American History Tellers
461 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★★ - 17.6K ratingsThe Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides of History, American Innovations and more.
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Episodes
Civil Rights - Interview with Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely | 7
November 14, 2018 08:05 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBWe conclude our series on the American Civil Right Movement with an interview with a woman who was there, on the front lines of the fight. Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely is longtime civil rights activist and artist. She was a Freedom Rider, boarding busses to travel the south in a fight for desegregation, and member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, participating in sit-ins, marches, and voter registration campaigns. She marched on Washington, was arrested three tim...
Civil Rights - The Unfinished Journey | 6
November 07, 2018 08:05 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBSeeking to build upon the gains of the early 1960s, Civil Rights activists pushed forward on a series of ambitious efforts. Voting rights activists returned to Alabama and again faced violent reprisal—this time televised for the country to witness. A shocked nation watched the violence in Selma in horror; Congress took action, passing the Voting Rights Act. Off of this success, Martin Luther King Jr. began building a coalition of activist groups to turn the nation’s attention to th...
Civil Rights - On The March | 5
October 31, 2018 07:05 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBAs the Civil Rights movement entered the landmark years of 1963 and 1964, activists had faced many challenges - but had also won many victories. Now, they sought to launch new campaigns in Alabama and Mississippi and mass demonstrations in Washington D.C. and New York City. In the span of sixteen remarkable months, the movement and the nation itself would be transformed, walking the razor’s edge between triumph and tragedy. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy...
Civil Rights - Prairie Fire | 4
October 24, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBAs the Civil Rights movement entered the Sixties, a new generation of activists took the fore. Frustrated by the pace of progress but emboldened by strides made in the previous decade, students embraced “nonviolent direct action,” protest techniques that were provocative but peaceful. Soon, a wave of sit-ins hit lunch counters across the South. The response was caustic, often violent; but the protesters’ persistence led to negotiations with business owners and civil authorities that...
Civil Rights - Jim Crow Fights Back | 3
October 17, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBAfter the Brown V. Board of Education ruling, civil rights activists had legal standing to desegregate schools. But doing so proved dangerous. The first black students to step into newly integrated schools faced extreme hostility from whites who felt Jim Crow society was under attack. The segregationists defied federal court orders. When National Guard troops sent by President Eisenhower forced the issue, white supremacists changed tactics, patiently and cruely wielding political a...
Introducing Legal Wars | 9
October 11, 2018 08:04 - 10 minutes - 9.23 MBThe courtroom can be a battlefield over money, people’s rights, and even their lives. For some cases, the consequences can affect us long after the verdict is read. Based on extensive interviews and court transcripts, Wondery’s new podcast LEGAL WARS puts you inside the jury box of some of the most famous court cases in American history. Subscribe to Legal Wars today at www.wondery.fm/legalwars
Civil Rights - Strides Towards Freedom | 2
October 10, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBIn 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal, on a “separate but equal” basis. But for more than five decades, life for black and white Americans was seldom equal, but always separate. To fight segregation, the NAACP and others exposed the dismal and debasing conditions in black schools. They won a monumental victory in Brown v. Board of Education—but then a young boy from Chicago named Emmett Till was dredged from the swamps of Mississippi. Till’s death galvan...
Civil Rights - New World A’Comin | 1
October 03, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBPresident Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing the slaves in much of the South. But the road to freedom—true freedom—would take generations longer for most black Americans. In this new six-part series, we investigate their struggle, beginning in the heady post-war years of the Forties. Segregation was endemic; it was the law of the South, and the custom of the North and West. No black American escaped its demeaning and often violent grip....
National Parks - Interview with Parks Superintendent Greg Dudgeon | 7
September 26, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBIn 1980, Jimmy Carter signed into law the The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA. That act remains controversial even today, as it set aside 43,585,000 acres of new national parklands in Alaska, including the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. Superintendent Greg Dudgeon oversees both and continues to balance the mandate of the Parks’ mission with the needs of Alaskan residents. We’ll talk to Greg a...
National Parks - Fire and Ice | 6
September 19, 2018 07:05 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBAlaska: big, open, frozen and wild. In 1867, the acquisition of Alaska from the Russian Empire was widely derided as “folly.” Early explorers like John Muir saw its potential though, and clamored for its preservation in the face of increasing development and calls for statehood. But when oil is discovered, the real fight begins. Caught between angry Alaskan individualists and an ambitious federal government, the National Park Service struggles to do what’s right for the land and the...
