The Historian as Detective: The Case of Eliza Winston

Join MNHS Senior Public Historian Dr. Chantel Rodriguez in a conversation with Dr. Christopher Lehman about the detective work of historical research.

Lehman’s current research is on the life and legacy of Eliza Winston, an enslaved woman brought to Minnesota in 1860 who famously won her freedom in a contentious court decision.

Little is known about Winston outside of her brief time in Minnesota, but in a forthcoming book with MNHS Press, historian Christopher Lehman aims to change that.

In this program, Lehman and Rodriguez discuss the challenges of navigating and interpreting a historical record that was never designed to document the lives of people like Winston.

Christopher P. Lehman is a professor of Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud State University. His book Slavery’s Reach: Southern Slaveholders in the North Star State (available from MNHS Press) won the Minnesota Book Award in the Minnesota Nonfiction category in 2020.

Made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Видео The Historian as Detective: The Case of Eliza Winston канала Minnesota Historical Society