History That Doesn't Suck
201 episodes - English - Latest episode: 22 days ago - ★★★★★ - 4.5K ratingsHTDS is a bi-weekly podcast, delivering a legit, seriously researched, hard-hitting survey of American history through entertaining stories. To keep up with History That Doesn’t Suck news, check us out on Facebook and Instagram: @Historythatdoesntsuck; on Twitter: @HTDSpod; or online at htdspodcast.com. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/historythatdoesntsuck.
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Episodes
110: Epilogue to the Age of Imperialism
April 25, 2022 06:00 - 49 minutesGreg, Zach, and Kelsi sit down for a chat about America’s surprisingly compact burst of turn-of-the-century overseas expansion (Age of Imperialism). They talk through an overarching overview of the era; highlight some of the things that, while in previous episodes, might have been less obvious (coaling stations, anyone?); and wax eloquent on historical research while sharing a small behind-the-scenes comedy of errors that went down amid the research for an episode. Hope you enjoy it. Learn m...
109: The Election of 1900 & the Rise of Anti-Imperialism
April 11, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour“Only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.” This is the story of imperialism and presidential politics: the election of 1900. US President William McKinley is looking for reelection. The economy is strong, the nation is powerful, and it's expanding overseas. For many Americans, that all sounds and looks rather good. But for others, this overseas imperial expansion is a betrayal of American values. With famous names like Mark Twain and Andrew Carneg...
108: G.O. 100, “The Water Cure,” & The Law of War in the Early-20th Century with Professor Ryan Vogel
March 28, 2022 06:00 - 1 hourThe ugliest aspects of the Philippine-American War raised questions of legitimate warfare. Specifically, they required the US to think through a military code of conduct from the Civil War: General Order 100, or the “Lieber Code.” But what is the Lieber Code? How did it seek to rein in the worst of war atrocities, and where did it fail to do so in the Philippines? While we’re at it … what even was the status of the “Law of War” at the turn of the century, and how did it compare to the warfar...
107: The Philippine-American War
March 14, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour“Co … wards! Assassins!” This is the story of the Philippine-American War. Having bested the Spanish in war, the United States now lays claim to holding sovereignty over the Philippines. President William McKinley asserts that the US is enacting “benevolent assimilation” on the islands. William Taft says the US is going to help its “little brown brothers.” But nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo rejects these claims. He says the Philippines should be independent; that US rule is no better than Span...
106: The US Annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom
February 28, 2022 07:00 - 54 minutes“You have my love, and with sorrow I dismiss you.” This is the story of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s end. Queen Liliuokalani hates the Constitution of 1887–or “Bayonet” Constitution, as it’s known, since her predecessor and brother King Kalakaua signed it under duress. Under this constitution, wealth rather than citizenship determines who votes. This means a lot of wealthy sugar-planting foreigners of American and European origin control the legislature while few native Hawaiians are enfranchised...
105: “A Splendid Little War:” The Spanish-American War and Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders
February 14, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes“Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn’t made that will kill me.” This is the story of the Spanish-American War. George Dewey’s squadron is in Manila Bay. Henry Glass is bombarding Guam’s Apra Harbor. Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders are charging up Kettle Hill in Cuba’s San Juan Heights. One American victory follows another as the US fights against the Spanish for the sake of Cuba. Or is it for the sake of Cuba? As the US and Spain work out a peace treaty in Paris, we’ll see one empire fall ...
Introducing...History Daily!
February 07, 2022 07:00 - 34 minutesToday, the Prof would like to provide you with a little bonus: an intro to the podcast History Daily! We will hear two tales related to the era HTDS is in now: the first flight of the Wright Brothers and the race to the South Pole. Our storyteller is the man behind HTDS's sound design and so many other excellent podcasts like 1865, American Scandal, American History Tellers, and more: Lindsay Graham. Subscribe to History Daily wherever you enjoy podcasts. You can check out its website here: h...
104: The Road to the Spanish-American War
January 31, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” This is the story of the road to war for American Empire. Ruled by Spain, Cuba has nonetheless been at odds with the Crown for decades. The Caribbean isle has rebelled and warred against the colonial power more than once in the second half of the nineteenth century. The US has watched with great interest as some of its leaders and citizens have cheered for Cuban liberty, while others have thought more about annexation. The US is ascendant; the Spani...