National Parks - Playgrounds of the People | 5
September 12, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 34 MBIn 1914, America’s National Parks had a problem: no one was using them. And those few that were faced unmaintained roads, trails strewn with garbage, and a lack of amenities that made it hard for the average American to enjoy themselves. One man had enough, and went to Washington on a mission: establish a new National Parks Service, and transform these neglected, magic spaces into clean, approachable, fun vacation destinations. But in taking the reins, mining tycoon and marketing g...
National Parks - The Great Disaster | 4
September 05, 2018 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37 MBIn the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the city of San Francisco was torn apart by a huge earthquake–but it was the subsequent fires that did the most damage. As the city sought to rebuild, it also sought a more secure water supply, to break the stranglehold of a water company monopoly and insure that if fire were to strike the city again, abundant water was available to fight it. But a new reservoir would require the flooding of a treasured portion of Yosemite, t...
National Parks - Rough Rider | 3
August 29, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBPut out to pasture, thinking his political career over, Theodore Roosevelt was atop a mountain when he heard the news: an assassin’s bullet would likely take President McKinley’s life, and make Roosevelt president. Upon his inauguration shortly after, Teddy brought his lifelong love of the natural world into the White House with him. He found his executive pen a powerful tool, setting aside vast swaths of land as preserves and monuments. And later, as he sought his first term as an...
National Parks - Calling In The Cavalry | 2
August 22, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBYellowstone was our nation’s first national park. Its strange, wondrous landscapes were perfect for exploration - and exploitation. Upon Yellowstone’s discovery by white Americans, two races began: one to build a railroad to the park to capture its commercial potential, another to protect the land from desecration. One will fail, bringing down with it the nation’s economy. The other will require the US Army to succeed, but leave thousands of animals slaughtered and Native American t...
National Parks - The Business of Nature | 1
August 15, 2018 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBAmerica's greatest National Parks are truly one of our country's greatest treasures. But many beautiful landmarks have ugly histories. Over the next few episodes, we’ll learn how good intentions sometimes lead to tragic and violent ends, and how in some instances, dirty business dealings would lead to the preservation of many of our countries greatest natural wonders. Support this show by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva...
Revolution | Interview with Author Russell Shorto | 7
August 08, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MBWe've come to the end of our series on the American Revolution, but we can't say goodbye without saying hello to Russell Shorto. Russell adapted his book, Revolution Song, for this series on American History Tellers. If you were wondering why we chose these six people, what freedom meant for each of them, and why the fight we began then may still be something we're dealing with today, then this episode is for you! Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https...
Revolution | The Populist | 6
August 01, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBMillions immigrated to the United States after its founding, entranced with the promise of a better life. But the country they found was rough and tumble, less developed than the land they left, and had some serious issues. Last week we looked at slavery, and today we'll go inside the often-overlooked class conflict that was playing out among Americans, even as elites and commoners alike came together to fight the British. Support this show by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy ...
Revolution | The Free Man | 5
July 25, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBThe Revolution was fought for freedom, at least in name. Calls for freedom filled the air. No taxation without representation! Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! The Marquis de Lafayette, who had fought valiantly at Washington's side throughout the war, spoke for many when he wrote bitterly after the war: "I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery." This episode explores one man's exp...
Revolution | The Independent Woman | 4
July 18, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 34 MBIn 1788, the hot gossip in posh British circles was all about France and America. For their friends across the channel, the popular uprising against King Louis XVI seems to be heading toward Revolution. And for their unruly cousins across the Atlantic, the fledgling country seems already headed for ruin. But this is a country their people believed in - and not just white men. A new generation of American women, inspired by the Enlightenment, were calling for greater freedoms. Suppo...
Revolution | The Iroquois Diplomat | 3
July 11, 2018 07:05 - 34 minutes - 32 MBIt’s 1786. For two years the city of Philadelphia has been celebrating its independence. For citizens of this brand new country, life is parties, meetings, debates and festivals - sometimes all blended together. But it wasn’t fun and games for everyone. Even before the war, American distrusted both the natives and the British. While Native American tribes weren’t a ‘side’ in the Revolutionary War, the politics and broken promises of the Colonies locked Indians, British and American ...
Revolution | The Empire Builder | 2
July 04, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBIn 1776, the British Under Secretary of State for the American Colonies was giddy. The Americans needed to be punished like children for their bad behavior. “Roman severity,” he called it, and then when he crushed the rebellion, the American children could come crawling back to their British parents, begging for forgiveness. It would be his crowning glory, he thought. It was not. Support us by supporting our sponsors! This Series of American History Tellers is written by Russell S...
