In The Past Lane - The Podcast About History and Why It Matters

In this episode of ITPL, we focus on Alexander Hamilton. You may have noticed that Hamilton has become the hottest Founder in recent years – and it's all due to the smash Broadway hit, "Hamilton: The Musical." So here's the lineup: 1. First, I provide a brief backgrounder on the remarkable life of Alexander Hamilton. 2. Second, I sit down with historian Stephen F. Knott to discuss his book, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America (Sourcebooks, 2015). He and his co-author Tony Williams argue that the relationship between Washington and Hamilton had a major impact on the outcome of the American Revolution and the subsequent creation of the American republic. 3. Finally, I drop by the one permanent site in Manhattan that's dedicated to the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. It's the Hamilton Grange in Harlem. I speak with National Park Service ranger Liam Strain about the site's history and how "Hamilton: The Musical" has dramatically increased visitor traffic at the site. You can find show notes for this episode and more information about the podcast at www.InThePastLane.com In The Past Lane is a production of Snoring Beagle International, Ltd. About Stephen F. Knott – website About the Hamilton Grange – website Further Reading Stephen F. Knott and Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America (Sourcebooks, 2015) Ronald Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (Penguin, 2004) Joseph J. Ellis, The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 (2015) Thomas Fleming, The Great Divide: The Conflict between Washington and Jefferson that Defined a Nation (2015) Joanne B. Freeman, Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (2005) Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, Hamilton: The Revolution (2016) John Sedgwick, War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation (2015) Jim Beckerman, "Hamilton Tourist Sites in New Jersey Ride the Wave of the Hit Musical," Associated Press, Jun 12, 2016 Linda Flanagan, "How Teachers Are Using 'Hamilton' the Musical in the Classroom," KQED.org Valerie Strauss, "The unusual way Broadway's 'Hamilton' is teaching U.S. history to kids," Washington Post, June 28, 2016 Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Doctor Turtle, "Often Outmumbled Never Outpunned" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "On The Street," (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Associate Producer, Devyn McHugh Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane 2020

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at a significant but often overlooked event during the Civil War, the Draft Riots of July 1863. Protests against drafting men into the Union Army broke out in many places, but the worst occurred in New York City. For four days rampaging crowds tore the city apart, destroying property and leading to the deaths of more than 100 people, including 11 African Americans who were lynched. To this day, the Draft Riots remain the largest civil uprising in US history. Feature Story: The Civil War Draft Riots On July 13, 1863 - 157 years ago this week - the streets of New York exploded in a violent episode known as the Draft Riots. It lasted four days and claimed the lives of more than one hundred people and destroyed millions of dollars in property – all while the Union struggled to defeat the Confederacy on the battlefield. The event terrified northerners, many of whom were convinced that it was the result of a Confederate plot, and it prompted the Lincoln administration to rush thousands of troops from the battlefield at Gettysburg to NYC. To this day, the Draft Riots remain the greatest civil uprising in American history. At the outset of the Civil War in 1861, no one in the North or South could have imagined that there would ever be a shortage of volunteers that would necessitate a military draft. Union and Confederate Army recruiting stations were overwhelmed by men eager to join the fight. Few men on either side expected the war to last more than a few weeks. But subsequent events made clear just how unrealistic these hopes were. Beset by a series of incompetent generals and a host of other problems, the Union's Army of the Potomac in the east performed poorly in the field. By mid-1862 it was clear that the war would be long and very, very bloody. Later that year, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which effectively announced the abolition of slavery. Lincoln had deemed emancipation necessary to win the war, but it also produced intense opposition among certain groups of northerners. War weariness, not to mention anti-war sentiment rose in the North and soon Union Army recruiting stations were empty. If Lincoln was to make good on his promise to preserve the Union at all costs, a second drastic measure was needed. In March of 1863 Congress passed the Conscription Act (the first in U.S. history) which declared all male citizens (and immigrants who had applied for citizenship) aged 20-45 eligible to be drafted into the Union Army. If drafted, a man had several options short of serving in the Union Army. He could pay a "commutation fee" of $300 to the government; or he could hire a substitute to serve in his place; or he could disappear – something that more than twenty percent of draftees did. The draft, like emancipation, proved intensely controversial. Some protesters denounced the draft as an affront to democratic liberty. Others focused on what they termed its "aristocratic" provisions that allowed the wealthy to buy their way out of service (the $300 commutation fee exceeded the annual income of many poor laborers). More and more, they argued, it was becoming "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." The draft also incited anger among those northerners, principally Democrats, who initially had been willing to support a war to preserve the Union, but who now balked at fighting a war for emancipation. Many politicians in the years before the war had used the issue of emancipation and the specter of cheap African American labor flooding northern cities to rally urban workers -- especially the Irish -- to the Democratic Party. The message to the Irish was clear: if you think it's tough to earn a living now, just wait until you have to compete with hundreds of thousands of black workers willing to work for less money. It was an opportunistic message of fear that ignored the fact that for the past thirty years it had been Irish immigrants who had taken jobs from free blacks living in northern cities. Nonetheless, it stoked racist animosity among the Irish and other poor white workers. When the draft began in July 1863, opposition to it turned violent. Violence broke out in Boston, Troy, New York, Wooster, Ohio, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and other cities. The worst incidents of anti-draft violence, of course, occurred in New York City. The first day of the draft, Saturday July 11, resulted in 1,236 names drawn. Despite grumblings and rumors of protest, it ended without incident. The plan was to resume the draft on Monday morning. Discontent among working-class New Yorkers was palpable Saturday night and on Sunday (when no draft was held) as people pored over the lists and found names of men they knew. Conspicuously absent were the names of any wealthy or prominent New Yorker. The mood in the city's working-class tenement districts grew ugly by Sunday night. Signs that there would be trouble when the draft resumed emerged early Mo

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the first great police scandal in US history. It occurred in the mid-1890s in New York City when an investigation into the NYPD exposed widespread corruption and brutality throughout the force, from its highest-ranking officers to the lowly beat cop. To walk us through this scandal, I speak with historian Daniel Czitrom about his book, New York Exposed: The Gilded Age Police Scandal That Launched the Progressive Era (Oxford U Press, 2016). It's a story that makes clear that policing in the US has always been controversial. Further reading about the history of scandals in American History Daniel Czitrom, New York Exposed: The Gilded Age Police Scandal That Launched the Progressive Era (Oxford U Press, 2016) Andy Hughes, A History of Political Scandals: Sex, Sleaze and Spin (2014) George C. Kohn, The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal(2001) Laton McCartney, The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country (Random House, 2009) Mitchell Zuckoff, Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend (Random House, 2006) Music for This Episode: Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (courtesy, JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "On The Street" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope That It Hurts" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2020 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald © In The Past Lane 2020