5 (Second Edition): “Delenda est Bostonia:” A Continental Congress, Paul Revere Rides, and the First Shot at Lexington
January 17, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour“Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men.” This is the story of the First Continental Congress and the build-up to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. In the wake of the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies air their grievances against Parliament. It doesn't go well as His Majesty’s Government proclaims New England in a state of rebellion and Governor/General Thomas Gage moves to seize arms/munitions from town militias. Paul Revere (and ...
4 (Second Edition): “Boston Harbor a Tea-Pot This Night:” The Boston Tea Party
January 03, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour“We have only been making a little salt-water tea.” This is the story of the Boston Tea Party. The East India Company and the needs of the global British Empire are intertwined, and Parliament–ready for a third tax initiative in North America–wants the colonials to swallow an EIC monopoly on tea. The East India Company sends its tea to America on seven ships. Four head to Boston. Three will make it. To be clear: the ships make it. The tea won’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
103: A Gilded Age Christmas: Joseph Pulitzer’s Christmas Tree Fund
December 20, 2021 07:00 - 24 minutes“Santa can’t fool [me], since the holes in [my] stockings are too big for anything to be put in.” This is the story of Gilded Age giving. Of 30,000 destitute children having a better Christmas because of one man who used his newspaper to connect those who were without to those who had and wanted to give. This is the story of Gilded Age New York’s real life Santa Clause: Joseph Pulitzer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2 (Second Edition): Patrick Henry & the Sons of Liberty Lose It over Taxes (the Sugar Act & the Stamp Act)
December 06, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour“Liberty, Property, and no stamps!” This is the story of Parliament’s first ever attempt to tax the North American colonies: the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. His Majesty’s government might have won the Seven Years War, but it went broke in the process. Now it’s pinching pennies and trying to pay for a standing army to guard its newly claimed turf in North America. Lord George Grenville sees an answer: tax the Americans with the Sugar Act and Stamp Act. But is this constitutional? A lot of ...
102: Epilogue to the Gilded Age
November 22, 2021 07:00 - 1 hourGreg sits down with Zach and Kelsi for a chat. They make a rather … LIVE(ly) announcement … then proceed to talk about electricity, tycoons, and the New South. But the conversation can’t end without Greg and Zach nerding out (as Kelsi, perhaps rightly, rolls her eyes) about their mutually favorite author: Edgar Allan Poe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing...Eclipsed!
November 16, 2021 07:00 - 4 minutesStories you never knew you never knew. From Campside Media, ECLIPSED is a new weekly narrative history podcast. Hosted by writer and internet-dweller Bijan Stephen (The Verge, The Believer), each episode features a story hidden in the shadow of another event. Lakes disappear, sailors cry, and pop stars go into battle on this season of ECLIPSED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
101: The New South, Jim Crow (Plessy v. Ferguson), & the Death of Frederick Douglass
November 08, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” This is the story of the Gilded Age below the Mason-Dixon Line. In the years since the Civil War, the cotton industry has been reshaped. The South has more international competition and is opening more of its own cotton mills. It’s a significant and deeper step into a post-slavery, industrial economy. This “New South” post-slavery economy has also turned to a new farming model: sharecropping. But amid forced la...
100: Halloween Special! Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, & The Raven
October 25, 2021 06:00 - 57 minutes‘How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” This is the story of a man driven to madness by a pale blue eye; the story of a man who’s vowed revenge; of a young scholar heartbroken by death. This is also the story of the man who brought us these three tales–one of the most grim and ghastly Gothic authors in American history–Edgar Allan Poe. This episode is best enjoyed alone. In the dark. With headphones. Happy Halloween! Learn more a...