Revolution | The Virginia Planter | 1
June 27, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBIt’s 1754, and the British had developed thirteen colonies along the eastern seaboard of the American continent. You may be familiar with them. But what you may not know is that a skirmish between the British and French settlers, who colonized a strip of land lining the Mississippi River, is where a young George Washington made a serious war blunder that ultimately led to Revolution. Written by New York Times bestselling author, Russell Shorto, this is Revolution by American Histor...
Hearst vs Pulitzer | The Headless Torso | 2
June 20, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBIf you lived in an American city at the turn of the century, you got all of your news from a single source: the daily newspapers. No where was that more true than New York City; in the City, two papers ruled them all. You had the World and the Journal. And then men behind them were the most famous newsmen in American History. William Randolph Hearst headed up the Journal and Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer ran the World. In their mad scramble for readers, they’d pioneer daring...
The Space Race| Photo Finish | 4
June 06, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBJFK said that nothing in the 1960s was "...more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space..." than getting a man to the moon and back safely. As the Apollo 11 flight neared, the entire nation waited, enraptured. But back in the USSR, the Soviets were also making strides. Though the contest with the Soviets for technological superiority had always been a race, it was now a literal one - a U.S. manned spacecraft was about to chase down a Soviet r...
The Space Race | Taking the Lead | 3
May 30, 2018 07:05 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBIn times of crisis, Americans had always put their confidence in their country’s superiority in power, technology and leadership. America had never failed them. And in 1961, hope and faith in their country burned brighter than ever as NASA prepared to launch the first man into space. A month out from launch, that light was effectively snuffed. The Soviets beat them to it. On April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first person in space and the first person to ...
The Space Race | Playing Catch Up | 2
May 23, 2018 07:05 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBInformation sharing was normal in the global scientific community, but when it came to rockets, normal rules didn’t apply. If the details got passed along to civilian scientists, there was no telling where that intel might end up… But for many Americans, the Eisenhower just wasn’t moving fast enough. Sputnik was still orbiting! The Soviets were winning! Eisenhower downplayed Sputnik,calling it “one small ball in the air,” but privately he was worried. The U.S. had the ability to b...
The Space Race | Starting Gun | 1
May 16, 2018 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBRemember Werner von Braun? We talked a little bit about him in our Cold War series. He was in charge of the German rocket program in World War II. First used to lob missiles and bombs all over Europe, von Braun always dreamed of something better for his rockets. As the Soviet and American forces were closing in on Germany to end the war, von Braun saw only one way out: surrender to the American forces and get to the States. Amid the wreckage of the Third Reich, the first leg of the...
History Through Innovation | Interview with Steven Johnson | 1
May 10, 2018 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBThe phone in your hand is more powerful than all of the computers that put a man on the moon, combined. In the age of supercomputers, driverless cars, and mail-order DNA testing it’s easy to forget that the journey to these incredible innovations was a lot of surprising moments. We’re fascinated with the scientists, engineers and innovators who changed the world for the better… and sometimes worse. These are the leaps of mankind, as they happened. Introducing American Innovations f...
History Through Innovation | Interview with Steven Johnson | 7
May 10, 2018 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBThe phone in your hand is more powerful than all of the computers that put a man on the moon, combined. In the age of supercomputers, driverless cars, and mail-order DNA testing it’s easy to forget that the journey to these incredible innovations was a lot of surprising moments. We’re fascinated with the scientists, engineers and innovators who changed the world for the better… and sometimes worse. These are the leaps of mankind, as they happened. Introducing American Innovations f...
The Age of Jackson | Manifest Destiny | 6
May 02, 2018 07:05 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MB“Manifest Destiny” is a uniquely American idea. The phrase captured the sense of inevitability—and entitlement—many citizens still feel. But in the 19th century this idea consumed American’s thought and identity. In the minds of white settlers moving westward, expansion was key to protecting American democracy. But white settlers weren’t equipped for the wild, harsh, and desolate newly-American landscape they found. Those who did make it to California had Mexican governance to dea...
The Age of Jackson | The Little Magician | 5
April 25, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBDuring the last years of Jackson's presidency, the economy flourished. The national debt was paid in full, industry and agriculture boomed. But when Martin Van Buren assumed the presidency, he inherited an economic disaster. The divide between rich and poor was growing and people were starting to lose their patience. The country was so on edge that the threat of increase in the price of flour caused riots in Manhattan. How this happened and more, in today's episode. Support us by s...