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at a legendary labor uprising by a mysterious group known as the Molly Maguires. They were Irish and Irish American coal miners in Pennsylvania in the 1870s who used vigilante violence to fight back against the powerful and exploitative mine owners. But in the end, the mine owners used their dominance over the political and legal establishment to see to it that 20 men, most of whom were likely innocent, were executed by hanging. Feature Story: The Molly Maguires Hanged On Thursday June 21, 1877 – 143 years ago this week - ten men went to the gallows in Pennsylvania. They were known as Molly Maguires – members of an ultra-secret society that used violence and intimidation in their bitter struggles with powerful mine owners. Arrested for their alleged role in several murders, they were convicted and sentenced to death on the basis of very thin evidence and questionable testimony. "Black Thursday" would long be remembered by residents of the Pennsylvania coal fields as an extraordinary example of anti-labor and anti-Irish prejudice. The story of the Molly Maguires was one very much rooted in two specific places: rural Ireland and the anthracite region of PA. The latter was the main supplier of the nation's coal, making it a vital component in American's unfolding industrial revolution. By the 1870s, more than 50,000 miners – more than half of them Irish or Irish American – toiled in the region's mines. It was hard, brutal work. They worked long hours for low pay in extremely dangerous conditions. Every year cave-ins, floods, and poison gas claimed the lives of hundreds of miners. In one fire alone in 1869, 110 miners were killed. It was in the struggle of these workers to improve their pay, hours, and conditions that the Molly Maguire saga began. Irish immigrants and Irish Americans played key roles in virtually every aspect of the conflict, from the lowliest miner to the most powerful capitalist. Foremost was Franklin B. Gowen, the wealthy Irish American president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Tough and ambitious, he ruthlessly drove his competitors out of business in an effort to dominate the state's two principle industries, coal and railroads. The only thing he hated more than rival businessmen was organized labor, especially the main miners union, the Workingmen's Benevolent Association (WBA). Led by an Irish-born man named John Siney, the WBA had won several strikes in the late 1860s and early 1870s that resulted in wage gains and union recognition. Even though he shared an Irish heritage with most of his miners, Franklin Gowan had little sympathy for them. In industrializing America, class interests trumped everything, including ethnicity and culture, and Gowan treated his workers like they were the enemy. Gowan waited for the right moment to attack, and that came in 1873 when the nation plunged into a severe economic depression that lasted until 1877. The hard times hurt his bottom line, but Gowen saw a silver lining: hard times also provided an opportunity to kill the miners' union. In January 1875, Gowan announced a steep cut in wages, a move quickly followed by the region's others coal operators. The wage cuts triggered a massive miners' strike throughout the region that paralyzed coal production. But Gowen and other operators had prepared for the strike by stockpiling huge coal reserves that allowed them to continue to sell coal and wait out the desperate and half-starved striking miners. The "Long Strike," as it came to be known, was doomed. It ended after five months in June with a total defeat for the workers and the destruction of the Workingmen's Benevolent Association (WBA). And here's where rural Ireland figured into the story. Embittered by their loss, a group of Irish miners turned to an old custom – extra-legal justice, or vigilantism. Irish tenant farmers had for centuries used tactics of intimidation, vandalism, and murder to protest landlord abuses, primarily rent hikes or evictions. These types of tactics of resistance by powerless peasants have been called by anthropologist James Scott, "the weapons of the weak." According to tradition, the original "Molly Maguire" had been a woman who thwarted her landlord's attempts to evict her during the Famine. Many of the Irish miners in the Pennsylvania coal fields came from counties in Ireland where periodic agrarian vigilantism was a firmly rooted tradition. Molly Maguire activity first arose in the anthracite region in the labor disputes of the early 1860s. But it subsided with the WBA's success in gaining better wages and conditions for the miners. Now in the wake of the defeat in the Long Strike, the Mollies returned with a vengeance. Between June and September 1875, six people were murdered – all carefully targeted as agents of the mine owners and enemies of the miners. Having destroyed the WBA, Franklin Gowen saw in the return of the Mollies an oppor

This week at In The Past Lane, the podcast about American history and why it matters, we take a close look at Robert F. Kennedy. Here's the lineup: 1) First up, it's a short feature on the basics of the life of RFK. 2) Next, I speak with author Larry Tye about his biography, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of A Liberal Icon (2016, Random House). Tye is the author of many best-selling biographies and he's at his best in this new look at RFK. One of the myths he's eager to dispel is the notion that there were two, polar opposite Bobby Kennedys – the bad boy in the 1950s who worked for Sen. Joseph McCarthy and later waged war on organized labor and the saintly good guy in the mid-1960s who fought for social justice. 3. And we bring you two remarkable audio clips from the 1960s. First, an excerpt from RFK's 1968 speech, "The Mindless Menace of Violence" and second, Ted Kennedy's eulogy for RFK two months later. About Larry Tye His website http://larrytye.com/ Further Reading and Links Thurston Clarke, The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America Robert F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy in His Own Words: The Unpublished Recollections of the Kennedy Years Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Robert Kennedy and His Times Evan Thomas, Robert Kennedy: His Life Larry Tye, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of A Liberal Icon (2016, Random House). RFK's 1968 speech, "The Mindless Menace of Violence" Ted Kennedy's eulogy for RFK, St. Patrick's Cathedral, June 8, 1968 Music Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (courtesy, JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Epoch" (Free Music Archive) Hyson, "Signals" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive)

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at one of the most deadly incidents of anti-black violence in US history: The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. White mobs rampaged through Tulsa, Oklahoma's African American neighborhood and burned it to the ground, killing between 100 and 300 black residents in the process. The incident was quickly covered up and driven from public memory. But in the 1990s activists and scholars began to unearth the shocking truth. Feature Story: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 On May 31, 1921 – 99 years ago this week – mobs of heavily armed white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma rampaged through the city's African-American district named Greenwood. They stole property, set fire to buildings, and indiscriminately killed black men, women, and children. When it was over, this pogram known as the Tulsa Race Massacre left between 100 and 300 people dead and 35 blocks in smoldering ruins. It was one of the single most deadly incidents of racist violence in American history. And yet, it was quickly driven from public memory. The years between the end of World War I in 1918 and the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 were marked by many incidents of extreme anti-black violence. This surge in violence was due to many factors. The end of World War I brought a massive strike wave as millions of workers walked off the job. Fear of socialism, communism, and anarchism surged as the nation plunged into one of its periodic Red Scares. Also contributing to the social tension was the fact that millions of African-Americans had in the previous decade moved to northern cities, part of what historians referred to as the Great Migration. Chicago's black population, for example, jumped from 44,000 in 1910 to 110,000 in 1920. And on top of this, the Ku Klux Klan had re-emerged in 1915 as a vibrant national organization that by the mid-1920s would have 5 million members. Each of these trends contributed to surging anti-black racism that led to many incidents of violence against African-American individuals and neighborhoods. In 1919 alone, there were 25 major anti-black riots in the US. One of the worst took place in Chicago in July 1919 that left 38 dead. There were also 76 African Americans lynched in the South in 1919, including ten black soldiers who had returned from active duty in World War I. Up until May of 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma had been relatively peaceful. But it was an oil-rich city of 72,000 that was strictly segregated. In fact, when Oklahoma was admitted to the union in 1907, the very first laws passed by the state legislature imposed segregation and disenfranchisement upon its black population. Despite these laws and a climate of racial hostility, Tulsa's African-American population was one of the most prosperous In the United States. In fact, the Greenwood section of Tulsa where most African-Americans lived, was nicknamed the Negro Wall Street. It was filled with thriving black-owned businesses ranging from barbershops and retails stores to law firms and doctor's offices. Many white citizens of Tulsa resented this black economic success. And it was this resentment that escalated the situation on May 31, 1921. Like so many incidents of anti-black racial violence in US history, this one began with an incident involving a black male and a white female. On May 30, a 17-year-old girl named Sarah Page, who operated an elevator in downtown Tulsa, accused 19-year-old Dick Rowland of assaulting her. Rowland was taken into custody and brought to the local courthouse. The next day, partly inspired by an inflammatory article about the incident in the local newspaper, a large crowd of angry white men gathered outside the courthouse. It was a scene that was a typical prelude to a lynching. Not surprisingly, rumors that Rowland was about to be lynched raced through the black community, prompting a large group of armed black men to arrive at the courthouse. A standoff ensued, and then shots rang out. Which side fired first remains an unanswered question. Both sides exchanged gunfire before dispersing. The clash left 12 killed, 10 white and two black. Immediately word of the incident spread throughout the city. Within an hour, large crowds of heavily armed white men gathered. It was clear what they were planning to do. And yet, the city's police force did nothing to stop them. In fact, research would later show that police officials handed out weapons to members of the mob and that many also joined in as it descended upon the black community in Greenwood. As the attack began, many African-Americans managed to flee the district. But many were trapped and murdered by the mob. Some were shot and others stabbed, and still others were consumed by the flames set by arsonists. Members of the mob also looted homes and businesses before setting them on fire. The violence lasted all night and into the morning hours of June 1. It ended only when a large contingent of the Oklahoma National Guard arrived