99: The Gilded Age’s Singer Sewing Machines & Dangerous Bananas w/ Dr. Ben Sawyer of The Road To Now
October 11, 2021 06:00 - 59 minutesDid Singer Sewing Machines take over the world? And are bananas as dangerous as they appear in cartoons? The answer to both of these questions are a resounding “yes!” in the Gilded Age. Listen in as the Prof. discusses these and other Gilded Age topics with his esteemed colleague and fellow podcaster: Dr. Ben Sawyer of Middle Tennessee State University and The Road to Now Podcast (check them out here: https://www.theroadtonow.com/)! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
98: Silver & Gold: From Grover Cleveland to William Jennings Bryan & William McKinley
September 27, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” This is the story of Gilded Age’s later presidencies. Grover “the Good” Cleveland is known as a man of integrity and honesty. Those characteristics alone are enough to get him to the White House. But as Benjamin Harrison interrupts his terms, the frustration of farmers and factory workers is boiling over into more labor strikes. Soon, working-class Americans are rallying around one issue in particular: the minting silver. The issue is r...
97: The Gilded Age’s Robber Barons: John D. Rockefeller & Andrew Carnegie
September 13, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“Someday, some-time, when I am a man, I want to be worth a hundred thousand dollars!” This is the story of two of the United States’ most wealthy industrialists. John D. Rockefeller is the son of a con artist; he teaches young John never to trust and leaves the boy wondering if food will or won’t be on the table. John will rise from his world of uncertainty to dominate the emerging oil scene. The son of a Scottish weaver, Andrew Carnegie comes from absolutely nothing. But Pennsylvania Railroa...
96: The War of the Currents: (Thomas Alva Edison v. Nikola Tesla & George Westinghouse)
August 30, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor.” This is the story of opinionated inventors with very different views on electric lighting; a story of invention, genius, conniving, and even electrocutions. This is the War of the Currents. Thomas Alva Edison believes in direct current. He’s convinced it’s safer. Freshly arrived from Europe, Nikola Tesla thinks alternating current has the potential to unleash indoor domestic lighting on a whole new level and can be made just as safe. The men ...
95: "Several Thousand Things that Won't Work:" Thomas Alva Edison and His Electric Light
August 16, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“I have got so much to do and life is so short, I am going to hustle.” This is the story of trial and error, of determination, and science merging with business. Electric lights have been around since the early 1800s. Unfortunately, they’ve also been impractical. The energy it takes to operate an arc light makes it little more than a novelty. Likewise, newer lights called “incandescents” burn out far too quickly to be of value. But what if someone could make incandescents last hundreds of ho...
94: Epilogue to Gilded Age Part I (or Gilded Age interlude w/ Significant HTDS Updates)
August 02, 2021 06:00 - 1 hourAn epilogue. Or interlude? Well, we aren’t done with the Gilded age, but we have too much behind-the-scenes HTDS evolution to discuss! So here we are. Zach is moving up from intern to writer status. Longtime HTDS team member Kelsi gets behind the mic for the first time. Meanwhile, Greg discusses doing a second edition of older episodes. But of course, we won’t ignore the Gilded Age. We’ll still have some good old fashion chit-chat about recent episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
93: La Liberté éclairant le monde: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty
July 19, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“Vive l’entente fraternelle des deux républiques !” This is the story of the Statue of Liberty. In 1865, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (or “Auguste,” as his friends call him), claims to have attended a dinner at which his French colleagues and friends feted the United States’ victory over the Confederacy and slavery. With hope for a restoration of republican government and greater liberty at home, these Frenchmen living under the rule of Napoleon III spoke of the United States and France’s share...
History That Doesn’t Suck, LIVE: The Boston Massacre, or the Incident at King Street
July 05, 2021 20:04 - 59 minutes“Damn ye, rascals, what did ye fire for?” This is the story of the Boston Massacre (or, for you loyalists out there, the “incident” at King Street), which the Prof. recounted LIVE this 4th of July weekend for the largest colonial history re-enactment event in the western United States: The Colonial Heritage Festival, in Orem, Utah. “Huzzah” or “fie” right along with the crowd. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
92: The Brooklyn Bridge, or the Story of the Roebling Family
June 21, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“John Roebling has not the leisure to wait upon any man.” This is the story of a bridge and a family. John Roebling is weary of the oppressive, bureaucratic Prussian government. He’s heard from his professor–Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel–that the United States is a land of opportunity. Those factors combined lead the driven über productive German to immigrate, where he introduces wire rope to his new adopted homeland and takes bridge building to another level. But can he span the great Eas...