The Age of Jackson | Great White Father | 4
April 18, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBDuring his political rise, Jackson distinguished himself with his ability to exact ruthless military victories over indigenous people. As President Native Americans felt the brunt of this power. Whatever his achievements during his lifetime, his legacy is forever "Indian removal" from lands they'd originally inhabited to make way for white settlers. And none would feel the brunt of Jackson’s force more than the groups known as the Five Civilized Tribes—“civilized,” white settlers b...
Bonus | Age of Jackson Recap | 4
April 18, 2018 06:05 - 10 minutes - 9.9 MBCatch up on what we covered in The Age of Jackson. New episodes of American History Tellers come out every Wednesday. Support us by supporting our sponsors!
The Age of Jackson | King Mob | 3
April 11, 2018 14:04 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBFrom the beginning, Jackson's administration was riddled with controversy. Citizens mobbed the White House on inauguration day, breaking furniture and fine china. They were only lured out with alcohol. And then there was the "Petticoat Affair." His Secretary of War, John Henry Eaton, was the ideal candidate for what we now call the Secretary of State, but there was one small problem... the most beautiful woman in Washington. John was having an affair with a sailor's wife which start...
The Age of Jackson | Good Feelings | 2
April 04, 2018 07:05 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBIn the summer of 1817, President James Monroe toured the country in an effort to unite the ever-growing United States, torn between bitter political battles that overshadowed national conflict. To Monroe, the nation seemed ready “to get back into the great family of the union.” And based on reactions to his speech, he was right. A Federalist newspaper hailed Monroe’s visit, and his message of togetherness, as a success. It ushered in what became known as “The Era of Good Feelings....
The Age of Jackson | Washington Burns | 1
March 28, 2018 07:05 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBIn August 1814, the White House burned. A fire that would eventually consume the entire nation in Civil War was already burning. This is Antebellum America. This is the adolescence of the United States, when the country grew at tremendous speed, and when fundamental questions about the kind of place it would be were being asked. Like, could the states put their individual differences aside to remain one country? And could this new country live up to its lofty ideals, especially whe...
Prohibition | Interview with Lillian Cunningham | 8
March 21, 2018 07:05 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBDo you know the record for the longest ratification period of any constitutional amendment? Lillian Cunningham did. She’s an editor with the Washington Post, host of two outstanding American History podcasts, Presidential and Constitutional, and she’s our guest today. We’ll talk about amendments, those presidents you can never remember (can you name anything about Millard Fillmore?) and she helps us preview the next series on AHT, the Age of Jackson. Support us by supporting our ...
Prohibition | Interview with Lillian Cunningham | 7
March 21, 2018 07:05 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBDo you know the record for the longest ratification period of any constitutional amendment? Lillian Cunningham did. She’s an editor with the Washington Post, host of two outstanding American History podcasts, Presidential and Constitutional, and she’s our guest today. We’ll talk about amendments, those presidents you can never remember (can you name anything about Millard Fillmore?) and she helps us preview the next series on AHT, the Age of Jackson. Support us by supporting our ...
Prohibition - We Want Beer | 6
March 14, 2018 07:05 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBThe people had spoken: They wanted beer, and they wanted it now, but not just for drinking. Protestors wanted the jobs that came with breweries, and the country was desperate from the money that could come from alcohol taxes. As quickly as temperance organizations sprang up in the decade before, anti-Prohibition organizations appeared in every city. But, a constitutional amendment had never been repealed before. The anti-Prohibition leagues realized they needed someone bigger than a...
Prohibition - We Want Beer | 7
March 14, 2018 07:05 - 34 minutes - 32 MBThe people had spoken: They wanted beer, and they wanted it now, but not just for drinking. Protestors wanted the jobs that came with breweries, and the country was desperate from the money that could come from alcohol taxes. As quickly as temperance organizations sprang up in the decade before, anti-Prohibition organizations appeared in every city. But, a constitutional amendment had never been repealed before. The anti-Prohibition leagues realized they needed someone bigger than a...
Prohibition - Down and Out | 6
March 07, 2018 08:05 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBClosing Time by Daniel Francis provides a good account of the border wars and smuggling across the northern border. Robert Rockaway’s article “The Notorious Purple Gang” details the gang’s origin as well as the Cleaners and Dyers War. For information about the link between Prohibition and organized crime in Chicago, Gus Russo’s The Outfit and Get Capone by Johnathan Eig are invaluable sources. Al Capone’s Beer Wars by John J. Binder is a fantastic re-assessment of the period that s...