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the famous Pullman Strike of 1894. It began as a protest over wage cuts in the midst of a severe economic depression and quickly grew to virtually paralyze the nation's railroad system. Eventually, President Grover Cleveland sent in the military and smashed the strike. The workers lost the strike, but they did gain a new spokesperson – the socialist Eugene Debs – who would play an influential role in American society in the decades to come. Feature Story: The Pullman Strike of 1894 On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company, located just outside Chicago, went on strike. They walkout was in response to severe wage cuts that came as the nation descended into the worst economic depression in its history. But what started out as a local strike soon blossomed into a nationwide work stoppage that paralyzed the railroad system and caused a national crisis. The Pullman Strike, one of the most famous in US history, marked a sharp turn in the fortunes and reputation of the Pullman Company's owner. For well over a decade George Pullman had enjoyed a reputation as a benevolent industrialist. He established the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867 to manufacture luxury railroad cars. Pullman was an idealist who believed that workers and employers could work together in harmony for mutual benefit. Acting on this idea, he established the town of Pullman in 1880. It was a company town, built and owned by the Pullman corporation for its employees, who rented homes and patronized stores owned by the company. They also had to abide by many intrusive regulations imposed by the company on their personal activities. George Pullman earned widespread praise in the media for being a model capitalist who earned a vast fortune, but also provided decent wages and living conditions for his workers. So long as the Pullman Co. remained profitable, its employees considered themselves relatively fortunate. But then a devastating economic depression struck in 1893. Known as the Panic of 1893, it wiped out thousands of businesses and sent the unemployment rate to over 20 percent. The railroad industry was hit especially hard. So Pullman laid off hundreds of workers and announced to the rest a wage cut of 30 percent. On top of this devastating news, workers learned that Pullman had refused to reduce their rents, which were deducted automatically from their paychecks. Some workers soon began receiving paychecks for less than one dollar per week to cover the cost of food, heat, and clothing. And so it was that on May 11, 1894, the fed up and furious workers at Pullman voted to strike. George Pullman responded – as did most employers in that era – by refusing to negotiate with the workers. After six weeks, a man named Eugene Debs, the leader of the American Railway Union (ARU) announced that all of the union's 125,000 members across the country, as an act of solidarity with the striking Pullman workers, would impose a boycott on the Pullman Company. They would refuse to handle any Pullman cars. Given the ubiquity of the Pullman cars, the ARU's boycott soon slowed the nation's railroad system to a crawl. The heads of more than two dozen railroads united to support Pullman and break the ARU by hiring thousands of strikebreakers and pressuring the governor of Illinois, John Altgeld, to send in the state militia. When the governor refused out of sympathy for the strikers and a desire to avoid violence, the railroad magnates turned to Washington, D.C. for help, asking President Grover Cleveland to send in federal troops. Grover Cleveland was not the first president to face the choice of whether to send federal troops to quell a labor dispute. President Andrew Jackson dispatched troops in 1834 to end a strike by disgruntled workers working on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. More recently President Rutherford B. Hayes had sent troops to crush the great railroad strike of 1877. Despite these precedents, however, Cleveland worried about the ideological and political ramifications of military intervention. For one, the use of the army against American citizens seemed to run counter to key republican principles—had not the Founding Fathers established the United States to escape an oppressive British government? Had they not also adopted a Bill of Rights that sharply limited the use of federal power? Cleveland also had to consider the possibility that the public would condemn such use of federal power—especially if violence ensued as it did in 1877. The President spent several agonizing days in late June and early July of, 1894, consulting with advisors and mulling over his options. Despite harboring some misgivings about using federal troops to resolve a domestic dispute, President Grover Cleveland was a pro-business conservative, and his administration reflected his outlook. He authorized his Attorney General, Richard Olney, a man with extensive ties to the rail

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Nancy Bristow about her book, American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. In November 1918, even as millions of Americans and Europeans celebrated the end of World War I, their communities were being ravaged by a global influenza pandemic. Over the course of almost three years, somewhere between 50 and 100 million people were killed in the pandemic, including nearly 700,000 Americans. Nancy Bristow takes us back in time to explain the origins of the pandemic and how public health officials struggled to contain it. And she explores the reasons why the pandemic quickly faded from public memory. In the course of our discussion, Nancy Bristow: The origins of the great influenza pandemic that raged across the globe in 1918-1920. How the movement of millions of people during WW1 contributed to the spread of the pandemic. What made this particular strain of influenza so deadly. How public health officials struggled to contain the pandemic by imposing bans on large public gatherings, including church services. How nurses played a pivotal role in caring for the sick and dying. Why the pandemic – which killed nearly 700,000 Americans — was largely forgotten in public memory. Why experts fear the onset of another global influenza pandemic. Recommended reading: Nancy Bristow, American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Oxford University Press). Catharine Arnold, Pandemic 1918: Eyewitness Accounts from the Greatest Medical Holocaust in Modern History Alfred W. Crosby, America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society More info about Nancy K. Bristow – website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 024 Michael Neiberg on World War I and the Making of Modern America Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Philipp Weigl, "Even When We Fall" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast – the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the original March on Washington. "Coxey's Army" was a group of 500 men who amidst a terrible economic depression in 1894, marched from Ohio to the nation's capital to demand that Congress provide employment through public works projects. They were turned away, but many of the Populist ideas that inspired them were enacted into law in the coming decades. Feature Story: "Coxey's Army" Arrives in Washington, DC On April 30, 1894 a man named Jacob Coxey arrived in Washington, DC at the head of a group of about 500 men. By then the whole nation knew them as "Coxey's Army." They had set out weeks earlier from Coxey's hometown of Massillon, Ohio in what was the first ever March On Washington. So what was the fuss all about? The immediate answer was that in the spring of 1894 the United States was in the midst of the most severe economic depression in its history. It was triggered one year earlier by the financial Panic of 1893 which caused tens of thousands of businesses and farms to fail, and the unemployment rate to soar to 20% - and often. Double that in big cities like Chicago and New York. The US had seen its share of economic depressions in the 19th century – the panic of 1837, the panic of 1857, the panic of 1873, just to name a few. In each of these previous cases, political leaders agreed that the best policy was: do nothing. Depressions, the reasoning went, were like bad weather or an illness. Wait long enough, and the good times would return. The most dangerous thing the government could do was provide assistance to the people because, so the logic went, that would only foster dependence and lead the US down the path to socialism. Here's how President Grover Cleveland put it in his second inaugural address, in March 1893. "The lessons of paternalism ought to be unlearned," said Cleveland, "and the better lesson taught that while the people should patriotically and cheerfully support their Government its functions do not include the support of the people." But despite proclamations such as these, there was growing support among many Americans in this period known as the Gilded Age for the government to take a more active role in the economy to protect the vulnerable from exploitation and promote the greatest possible amount of opportunity for all. They argued that laissez-faire might have made sense back in the late-18th century when the US took form. But not anymore in an age of industry, wage work, mass immigration, huge cities, and giant corporations. That was the view that inspired Jacob Coxey. He was no radical, at least compared to the socialists, communists, and anarchists of the day. He was a successful farmer who also bred horses for sale and owned a sand quarry business. But as a farmer in the 1880s, he'd gotten involved in the burgeoning protest movement among farmers that came to be called Populism. Its leaders argued that the only way to effectively battle the power of the monopolies and trusts was to create a political movement that would elect farmers or pro-farmer politicians to office, so they could use political power to curb the power of banks, railroads, and brokers and save the honest American farmer from ruin. And in 1892 they established a new national party called the People's Party that called for a wide range of new government policies, everything from taking over the railroads and telegraphs, to the adoption of a graduated income tax that would make the rich pay their fair share. Its candidate for president that year polled a million votes and won four states. It was no joke. So his embrace of Populism explains Jacob Coxey's motivation behind his protest march. He advocated that, given the severity of the depression, the federal government must abandon its traditional commitment to laissez-faire and provide funding to states to create public works projects such as road building to alleviate mass unemployment and stimulate the economy. Now, if this sounds familiar, it's because Coxey was advocating an approach to economic crisis that 40 years later would be embraced by Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression. And succeeding administrations, of course, have turned to varying forms of "stimulus packages" to boost the economy and help workers in times of economic crisis. To draw attention to this idea, Coxey organized his march to Washington, D.C. He actually got the idea from a fellow activist named Carl Browne who was more of a true blue radical. He not only came up with the idea of a march, but also the group's official name, the "Commonweal of Christ," which was intended to evoke both the ideals of the common good and Christianity. About 120 men gathered in Massillon, OH and on Easter Sunday 1894 they set off for the nation's capital. As the press picked up the story, the group acquired a new name, "Coxey's Army." It was meant on the one hand to evoke ridicule and on the other to