91: The Gilded Age, Industrialization, and Assassination of President James Garfield
June 07, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“What is the chief end of man? A: To get rich.” This is the story of the Gilded Age and its first three presidents: Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur. Mark Twain calls this era a “Gilded Age”–that is, a time of great greed covered with a thin veneer hiding the nation’s decadence. Is it? We’ll assess and define this oft-forgotten time. In doing so, we’ll meet three oft-forgotten presidents. Rutherford (or Rutherfraud?) Hayes, who receives the presidency through a Re...
1 (Second Edition): That One Time When George Washington Sort of Triggered an International War
May 24, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“[He] washed his hands with the brains.” Private John Shaw This is the story of a 22-year-old George Washington as commander of a 400-man army fighting the French. We’ll also hear about his childhood, the deaths, backcountry experience, and finagling, that bring George—who’s untrained, inexperienced, too young, and completely outgunned—to this moment. He fails. Miserably. But not without triggering a war between France and Britain that will change the American colonies’ relationship to the ...
Introducing: Real Dictators Podcast
May 17, 2021 06:00 - 41 minutesIntroducing: Real Dictators Podcast! It's exactly what you would expect it to be, and we want to share this episode with you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
90: Epilogue to the Wild West
May 10, 2021 06:00 - 1 hourThis is the end of the west! Meet two new researchers, Ryan Griffith and Zach Weaver, as they join Greg to discuss the latest inner workings of HTDS, the Transcontinental Railroad, Buffalo Bill, and industrialization. As they wrap up, Greg then discusses the Golden Spike Ceremony with National Park Service Lead Ranger Lucas Hugie. They do so on-site, just a stone's throw from where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
89: Closing the Wild West: (Wounded Knee, Buffalo Bill & the 1893 Colombian Expo)
April 26, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“I wish to impress upon your minds that what you are about to witness is not a performance in the common sense of the term.” This is the story of the Wild West’s end and the close of the frontier. The West is settled. The buffalo are gone. The US government is seeking to assimilate Native Americans. In this environment, a religious movement promising a restoration of traditional indigenous life, called the Ghost Dance, is spreading across the continent. Fearful of it, the government sends t...
88: “The Last Frontier:” The Purchase of Alaska and the Klondike Gold Rush
April 12, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“This is my last opportunity to make a big haul. Alaska is the last West.” This is the story of the US purchase of Alaska and the famous Klondike Gold Rush. Russia needs funds and sees its territory of Russian-America as a liability. That has US Secretary of State William Henry Seward seeing opportunities, such as fisheries and access to Asian markets. It’s an ideal match of interests for two major powers—provided William Henry can convince the Senate to approve the treaty to purchase a reg...
87:Gunslingers & Outlaws (pt 2): Pearl Hart, Tombstone, Jesse James, B. Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
March 29, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“The fight’s commenced. Go to fighting or get away!” This is the story of more gunslinging and heists. Pearl Hart needs to see her mother; is a stagecoach robbery the answer? The Earps Brothers and Doc Holiday are on the opposite of a political and economic feud with the “Cow Boys” in the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory; are they disarming the “Cow Boys” in accordance with a city ordinance? Or is there more to it? Jesse James is a Civil War bushwhacker; but is it still “bushwackin...
86: Gunslingers & Outlaws (pt 1): The Second Industrial Revolution, Sam Bass & Billy the Kid
March 15, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“I am going to hell anyhow.” This is the story of the rise of Western outlaws and gunslingers. From transportation of goods and people, to mining and even the cattle industry, a Second Industrial Revolution has overtaken the United States. Economic and political disruption are everywhere … but the law isn’t. And that’s the perfect cocktail for a golden age of outlaws. Sam Bass is robbing the Union Pacific. Henry—sorry, he doesn’t go by his legal name these days—Billy or “Kid,” is throwing do...
