The past isn’t even the past: questions and debates from mid 19th century remain fierce today. Such things as the locus of legitimate political power: federal or state sovereignty? Have we really ever faced up to the evils of slavery? In what ways was white settlement of the west about carrying on racial dominance? And must America be a country of extreme poverty living side by side with vast wealth? Guest on this show is Brenda Wineapple; discussing her new book: Ecstatic Nation.