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the origins of Earth Day 50 years ago this week, and the two high profile environmental disasters in 1969 that helped to inspire it, the Santa Barbara, CA oil spill and the an oil fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, OH. Environmental activists took advantage of the media coverage of the events to form organizations like Greenpeace and start an annual conscience raising event called Earth Day. In the years that followed, the US enacted landmark environmental legislation ranging from the Clean Air Act to the Endangered Species Act. But contemporary efforts to roll back these regulations imperil the environment and public health. Feature Story: The Birth of Earth Day - 50th anniversary On April 22, 1970 – 50 years ago this week – 20 million Americans gathered in places all across the nation to commemorate the first Earth Day. This event was inspired by two high profile environmental disasters that took place the year before in 1969. But before we dive into those stories, let's first step back to do a quick, History of Environmentalism 101. While there were earlier environmentalist moments in US history, what we would recognize as environmentalism began to emerge in the late 19th century. And as it did, it represented the beginnings of a major shift in how Americans viewed private property rights. So, what do I mean by that? Well, from the colonial period through to the late 19th century, most Americans shared the belief that private property rights were almost sacred. A person could do anything they wanted with their property and no government should have any say in the matter. And that was fine so long as the nation remained rural and its economy based in agriculture. But it didn't. A little thing called the Industrial Revolution happened and that raised all sorts of questions about property rights. Some Americans began to develop a critique of the absolute sanctity of private property rights. And they did so in response to mounting evidence that unfettered private property rights in a modern industrial capitalist setting had seriously negative consequences for society. They noted, for example, that complete and total freedom from regulation left property owners free to engage in strip mining of mountain ranges for coal, or clearcutting forests for lumber, or hunting various animals into extinction. Unrestrained private property rights also left them free to dump their toxic waste into the waterways that ran through their private property or into the air that hovered above their private property—even when this meant the waste would ultimately end up on someone else's private property. These critics were not anti-capitalist radicals. Rather, to make their case, they invoked a key republican ideal: the common good. They argued that societies and governments needed to protect other things besides individual private property rights. They noted the uncomfortable fact that one person's freedom to use their private property any way they wanted could easily threaten another person's freedom to live free of poisons. Or, put another way, they noted that individualism and the common good often came into conflict. And so they developed a philosophy that emphasized what has become a key idea in environmentalism – the idea of connectivity, that people are connected to each other and to the larger ecosystem. That one person's actions, therefore, have consequences for others, and this fact needs to be taken into account as societies develop their laws and public policy regarding the economy and environment. The first attempts to protect the environment mainly took the form of conservation—essentially saving the wilderness from economic development. People like Theodore Roosevelt believed it was essential to preserve large tracts of wilderness to allow future generations of Americans to enjoy it by hiking, camping, and hunting. Few people in the late-19th and early 20th century raised concerns over water pollution, air pollution, or endangered species. By the mid-20th century a few concerns over the environment emerged—things like smog and roadside trash—but these were rare. The first significant change in public attitudes concerning the environment, the shift from merely supporting the idea of conserving nature in wildlife reserves and national parks, came in 1962 when Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring that revealed the devastating environmental effects of the widely used pesticide DDT, especially on birds. Carson's book became a bestseller and it led to the introduction of more than 40 bills to control pesticide use in state legislatures across the country. Another impact of Silent Spring was that it inspired many Americans to become environmentalists or to use the term more in vogue in the 1960s, ecologists. But it's important to point out that environmentalism in the mid 1960s was still a fringe movement, one associated with

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at one of the biggest disasters in US history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The tremors ripped apart the city's water system, leaving it nearly defenseless against raging fires that soon broke out. The ensuing inferno destroyed a quarter of the city and killed 3,000 people. In the aftermath, city officials tried to take advantage of the disaster by getting rid of its Chinatown neighborhood that occupied 15 blocks of prime downtown real estate. But Chinatown residents organized and against all odds, forced the city to abandon the plan. Chinatown and the rest of the city were rebuilt. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and Battle of Lexington and Concord. Feature Story: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 am, the city of San Francisco was shaken by a tremendous earthquake. Later estimated as measuring about 7.9 on the Richter scale, it lasted 72 seconds, heaving streets up and down, opening and closing huge chasms, and shaking buildings big and small into piles of rubble. The city's 200,000 residents tumbled out of bed and into the streets in panicked confusion to survey the damage and find friends and family. The destruction was extensive and already dozens, perhaps hundreds had been killed. Few knew it at the time, but this was only the beginning of a larger, rapidly unfolding disaster, for fires had broken out everywhere and the city's water mains had been ruptured. To make matters worse, the city lost its Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, Daniel T. Sullivan. He was crushed to death when a hotel collapsed onto the Fire Dept headquarters where he was sleeping. Sullivan was pulled from the wreckage, but he never recovered and died four days later. The significance of the loss of Fire Chief Sullivan was lost on no one. With fire rapidly spreading throughout the city, the fire department desperately needed his experienced leadership. Instead, they would have to rely upon his replacement, a man named John Dougherty. One inescapable irony regarding Sullivan's death was that he had spent much of his thirteen years as Fire Chief engaged in a futile crusade to get city officials to improve fire safety and preparedness. Just six months earlier, the National Board of Fire Underwriters issued a scathing report on the state of affairs in San Francisco. The refusal of City Hall to fund Chief Sullivan's requests for an improved water system and the establishment of an explosives team to blow up buildings in the path of a big fire had left the city flirting with disaster. "San Francisco has violated all underwriting traditions and precedents by not burning up," asserted the report. "That it has not already done so is largely due to the vigilance of the Fire Department, which cannot be relied upon to stave off the inevitable." Now the inevitable was upon them and the city's most knowledgeable fireman lay on his deathbed. The earthquake not only destroyed the city's water system, but also its telephone, telegraph, and fire alarm systems. Fires broke out everywhere, started by overturned lamps and coal stoves and fed by ruptured gas lines and winds off the Pacific Ocean. That 90 percent of the city's housing was of wood frame construction only added to the disaster. Fire crews raced through the rubble strewn streets to extinguish the fires, but everywhere found the same terrifying result: "Not a drop of water was to be had from the hydrants," the fire department report recalled. For a while, they pumped water from tanks, pools, and even sewers, but these sources eventually went dry. Unable to fight the flames, firemen concentrated on pulling victims from collapsed buildings before the flames reached them. Thousands of terrified people looked on in horror as the inferno grew still larger and the city shook with aftershocks. Acting Fire Chief John Dougherty soon decided to use explosives to stop the fire, using munitions from local US Army forts. If they could demolish a line of buildings, he reasoned, they might be able to contain the fire and save much of the city. And here's where a compelling story-within-the-story emerged, one driven by anti-Chinese racism. While diverting scarce water to wealthy white sections of the city, the mayor and acting Fire Chief chose to deploy the explosives in the city's Chinatown. Scores of buildings were destroyed, but the explosions actually accelerated the fires. Within a day, all of Chinatown had been reduced to smoldering rubble and ash. This outcome was devastating to the 15,000 Chinese and Chinese American residents of the neighborhood, but it was seen as a godsend by the city's powerful business and political elites. We'll soon circle back to this point, but for now, let's return to the larger story of the disaster. At 3:00 p.m., as reports of looting mounted, Mayor Eugene Schm

