sale of 272 men, women and children for the purpose of saving Georgetown University and the implications of this sale for one enslaved family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices