Footnotes: A History Podcast

Theodore Roosevelt had a driving personality known for conquering any room he was in. But after the disastrous 1912 election, he found himself in the political wilderness. In typical Roosevelt fashion, he pushed himself to his limits. But did he push too far? Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

The Pullman Strike is a forgotten watershed moment in American history. A dreamer capitalist met his match when his employees struck. Though George Pullman emerged victorious, the event challenged its contemporaries to question his kind of paternal institutions. Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

World War I had become infamous for life wasting. But few battles were as unsuccessful as they were forgotten. The assault on Aubers Ridge reveals the true slaughter of the Great War. Sources: “A Soldier’s Tale: Pvt Albert Money” by David Tuffley Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

Jack Sheppard descended into the nasty world of 18th century London to become a man of infamous renown. Follow this tale of jail-break, corruption, and intrigue. The Road to Tyburn (Main Source). ISBN: 0-141-39023-9 Thief - Taker Hangings. ISBN: 978-0-7627-9148-4 Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

Joan of Arc famously defeated the English, but the story of how she achieved it has been relegated to footnotes. It is a tale of mysterious circumstances, amazing luck, and a tragic end. Sources: Joan of Arc by Helen Castor: ISBN - 978-0-06-238439-3 Joan of Arc by Mark Twain: ISBN - 0-89870-268-2 Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

Duke Louis: We get a rare glimpse into a tale of medieval royalty told through the eyes of a detective. Duke Louis of Orleans had everything he ever wanted: power, prestige, women. But with those come the danger of powerful enemies. These enemies would strike him down mercilessly in the street. As the clues unfold, a truly sinister plot is revealed. Source: Blood Royal by Eric Jager. ISBN: 978-0-316-22451 Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

Earnest Shackleton and his men have already endured tedium and hardship in their now-failed voyage in the Antarctic. Now they must brace themselves as the ice melts. What follows is a truly thrilling story of survival. Sources: "The Endurance" by Caroline Alexander. ISBN: 978-0375404030 "South" by Earnest Shackleton. ISBN: 1530876214 Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

It was the swansong of the Age of Exploration. Antarctic explorers would soon become the last great interlopers of unknown lands. Sir Earnest Shackleton became the final champion of this golden age with his Endurance expedition across the Antarctic continent. Instead of a victorious conquest, he found immortality in defeat. Sources: "The Endurance" by Caroline Alexander. ISBN: 978-0375404030 "South" by Earnest Shackleton. ISBN: 1530876214 Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

Medieval warfare was a grinding affair. Castles stood impregnable, sieges lasted months, and generals avoided direct fights. The Black Prince of England manages to achieve a sweeping victory through the French countryside in 1355 in this great testament to military ingenuity. Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

How much reform is too much reform? Jacobo Arbenz rose to power in Guatemala with promises of a better life for his otherwise impoverished Banana Republic. His communist leanings become his undoing as even his most modest policies become scrutinized by the red-fearing CIA of the 1950s. The story of Arbenz never ceases to stir controversy. Gleijeses, Piero (1991). Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN: 0-691-07817-3. Schlesinger, Stephen and Stephen Kinzer (1982). Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. ISBN: 0-385-14861-5. Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/footnotespodcast

What happens when the peasants are fed up? After years of taxes, military failure, and arbitrary justice, the English peasants finally rise up against their superiors. What follows is no mere riot, but a coordinated assault on those in charge. In the first narrative in our Hundred Years’ War saga, we see just how similar we are to our medieval ancestors. Sources: Dunn, Alastair (2002). The Great Rising of 1381: the Peasants' Revolt and England's Failed Revolution. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-2323-4 Dyer, Christopher (2009). Making a Living in the Middle Ages: the People of Britain 850–1520. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10191-1 Jones, Dan (2010). Summer of Blood: the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. London: Harper Press. ISBN 978-0-00-721393-1. Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Follow us on Instagram: Instagram.com/footnotespodcast

The ever-enigmatic John Brown has stirred controversy for over a century and a half. His raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia has become a minor event before the onset of the Civil War. Yet, few know the intricacies of this bold, if unsuccessful, plan to spark a slave insurrection in the South. In the final part of our series on grandeur, we descend into the chaos of those fateful October days in 1859. Sources: Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War https://amzn.to/32nESt1 John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry: A Brief History with Documents https://amzn.to/30AliYT Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes

In steps the man of action. After a failed scheme on Wall Street promises to cause an economic calamity, J.P. Morgan must save the day. With the banking world panicking around him, Morgan has the fortitude to remain calm. In part two of three, a drama unfolds between some of the most powerful men in the country. Sources: The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm https://amzn.to/2XLPfTU Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes Instagram: Instagram.com/footnotespodcast

May 1881, a disgruntled man stalks the president from the shadows down Pennsylvania Avenue. Disheveled and unpopular, Charles Guiteau allows his delusions of grandeur to lead him into committing the terrible murder of President James Garfield. This first episode of a three part series gives us a peek into the psychology of a madman and the forgotten legacy of a president. Sources: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President https://amzn.to/30zdYga Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius is the ultimate footnote: an event mentioned in every textbook. Yet few know the heroic exploits of Pliny the Elder to save his fellow Romans from a fiery death. We catch a glimpse of humanity and its eternal struggle with nature from two thousand years ago. Discuss This Episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footnotes

In an unlikely showdown of wills, William Walker finds himself fighting against the indomitable Cornelius Vanderbilt. In the final installment of this saga, Walker faces the realities of a foreign invading force. The events that follow reveal a portrait of a complex and controversial, yet somehow neglected, figure in history. Sources: Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer Discuss This Episode: Footnotes Facebook Group

The Americans are invading. Once an insignificant part of a larger war, William Walker has schemed and fought his way into power. What follows is the fascinating continuation of a bizarre struggle between mercenaries, peasants, and wealthy bankers. Sources: Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer Discuss This Episode: Footnotes Facebook Group

In the mid-1850s, Civil War engulfed the nation of Nicaragua. Desperate for victory, one side hires a small group of mercenaries led by a young newspaper editor named William Walker. Diminutive in size, but with piercing gray eyes, Walker unleashes chaos on the unsuspecting Nicaraguans in this forgotten tale of history. Sources: Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer Discuss This Episode: Footnotes Facebook Group