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the Fort Pillow Massacre that took place April 12, 1864 during the Civil War. A Confederate force led by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest overwhelmed the fort and when the 300 African American Union soldiers tried to surrender, they slaughtered them. It was an extraordinary war crime that was motivated by racist animosity. Not surprisingly, the movement to remove Confederate statues in recent years has taken particular aim at statues honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest, who not only perpetrated the Ft. Pillow Massacre, but after the war became the leader of the Ku Klux Klan. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the US entry into World War I and the launch of Apollo 13. Feature Story: The Fort Pillow Massacre of 1864 On April 12, 1864 Confederate soldiers overran Fort Pillow in Tennessee and massacred hundreds of African-American Union soldiers. It was one of the most egregious war crimes in American history, one for which no one was ever charged or prosecuted. Before diving into this story, it's important to note the significance of the role played by African-Americans played in helping the Union win the Civil War. In total, about 180,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army. That's about 1/12 of the Union army. Another 20,000 served in the Union Navy. And keep in mind, this service did not begin until mid-1863 – fully two years into the war. In other words, it came at a crucial moment in the war when the Union desperately needed more soldiers. Over the course of those two years of service, between 1863 and 1865, African-American soldiers would fight in hundreds of battles and skirmishes. And this service came at a high price, as over 1/5 of black soldiers – about 40,000 – were killed either on the field or battle or as a result of disease. In the end, African-American soldiers played a critical role in the Union's triumph over the Confederacy. And what about black Confederates? Well, hopefully you know that's a complete and total myth. They never existed. And if you wanna learn more about it check out In The Past Lane episode 169. Alright, on to Fort Pillow. It was an insignificant Union outpost, situated on the Mississippi River in Western Tennessee. But in the spring of 1864, it was attacked by the legendary Confederate cavalry leader, General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Before the war, Forrest had been a wealthy slave trader. He joined the Confederate Army as a private, but rose quickly through the ranks. By the spring of 1864, Forrest was a household name in both the North and South, known widely both for his strategic genius and ruthlessness. In 1864, Forrest led thousands of cavalry on a raiding mission into Western Tennessee and Kentucky. By this time, the Confederacy was in desperate need of supplies, horses, and soldiers, so his primary objective was to capture horses, food, and military supplies, and to recruit new soldiers from among the pro-Confederate populace. In addition, Forrest was to cause maximum havoc in the region by disrupting the huge Union force being assembled by General William Tecumseh Sherman near Chattanooga. Sherman's objective was obvious – Atlanta – and it was critical to the Confederacy that he be stopped, or at least slowed down. On April 12, 1864, the third anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter that announced the start of the Civil War – Nathan Bedford Forrest's force of about 1,500 men set fire to a nearby camp of escaped slaves – mostly women and children – and then surrounded Fort Pillow. Inside the Fort were 600 or so Union soldiers. About half that number were African-American soldiers serving in Union artillery units. From a strictly military standpoint, these black soldiers knew they were in a very precarious position. But these men had an additional reason to be concerned, for one year ago in 1863, when the Union announced that it would recruit black soldiers to fight in the war, Confederate leaders responded by declaring that captured African-American soldiers would be executed or re-enslaved. The Confederate assault begin at 11 AM and soon thereafter the Fort Pillow Garrison was reeling. Confederate snipers killed the fort's commanding officer, and scores more. At 2 PM, Forrest sent a message demanding the Fort's surrender. "Should my demand be refused," he warned ominously, "I cannot be responsible for the fate of your command." Fort Pillow's commander tried to buy time – hoping reinforcements would soon arrive – and asked for one hour to consider the demand. Forrest refused and gave him 20 minutes. The moment that deadline passed, Forrest's men attacked. As they streamed into the fort, many of the outnumbered Union soldiers panicked and ran towards the river. But many other Union soldiers fought valiantly, even after the struggle seemed hopeless. But when it became obvious that they had been defeated, they surrendered. Or at least they t

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at Reconstruction, specifically the ratification of the 15th Amendment which took place 150 years ago this week. It was the third of three amendments added to the Constitution after the Civil War and it was specifically intended to protect African American voting rights. In these early years of Reconstruction, formerly enslaved people registered to vote, voted, and won election to office, including Congress. But just a few years after the 15th Amendment was ratified, southern whites, with the acquiescence of white northerners, dismantled the accomplishments of Reconstruction, including black political power, and re-imposed white supremacy. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the onset of the1918-1919 Spanish Flu Pandemic and Martin Luther King's 1967 speech against the Vietnam. Feature Story: The Ratification of the 15th Amendment On March 30, 1870 - 150 years ago this week - the US Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, certified that the required 3/4 of the states had ratified the 15th amendment to the Constitution and it was now in effect. This was the third of three amendments added to the Constitution in the wake of the Civil War. The 13th amendment abolished slavery. The 14th amendment defined US citizenship, established voting rights for African-Americans, and established the principle of equality before the law. The 15th amendment was intended to strengthen the right of African-Americans to vote. It read: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." For African Americans and their white Republican allies, the 15th amendment was hailed as a key achievement in reshaping the US political system into a multiracial democracy. As President Ulysses S. Grant put it, the 15th amendment "completes the greatest civil change and constitutes the most important event that has occurred since the nation came to life." Grant and his fellow Republicans were right in celebrating the revolutionary nature of the amendment, but some of them expressed an unfounded and naïve optimism about its ability to empower African Americans. They claimed that with the 14th and 15th Amendments in place, black Americans no longer needed federal protection from vengeful white southerners who bitterly resented the end of slavery and black freedom and equality. Rep. James Garfield of Ohio, the Speaker of the House and future president, said the 15th Amendment "confers upon the African race the care of its own destiny. It places their fortunes in their own hands." The message was clear: African Americans now had everything they needed to succeed. And if they failed to secure their place in American life then it was their own fault. Well, let's hold that thought for a moment. We'll return to it shortly. For now, let's consider what had already happened in the years leading up to the ratification of the 15th amendment. First, African Americans had already gained the right to vote in 1867 under a Civil Rights Act passed by Congress. And this right was then made permanent in 1868 under the 14th Amendment. Immediately, formerly enslaved people seized this new freedom. Some 700,000 African-Americans registered to vote, nearly all of them as members of the Republican party - the party of Lincoln, emancipation, and now civil rights. And the results were remarkable: More than six hundred formerly enslaved men won seats in state legislatures and to other state and local offices. Still hundreds more served in all manner of posts, from register of deeds to justice of the peace. Some even went to Congress. Between 1869 and 1901 twenty-two African Americans would serve in the U.S. Congress (twenty in the House, and two in the Senate). Let's note just one example. On December 12, 1870, Joseph Rainey, a man born into slavery in South Carolina in 1832, was sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives. A man who just a few years earlier was considered property and possessing no rights, was now a citizen and member of Congress. Historical change doesn't get more revolutionary than that. That's why I always refer to the first half of Reconstruction, roughly 1865 to 1872, as the Reconstruction Revolution. The impact of this revolution in the South in the early years of Reconstruction was profound. Under Republican rule, southern states enacted progressive legislation designed to improve the lives of average citizens. Most states, for example, significantly expanded public education which had been woefully underfunded in the past. Many also passed laws protecting the civil rights of citizens and launched public works projects such as road building to boost economic growth. They also changed state tax codes lesson taxes on the poor and middle classes an increase them on the wealthy. Not surpr

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at one of the signal events in late-19th century America, the opulent Vanderbilt Ball of 1883 that announced the dawning of the Gilded Age. One thousand of the richest people in America attended the costume ball that celebrated the opening of the Vanderbilt's new mansion on Fifth Avenue. It was a conspicuous display of wealth and power never seen before in the US and it marked a sharp departure from traditional republican values of egalitarianism and restraint in favor of conspicuous consumption and pretensions to aristocracy. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the 1915 quarantining of Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid. And birthdays, including March 24, 1834 – explorer John Wesley Powell March 24, 1919 – poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti March 25, 1934 – feminist activist Gloria Steinem Feature Story: The Vanderbilt Ball Ushers in The Gilded Age On March 26, 1883 – 137 years ago this week – Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt hosted a gala ball at her mansion on 5th Avenue in New York City. There had been opulent balls and parties in NYC in the past, but nothing compared to this one. The event was held to celebrate the completion of the Vanderbilt's new mansion, which in truth was more of a palace in the style of Louis XIV than a mere mansion. And then there was the price tag for the ball - $250,000 – or $6 million in today's money. The Vanderbilt Ball of 1883 announced a new era in the US, one we now call the Gilded Age. And with this new era came new norms and values, ones that we are now quite familiar with in the 21st century. So who was Mrs. Vanderbilt and what was she up to? Mrs. Vanderbilt was born Alva Erskine Smith in Alabama. She married William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of THE Vanderbilt, that is, the great railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. Like his grandfather, he was one of the wealthiest men in America. Alva Vanderbilt had it all. Well, not quite. People like the Vanderbilts had one problem. They had boatloads of money, but no elite heritage like the old money families like the Astors and Roosevelts. So one of Mrs. Vanderbilt's motivations behind her grand ball was to gain entry into elite society. The problem was that elite, old money New Yorkers shunned the nouveau rich like the Vanderbilts. So Mrs. Vanderbilt worked up a plan. New York's high society was dominated by Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the queen of the old money set. She had taken it upon herself to determine who was "in" and who was "out" in terms of society. Her confidant and consultant in this matter was a guy named Ward McAllister who claimed that the TRUE elite in New York only numbered "Four Hundred." Mrs. Astor was especially determined to prevent the Vanderbilt's from entering this inner circle. But then a crisis emerged. Carrie Astor—Mrs. Astor's daughter – did not receive an invitation to the Vanderbilt Ball, while all her elite friends did. Alarmed over the implications of this snub, Mrs. Astor made some discreet inquiries. It turned out that Mrs. Vanderbilt's response was that since Mrs. Astor had never formally called upon her, they were not formal acquaintances and thus it would be improper to invite her daughter to the ball. It was a brilliant move, for Mrs. Astor, seeing no alternative, swallowed her pride and called upon Mrs. Vanderbilt. The next day, Carrie Astor's invitation to the ball arrived. The Vanderbilt's were IN! Mrs. Vanderbilt's big bash was a costume ball. She invited 1,000 of New York's wealthiest citizens to attend and they responded with ingenuity and enthusiasm, spending lavishly on their costumes. Some came dressed as animals and others as figures from history or literature, but the most popular theme was to dress as European royalty—Louis the XIV, Marie Antoinette, and many more. Now building palaces and dressing up as European royalty signaled a major shift in American political culture. Ever since the American Revolution, American political culture focused obsessively on the need to adhere to republican values and to shun anything that suggested monarchy and aristocracy. These republican values stressed egalitarianism, which explains why Americans in the early 19th century stopped bowing to each other and instead adopted the handshake. Americans also shunned ostentatious displays of wealth and status, valuing instead republican modesty and restraint. For example, the richest people in NYC in the 1830s lived in a nice neighborhood called Gramercy Park. If you walked around it today, you'd be struck by the modest style of the homes of the rich that still stand there. And republican values also permeated American politics where one of the worst things one could say about their adversary is that they harbored aspirations to be a king or an aristocrat, rather than a man of the people. So, clearly something had changed by the 1880s. America's s

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at a curious but revealing scandal that emerged in New York City on St. Patrick's Day n 1888. The mayor refused to attend the St. Patrick's Day parade and to fly the flag of Ireland over City Hall and paid a heavy political price. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam, and Amelia Earhart's final flight. And birthdays, including March 16, 1751 - 4th POTUS James Madison March 18, 1837 - the 22nd and 24th POTUS Grover Cleveland March 17, 1777 - SCOTUS justice Roger B. Taney Feature Story: The St. Patrick's Day Scandal of 1888 On March 17, 1888 – 132 years ago this week - the mayor of New York City made a huge mistake. It was St. Patrick's Day and yet, Mayor Abram Hewitt made good on his recent pledge to not review the annual St. Patrick's Day parade and not to fly the Irish flag over City Hall. The Mayor framed his decision as a stand for pure, enlightened political leadership that was above pandering to what he considered petty, special interests. But the city's enormous Irish population did not see it that way and Hewitt would soon learn a painful lesson in late-nineteenth century urban politics. Abram Hewitt was a wealthy industrialist and former congressman who had won election as mayor of New York in 1886. Although a member of the elite, "silk stocking" set, he ran as the candidate of Tammany Hall, the legendary political organization that drew its power from the city's immigrant masses - especially the Irish. Tammany officials had selected him out of panic, because the election of 1886 had featured a stunning challenge by an upstart Labor Party that had selected as its candidate the reformer Henry George, a man immensely popular with the city's laboring masses. Just as Tammany had hoped, Hewitt's respectable image helped him garner just enough votes to narrowly defeat George. Although elected on the Tammany Hall ticket and to a large degree by the Irish vote, Hewitt was a blueblood who abhorred the idea of ethnic politics. Unfortunately for him, he lacked the political good sense to keep this disdain to himself. So when a delegation of representatives of Irish organizations came calling on March 6, he did little to conceal his contempt. The delegation had come in response to rumors that Hewitt would not review the upcoming St. Patrick's Day Parade. "The majority of Irishmen vote the Democratic ticket," they reminded him, "and your vote came largely from Irishmen, a considerable portion of whom belong to the societies who will parade on St. Patrick's Day." Hewitt was clearly irked by their suggestion that he owed the Irish an appearance at the parade. He snapped back, "Now let us understand each other. I am mayor of this city. You ask me to leave my duties and review your parade –" At that moment he was interrupted by one of the delegation. "But Mr. Mayor, St. Patrick's Day is a holiday." "It is not a legal holiday," continued the mayor testily. "You ask me to leave my duties and review your parade, and you speak of the vote cast by the Irish in your societies for the Democratic candidates. I may be a candidate for mayor or for President next fall and may want all the votes I can get … But for the purpose of getting this [Irish] vote, I will not come down to the level of reviewing any parade because of the nationality represented. I will review no parades, whether Irish, German, or Italian as a Democrat. I will review parades only as mayor of the whole city and irrespective of party considerations." The delegation of Irishmen left the meeting angry and empty handed. When word of the mayor's refusal to review the parade hit the papers, the city's huge Irish population reacted angrily. The tradition of having the mayor review the St. Patrick's Day parade had begun nearly four decades earlier and since that time no mayor had ever refused the honor. Several critics pointed out that Hewitt actually had reviewed an ethnic parade a year earlier, when Italian societies marched in commemoration of Garibaldi's defense of Rome. To the city's Irish, the mayor's decision was an insult that reflected elite New York's low opinion of them. The mayor's blunt refusal to review the parade immediately called into question a second longstanding tradition in Manhattan: the flying of the Irish flag over City Hall on March 17. In anticipation of a fight, an Irish American Alderman named Patrick Divver authored a resolution calling for the Irish flag to be flown over City Hall on March 17 and it passed unanimously. A second resolution, clearly intended to force the mayor's hand, was also passed, calling for the American flag to be flown at half-staff on March 16 in honor of the Kaiser William I of Germany who had just died. Hewitt tried his best to navigate the political minefield before him, aware of the importance of both the Irish and German vote. He ordered the Americ

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at one of the most perilous moments during the American Revolution: The Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783 that threatened to plunge the new republic into civil war. That is until George Washington intervened and defused the would-be revolt among officers of the Continental Army. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the 1862 battle between the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia and FDR's first fireside chat in 1933. And birthdays, including March 10, 1867 - progressive reformer and nurse Lillian Wald March 12, 1922 novelist and poet, Jack Kerouac March 15, 1767 - the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson Feature Story: George Washington Defuses the Newburgh Conspiracy On March 15, 1783 – 237 years ago this week - Gen. George Washington arrived at Newburgh, NY, which was the winter quarters of Continental Army. A peace treaty with England had yet to be signed, but combat between American and British forces had ended sixteen months earlier in October 1781 with the British surrender at Yorktown. But the mood among the men and officers was decidedly not celebratory. They were angry at Congress for not paying them and for providing poor provisions. They felt disrespected and ignored by the national government. But Washington had not come to Newburgh to cheer them up. He had come to thwart a scheme that threatened to destroy the young republic that had just earned its independence. One of the key figures in that scheme – what came to be called the Newburgh Conspiracy - was Major John Armstrong, aide de camp to Washington's chief rival, Horatio Gates. Five days earlier, Armstrong had issued an inflammatory address in which he said the time for politely pleading with Congress to fulfill its obligations to the army had come to an end. The officers of the army, said Armstrong, should issue an ultimatum. If Congress did not act, the army would either disband, leaving the nation vulnerable to renewed British attack, or it would refuse to disband once a peace treaty had been signed. This latter option was a thinly veiled threat of a military coup. When Washington learned of Armstrong's address and talk of mutiny among the officer corps, he sent a message urging the men to keep their cool and not do anything rash. He sympathized with the men and understood their anger, but he also feared that any unauthorized action could lead to civil war and the end of the American republic. Washington, like most of the Founders, knew that many revolutions in history were followed by a civil war, as the factions that had united against a common foe turned on each other. To defuse this perilous situation, Washington called a meeting of the officers at Newburgh for March 15 to discuss the matter, implying that he would not be in attendance. One can only imagine their surprise when, as their meeting was getting under way, in strode General Washington. The atmosphere was tense. A hush fell over the room and Washington began to speak, urging the men to resist the call to mutiny. For if they did act illegally, they would squander all the good will they had accumulated during the war: "Let me entreat you, gentlemen, on your part, not to take any measures, which viewed in the calm light of reason, will lessen the dignity, and sully the glory you have hitherto maintained; let me request you to rely on the plighted faith of your country, and place a full confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress.… By thus determining — & thus acting, you will pursue the plain & direct road to the attainment of your wishes. You will defeat the insidious designs of our enemies, who are compelled to resort from open force to secret artifice. You will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled patriotism & patient virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings…" When he finished, Washington reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. But as he scanned the text, he fumbled for his reading glasses, saying to the officers, "Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown old in the service of my country and now find that I am growing blind." With that offhand reference to his personal sacrifice on behalf of the American cause, many in the room began to cry and the anger subsided. Washington had snuffed out the Newburgh Conspiracy. Three days later, Washington wrote to Congress to assure them that the crisis was over. Who exactly was behind the Newburgh Conspiracy and how serious was the talk of mutiny and insurrection, remains a mystery. But the crisis was significant for several reasons. One, it revealed how weak and ineffective the national government was under the Articles of Confederation, and therefore it played a role in spurring on the movement for what became the Constitutional Convention four years later. Second, the crisis provided one of several moments in this period where