85: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 3): The Central Pacific, Chinese Workers, & The Golden Spike
March 01, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour“Did they not build the Chinese Wall, the biggest piece of masonry in the world?” The Central Pacific Railroad is struggling to find long-term construction workers. Many of them quickly leave the CP’s employ to pursue gold and silver in the mines of California or Nevada. But Big Four Associate Charlie Crocker has an idea: why not try hiring Chinese immigrants? The idea is semi-controversial in the eyes of many Americans, but the CP goes for it, and likes the results. Soon, the Chinese make u...
84: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 2): Dr. Thomas Durant, The Union Pacific & “Hell on Wheels”
February 15, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour“How dare you try to hog all the continent?” This is the story of the Union Pacific Railroad. The US Government has legislated that a private company be organized with government oversight to build a railroad from Nebraska to Nevada. It will meet the Central Pacific and form a transcontinental rail across the whole United States. Unfortunately, few are interested in investing in this risky endeavor in the midst of the Civil War. But one man isn’t afraid to do so. Of course, his lack of fear i...
Introducing: Skeptoid!
February 08, 2021 07:00 - 7 minutesIntroducing the Skeptoid podcast! Since 2006, the weekly Skeptoid podcast has been taking on all the most popular myths and revealing the true science, true history, and true lessons we can learn from each. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
83: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 1): Industrialization, Ted Judah & The Rise of the Central Pacific
February 01, 2021 07:00 - 59 minutes“Every great enterprise has been ridiculed in the outset.” This is the story of the rise of the railroad. Travel on land is slow. Arduous. Inhibited by rough terrain like mountains, rivers, and bogs. That reality makes Americans view the continent’s interior as an inaccessible “Great Desert,” only to be visited by daring pioneers passing through en route to Oregon Country or California. But technology is changing. “Iron horses” are starting to run at rapid speeds across rails. And as these ra...
82: Best Mini Episodes and Cold Opens of 2020
January 18, 2021 07:00 - 50 minutes“Gentlemen, what is the cause of this violence?” This is the story HTDS's 2020. Most people wouldn’t call last year a good one. Doesn’t mean we didn’t have some fun mini episodes and cold opens here on HTDS. Join Greg for a look at some favorites from both of those camps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
81: Epilogue to Volume 6: Reconstruction and The Indian Wars
January 04, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour“The older I get the more I’m convinced that it’s the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it’s the purpose of historians to say, ‘No! It’s very complicated’.” — David Cannadine (British historian at Princeton) It’s epilogue time. Join Greg and Cielle as they talk broad strokes on one of the darkest periods of American history: Reconstruction and the (post-Civil War) Indian Wars. In the process, we’ll revisit a few fascinating figures who seem to rej...
80: “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus:” A History
December 21, 2020 07:00 - 23 minutes“Church bristled and pooh-poohed at the subject when I suggested that he write a reply to Virginia O’Hanlon.” This is the story of America’s most famous editorial. Virginia O’Hanlon is an inquisitive eight-year-old. She’s debated with her friends and studied out the matter, but she still can’t decide: is there a Santa Claus? At her father’s suggestion, she writes to New York’s great arbiter of truth: The Sun. Her letter is handed to an editorial writer by the name of Francis “Frank” Pharcellu...
79: The Indian Wars (Part 3): Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce & Standing Bear’s Fight for Civil Rights
December 07, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour“Does this court think an Indian is a competent witness?” This is the story of the start of indigenous civil rights. Since the arrival of Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce have lived peacefully beside US citizens. The Pacific Northwest indigenous group is proud of the fact that not one of them has ever killed a white person. But things are changing. New settlers are flocking, and the US government wants the Nez Perce to cede more land. In 1863, the upper Nez Perce sign a treaty that cedes Lower ...
78: The Indian Wars (Part 2): The Battle of the Little Bighorn (the Greasy Grass)
November 23, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour“There’s a good fight coming over the hill. That’s where the big fight is going to be. We’ll not miss that one.” This is the story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (or the Greasy Grass). In 1868, representatives of the US government meet leaders from a few indigenous nations at Fort Laramie to sign a treaty. The agreement creates the boundaries for a Great Sioux Reservation and “unceded” Sioux territory. But the treaty soon falters: With the discovery of gold in the Lakota’s sacred Black ...