Prohibition - Down and Out | 5
March 07, 2018 08:05 - 33 minutes - 31 MBClosing Time by Daniel Francis provides a good account of the border wars and smuggling across the northern border. Robert Rockaway’s article “The Notorious Purple Gang” details the gang’s origin as well as the Cleaners and Dyers War. For information about the link between Prohibition and organized crime in Chicago, Gus Russo’s The Outfit and Get Capone by Johnathan Eig are invaluable sources. Al Capone’s Beer Wars by John J. Binder is a fantastic re-assessment of the period that s...
Prohibition - Poisoning the Well | 5
February 28, 2018 08:05 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MBThe rise of the speakeasy was one of many unintended consequences of Prohibition - and others were much deadlier. Not coincidentally, at the same time Prohibition was taking effect, the Klu Klux Klan rose to power. They combined Prohibition’s anti-immigrant rhetoric with violence. As the number of speakeasies continued to grow, and states continued to buckle down, suppliers couldn’t keep up. Quality went down. Most bootleg alcohol from the time had elements of stuff that would ki...
Prohibition - Poisoning the Well | 4
February 28, 2018 08:05 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBThe rise of the speakeasy was one of many unintended consequences of Prohibition - and others were much deadlier. Not coincidentally, at the same time Prohibition was taking effect, the Klu Klux Klan rose to power. They combined Prohibition’s anti-immigrant rhetoric with violence. As the number of speakeasies continued to grow, and states continued to buckle down, suppliers couldn’t keep up. Quality went down. Most bootleg alcohol from the time had elements of stuff that would ki...
Bonus | Prohibition Recap | 4
February 26, 2018 08:05 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBIt's another bonus episode of American History Tellers! Missed episodes 1-3? You can catch up here. If you already listened to those episodes, you may hear something new... Support us by supporting our sponsors!
Prohibition - Speakeasy | 3
February 21, 2018 08:05 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBWhile Prohibition was successful in closing the saloon, it didn’t quench America’s thirst. Enterprising bootleggers found more ways to provide more alcohol to parched Americans – so much that there was finally enough supply to meet demand. New drinking establishments popped up across the nation: speakeasies. Forced underground, these new types of saloons operated under new rules, too. Women drank right alongside the men, and both black and white patrons danced together to Duke Elli...
Prohibition - Drying Out | 2
February 14, 2018 08:05 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBWhen a German U-boat torpedoed the RMS Lusitania on Friday, May 7th, 1915, Americans found two new enemies: Germany and the beer it was so associated with. Anti-German sentiment grew, and with it hostility to the breweries founded in the 19th century by German immigrants. Soon, the war effort and the temperance movement were linked: it was patriotic to abstain, and Prohibition became law. How did America cope? They swapped their stool at the bar for a seat at the soda shop, listeni...
Prohibition - Closing Time | 1
February 07, 2018 08:05 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBOn January 17, 1920, the United States passed the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, ushering in a 13-year dry spell known as Prohibition. But how did a country that loved to drink turn its back on alcohol? How did two-thirds of both the House and Senate and three-fourths of State legislatures all agree that going dry was the way to get the country going forward? It had always been a long, uphill battle for the temperance movement, but towards the end of the nineteenth century, ...
The Cold War - Interview with Audra Wolfe and Patrick Wyman | 7
January 31, 2018 08:05 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBWe’re closing out our series on the Cold War with two interviews with fascinating historians. First, we’re talking with Audra Wolfe, the author of Competing with the Soviets: Science, Technology, and the State in Cold War America, and the writer of this first six-part series of American History Tellers. Then, we take a seat in the way-back machine with Patrick Wyman, host of the hit podcasts Fall of Rome and Tides of History. We’ll investigate how the Cold War standoff between the U...
The Cold War - Interview with Audra Wolfe and Patrick Wyman | 8
January 31, 2018 08:05 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBWe’re closing out our series on the Cold War with two interviews with fascinating historians. First, we’re talking with Audra Wolfe, the author of Competing with the Soviets: Science, Technology, and the State in Cold War America, and the writer of this first six-part series of American History Tellers. Then, we take a seat in the way-back machine with Patrick Wyman, host of the hit podcasts Fall of Rome and Tides of History. We’ll investigate how the Cold War standoff between the U...