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at the Boston Massacre on its 250th anniversary. In particular, we learn about the stories of two of the five men killed in that famous clash, and why we know their names today. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the 1807 law that ended the US participation in the African slave trade, the controversial election of 1876, and the Bloody Sunday clash that occurred in Selma, Alabama 55 years ago. And birthdays, including March 2, 1904 Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss March 3, 1847 inventor Alexander Graham Bell March 4, 1888 football legend Knute Rockne Feature Story: The Boston Massacre at 250 On March 5, 1770 – 250 years ago this week - British troops stationed in Boston found themselves face to face with a jeering crowd of men. The soldiers had been sent to rescue one of their number who had been cornered by the crowd near the Customs House. Bostonians hurled epithets, as well as snow and ice, at the soldiers, but there was little about the incident to suggest that blood would soon flow. That changed when one of the soldiers fired his musket – likely by mistake. Immediately his fellow soldiers, thinking an order to fire had been given, opened fire on the crowd, killing five and wounding six more. The Boston Massacre, as the incident became known, did not come out of nowhere. Tensions had been rising steadily in colonial cities like Boston at least as far back as 1765, the year the British government imposed the Stamp Act to compel the colonies to pay some of the costs of their defense by the British military during the recently concluded French and Indian War. The colonists, having grown accustomed to little British interference in their affairs for most of the eighteenth century, protested the act and the many more that followed. Although the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, Parliament followed it with the Townsend Acts of 1768 which also imposed taxes and fees. This act likewise touched off protests and acts of vandalism in Boston. It also led to a boycott of British goods that was organized by the Sons of Liberty. In response to these disturbances, the British government sent 2,000 troops to Boston to maintain order. For a city of just 16,000 residents, 2,000 soldiers represented a major show of force and intimidation by Parliament. Not surprisingly, Bostonians treated the soldiers with scorn from the very start. Minor altercations on the streets between citizens – usually young tradesmen and dock workers – and soldiers occurred frequently. By early 1770, tensions were running high. In early March several brawls broke out between workers and soldiers, fueling rumors of an impending crackdown by the soldiers on Sons of Liberty activity and a plan to cut down the Liberty Tree in South Boston. This was the essential background to what led to the events of March 5, 1770. The "Boston Massacre," as the more zealous patriots termed this clash, enraged colonists from New Hampshire to Georgia. This fury was stoked by skilled propagandists who quickly wrote and distributed a pamphlet titled, "A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre." As the title indicates, they framed the incident not as one marked by confusion and miscommunication, but rather one where the British soldiers acted with malice and intentionally murdered the five victims. Paul Revere then added the final touch – an engraving that purported to show what happened on the night of March 5, 1770. It shows a crowd of well-dressed and well-behaved Bostonians on the left being shot – as if by firing squad – by a tightly organized line of British soldiers on the right. Both the pamphlet and image circulated widely throughout the thirteen colonies. In Boston, officials moved quickly to prosecute the soldiers. The commander of the British soldiers, Captain Thomas Preston, and eight of his men were arrested and charged with murder. Samuel Adams, a leading figure in the Sons of Liberty movement, led the prosecution. His cousin John Adams defended the soldiers – not because he sympathized with British rule, but rather because he believed the defendants deserved a fair trial. Despite raging public hostility toward the defendants, John Adams succeeded in demonstrating that all the conflicting eye-witness testimony meant that the defendants could not be found guilty. Preston and six soldiers were declared not guilty, while two others were convicted of manslaughter but were soon released. And soon, despite all the fury and angry talk against "British oppression," the city of Boston returned to calm, as did the rest of colonial America. The five victims were buried in the Granery cemetery and then kind of forgotten. And here's where things got interesting. Many decades later – long after the American Revolution - two of the men became famous. Alright, one of them became famous and the other somewhat better known. Let's start with the case of t

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about the film "Gone With The Wind," its dark racist themes, and how African Americans organized protests against the film when it debuted in 1939. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the landmark Supreme Court decision, Marbury vs. Madison, the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee by members of the American Indian Movement, and the swearing in of Hiram Revels as the first African American member of the U.S. And birthdays, including February 24, 1928: Michael Harrington February 26, 1846: Buffalo Bill February 27, 1902: Marian Anderson For more information about the In The Past Lane podcast, head to our website, www.InThePastLane.com Feature Story: Racism, History, and "Gone With The Wind" Eighty years ago this week, on February 29, 1940, the film "Gone with the Wind" swept the Academy Awards. The blockbuster film, one of several classics to come out in the remarkable year of 1939 (which also included "Stagecoach" and "The Wizard of Oz"), was based on the best-selling book by Margaret Mitchell. Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1900. Her parents imparted to her very different influences. From her father, a prominent lawyer and president of the Atlanta Historical Society, she grew up listening to stories about old Atlanta and glories of the Confederacy. From her mother, a women of more radical leanings who was active in the suffrage movement, Mitchell developed her independent personality. After studying briefly at Smith College in Massachusetts, she returned to Atlanta and became one of the first women to land a job as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal. In 1925 she married John Marsh and one year later, while recovering from an ankle injury, she began writing a work of fiction that became Gone with the Wind. Mitchell actually finished the 1,000-page manuscript in 1926, but had trouble finding a publisher. The book was finally published in 1935 and became an instant hit, selling one million copies within six months. The following year it won the Pulitzer Prize. By the time of her death in 1949, more than eight million copies had been sold in forty different countries. The essential story is by now familiar to most. In the beginning, the reader is immersed in a idyllic world of the antebellum South and the plantation-owning elite. But when the Civil War breaks out, the brave sons of the South march off to fight the Yanks and the old South begins to crumble. Within this drama is the story of the tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and her fight both to save her family plantation, the much-loved Tara, and to win the heart of the strong and dashing Rhett Butler. With the success of the book, a film adaptation was inevitable. Mitchell sold the film rights to the producer David O. Selznick for $50,000, and later received another $50,000 in royalties. News of the forthcoming film generated a lot of excited anticipation among fans of the book. But not all Americans were thrilled. African Americans rightly understood Mitchell's book as a deeply racist depiction of a "Lost Cause" version of slavery, the Confederacy, and Reconstruction. In her telling, enslaved African Americans were simple-minded people who were content with slavery and loved their white owners. And she celebrated the Ku Klux Klan as an organization that rescued the South from the alleged depredations of emancipated blacks and Northern carpetbaggers. African Americans knew that it was this twisted version of the Civil War and Reconstruction that was used by white supremacists to justify Jim Crow, lynching, and segregation. So, they mobilized against GWTW long before the filming began. They wrote letters to David Selznick, the film's famed producer, urging him to drop the project. "We consider this work to be a glorification of the old rotten system of slavery, propaganda for race-hatreds and bigotry, and incitement of lynching," wrote one group from Pittsburgh. Several African American newspapers threatened to organize a boycott of not just GWTW, but any film made by Selznick. The pressure didn't stop the film from being made, but it did convince Selznick to – very reluctantly – delete the n-word from the script. GWTW premiered on December 15, 1939 in Atlanta and quickly broke all existing box office records. For white Americans, the film represented a compelling fusion of romance and history. For many African Americans, however, GWTW was just what they feared it would be: a racist technicolor extravaganza that told a white supremacist version of the history of slavery, the Confederacy, and Reconstruction. It was, they charged, nothing more than a milder and prettier version of the original American blockbuster, The Birth of A Nation, which had been released in 1915. That infamous film celebrated the Ku Klux Klan as heroes who saved the South from the horrors of racial equality. GWTW avoided any references to the KKK, but it d