78: The Indian Wars Part 2: The Battle of the Little Bighorn (the Greasy Grass)
November 23, 2020 07:00 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MB“There’s a good fight coming over the hill. That’s where the big fight is going to be. We’ll not miss that one.” This is the story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (or the Greasy Grass). In 1868, representatives of the US government meet leaders from a few indigenous nations at Fort Laramie to sign a treaty. The agreement creates the boundaries for a Great Sioux Reservation and “unceded” Sioux territory. But the treaty soon falters: With the discovery of gold in the Lakota’s s...
77: The Indian Wars (Part 1): The U.S.-Dakota War
November 09, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour“To be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” This is the story of the US-Dakota War. The most eastern of the three major Sioux peoples, the Dakota are indigenous to Minnesota. They’ve lived beside trappers, fur traders, and the like, for quite a while (salut, les Canadiens-français). But now, more white settlers are showing up and setting up farms, and American officials are buying lands in exchange for long-term payments. But what happens when those payments are late? Shorted? Meanwhile, tra...
77: The Indian Wars Part 1: The U.S.-Dakota War
November 09, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MB“To be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” This is the story of the US-Dakota War. The most eastern of the three major Sioux peoples, the Dakota are indigenous to Minnesota. They’ve lived beside trappers, fur traders, and the like, for quite a while (salut, les Canadiens-français). But now, more white settlers are showing and setting up farms, and American officials are buying lands in exchange for long-term payments. But what happens when those payments are late? Shorted? Meanw...
76: Reconstruction (Part 4): The Battle of Liberty Place and the Mississippi Plan
October 26, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour“Hang Kellogg! We’ll fight!” This is the story of the end of Reconstruction. Voter fraud and intimidation has made Louisiana’s 1872 Gubernatorial election a mess. So, when a Federal judge and Republican President Ulysses S. Grant uphold the Republican candidate, the stage is set for more partisan and racial violence in the Bayou State. The outcome is Reconstruction’s worst episode of violence and murder (the Colfax Massacre), and a full-on street battle in New Orleans between the paramilita...
76: Reconstruction Part 4: The Battle of Liberty Place and the Mississippi Plan
October 26, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 58 MB“Hang Kellogg! We’ll fight!” This is the story of the end of Reconstruction. Voter fraud and intimidation has made Louisiana’s 1872 Gubernatorial election a mess. So, when a Federal judge and Republican President Ulysses S. Grant uphold the Republican candidate, the stage is set for more partisan and racial violence in the Bayou state. The outcome is Reconstruction’s worst episode of violence and murder (the Colfax Massacre), and a full on street battle in New Orleans between the ...
75: Reconstruction (Part 3): The Rise of the KKK and the First Black Men in Government
October 12, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour“Boys, let us get up a club or society of some description.” This is the story of Reconstruction peaking and its opponents organizing to fight back. With Radical Republicans at the helm of Reconstruction, the former Confederate states are forced to make new state constitutions that include black men in the process. The outcome is nothing short of revolutionary. Black men not only come away with the vote but the ability to run for office! Black Americans like PBS Pinchback, Robert Smalls, an...
Bonus Episode: Game Changers: Precedent-Setting Presidential Elections
October 06, 2020 13:00 - 20 minutesGame Changers: Precedent-Setting Presidential Elections takes a look at some of the earliest and most influential presidential elections in US history. Join Greg and Cielle as they highlight the backstory of key players in four early presidential elections. Then, listen and learn as they engage in lively discussions about the precedents set in each of these elections and how those still play out in our system today. In Episode 1: The Election of 1800: A Changing of the Guards Part 1, you’ll ...
74: Reconstruction Part 2: The Scandals of President Ulysses S. Grant
September 28, 2020 06:00 - 57 minutes - 53 MB"The office has come to me unsought; I commence its duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscious desire and determination to fill it to the best of my ability to the satisfaction of the people. " This is the story of scandal. Ulysses S. Grant has just been elected as the youngest US President to date. He has great hopes to usher in a new era of civil and political rights for African-Americans and American Indians, as evidenced by the new 15th amendment. But can the honest Civil...