The Backstory: From slave to congressman

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton reacted positively to Elon Musk’s announcement that he intends to provide shares of SpaceX stock to American children, presenting the move as a way to expand participation in wealth creation and long-term investing. The hosts used the announcement as a ...  Show more

Hour 1 of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show focused heavily on the rapidly approaching 2026 midterm elections, political battleground races, voter turnout efforts, and broader debates about the future of American politics and economic opportunity. Clay opened the hour by encou ...  Show more

On May 13, 1862, in Charleston, South Carolina, a man named Robert Smalls took command of a Confederate ship called The Planter and liberated himself and his family from enslavement. As they passed the Confederate-held Fort Sumter, Robert Smalls was said to have saluted it with a ...  Show more

On May 13, 1862, in Charleston, South Carolina, a man named Robert Smalls took command of a Confederate ship called The Planter and liberated himself and his family from slavery. As they passed the Confederate-held Fort Sumter, Robert Smalls was said to have saluted it with a whi ...  Show more

Robert Smalls was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839. He escaped from enslavement during the U.S. Civil War, in a particularly dramatic fashion.

Born into slavery, Robert Smalls dreamed of freedom for not just himself and his family, but all oppressed people. As the US became consumed in the Civil War, he hatched a daredevil plan to make this dream a reality -- by stealing a Confederate ship and sailing straight past t ...