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about the February 20, 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was organized by a pro-Nazi, pro-fascist organization called the German American Bund and it drew a capacity crowd of 20,000. The event fused professions of American patriotism with vile antisemitism and pro-Nazi sentiment. But the Bund's rally did not go unchallenged. As many as 100,000 anti-Nazis filled the streets around MSG to register their outrage. The negative publicity caused the Bund to lose members. Then six months later World War II started and the Bund was on its way into the dustbin of history. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like John Glenn's history making orbit of the earth, the assassination of Malcolm X, and the publication of The Feminine Mystique. And birthdays, including February 17, 1942: Huey Newton February 21, 1936: Congressman Barbara Jordan February 22, 1732: George Washington Feature story: On February 20, 1939 – 81 years ago this week – 20,000 people gathered in New York City's Madison Square Garden for what was billed as a "Pro American Rally." Upon entering the stadium, attendees saw a 30-foot tall banner featuring the image of George Washington. Red, white, and blue American flags were everywhere and the festivities began with a rousing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner." But this was no ordinary political gathering. Indeed, interspersed among all the symbols of American patriotism were swastikas, Nazi uniforms, and banners that read: Stop Jewish Domination of Christian Americans. It was 1939, six months before the start of World War II, and 20,000 American Nazis had come together to praise Hitler, pledge loyalty to America, and denounce Jews as a threat to white Christian America. It was one of the most flagrant and vile displays of anti-Semitism in U.S. history. The group behind the rally was the German American Bund – bund being the German word for federation. This German American organization had been founded in 1936 by a man named Fritz Kuhn. It wrapped its pro-fascist, pro-Nazi, anti-Semitism in the mantle of American patriotism. They presented themselves as defenders of America from subversive communists and Jews who were plotting to undermine American values and Christianity. The Bund held summer camps for families, published pamphlets and magazines, and held high profile public events like parades and rallies. Within a few years, the organization boasted tens of thousands of members, and countless more supporters and sympathizers. But in 1939, as American opposition to Hitler and the Nazi regime grew, Bund membership began to decline. So, in an effort to boost its fortunes, the German American Bund booked a rally in the nation's premier venue: Madison Square Garden. The Bund's founder, Fritz Kuhn, knew the event would spark outrage and protest. But he didn't care. Controversy was just what he wanted. It was free advertising and, he thought, it would surely bring more Americans to support Nazism and fascism. New York City officials were less than thrilled about the event. Nonetheless, they rebuffed calls to stop the rally. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia reasoned that the negative publicity from the event would actually hurt the Bund's popularity. So instead of cancelling the event, the city put 1500 policeman in and around Madison Square Garden on the night of the rally. The heavy police presence proved a wise move, as tens of thousands of anti-Nazi protesters showed up, many looking for a fight. Inside Madison Square Garden, the rally went off perfectly – just as Fritz Kuhn had planned. There was music and speeches, interspersed by frenzied cheering, emphatic Nazi salutes, and shouts of Heil Hitler! The grand finale was a speech by Fritz Kuhn himself. He denounced Jews and communists as menaces to America. He likewise denounced President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, referring to him repeatedly as "Franklin Rosenfeld," and his popular New Deal programs as the "Jew Deal." Roosevelt, of course, wasn't Jewish, but fascists like Kuhn saw him as an agent of Jewish-inspired socialism. "We, with American ideals," shouted Kuehne, "demand that our government shall be returned to the American people who founded it" - implying, of course, that Jews were in control of the country and that they were not then, and never could be, true Americans. He continued, "If you ask what we are actively fighting for under our charter: First, a socially just, white, Gentile-ruled United States. Second, Gentile-controlled labor unions, free from Jewish Moscow-directed domination." The crowd roared in approval and thousands of arms shot fourth in the Nazi salute. But then, something extraordinary occurred. A Jewish American man named Isador Greenbaum jumped on stage to denounce Kuhn and his hateful movement. Policemen and Bund guards pounced on Greenbaum and pummeled him with their fists before dra

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and one incredible rescue of a man who had escaped slavery, Shadrach Minkins. In 1850, Minkins was seized by federal marshals in Boston as an escaped slave. But a group of black abolitionists stormed the courtroom, took hold of Minkins, and spirited him away to freedom in Canada. It was one of many such dramatic rescues and attempted rescues in those years leading up to the Civil War. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the origins of gerrymandering, the founding of the NAACP, and the sinking of the naval vessel, the Maine in 1898. And birthdays, including Feb 12, 1809 Abraham Lincoln Feb 15, 1820 Susan B. Anthony For more information about the In The Past Lane podcast, head to our website, www.InThePastLane.com Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) The Joy Drops, "Track 23," Not Drunk (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, "Perception" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Pat Dog" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald © In The Past Lane 2020

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about the strange election of President John Quincy Adams in 1824. His presidency was a bust, but then he did something remarkable – he won a seat in the House of Representatives and served for 17 years where he earned distinction for his opposition to slavery. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the FDR's court packing scheme and Margaret Sanger's arrest. And birthdays, including Rosa Parks, Tom Paine, and William Tecumseh Sherman. For more information about the In The Past Lane podcast, head to our website, www.InThePastLane.com Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) The Joy Drops, "Track 23," Not Drunk (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, "Perception" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Pat Dog" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2020 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about Fred Korematsu, the courageous young man who in 1942 stood up the US government to oppose Japanese Internment during World War II. He ultimately lost his case, which went all the way to the US Supreme Court. But over time, as the nation eventually confronted the terrible harm done by Japanese Internment, Fred Korematsu was vindicated. He dedicated the rest of his life to fighting for civil rights. And we also take a look at some key events that occurred this week in US history, like the 1960 civil rights sit-ins in Greensboro, NC and the 1990 opening of the first McDonald's fast food restaurant in the Soviet Union. And birthdays, including - Jan 30, 1882: Franklin D. Roosevelt Jan 30, 1909: Saul Alinsky Jan 31, 1919: Jackie Robinson Feb 1, 1902: Langston Hughes Main Story: Fred Korematsu and the Fight Against Internment On May 30, 1942, 23-year old Fred Korematsu was walking with his girlfriend on a street in San Leandro California. A police officer approached, asked to see his papers, and then announced he had to come with him to the police station for questioning. Hours later Korematsu was arrested for violating a federal law that mandated that all persons of Japanese ancestry voluntarily surrender to the government to be sent to internment camps. Just six months earlier, the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii had been attacked by Japanese forces, plunging the US into World War II. It also plunged it into a fit of racist fear and paranoia about Japanese Americans. Baseless rumors, many of them put forth by government officials and spread by the media, suggested that Japanese Americans could not be trusted – that they were likely loyal to the enemy Japanese government and therefore posed a security threat. And so on February 19, 1942, just 10 weeks after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that called for all persons of Japanese ancestry to be sent to so-called Relocation Centers for the duration of the war. Significantly, even though the US was also at war with Germany and Italy, no such relocation order was applied to Americans of German or Italian ancestry. Leaders in the Japanese American community urged cooperation. They argued that resistance to internment would only validate claims by white Americans that they were disloyal. And so in the coming months, more than 110,000 people – a majority of them American citizens - were sent to one of 10 internment camps, each surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by armed guards. Many Japanese Americans lost everything – their homes, businesses, and farms. – and never recovered from it. They also experienced humiliation and a sense of rejection by their country. As Korematsu put it, "I lost everything when they put us in prison. I was an enemy alien, a man without a country." It was one of the greatest violations of civil liberties in American history. And that's the way an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union saw it at the time. Ernest Besig read about Fred Korematsu's case and went to visit him in jail. He asked him: Would you be willing to fight your conviction? Even all the way to the supreme court if necessary? Yes, said Fred Korematsu. As he later recalled thinking, "I was an American citizen, and I had as many rights as anyone else." Besig filed a case on June 12, 1942, arguing that executive order 9066 violated the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans because it was based on racism. The state court summarily rejected their effort to overturn Korematsu's earlier guilty verdict. So they appealed in federal court and lost again. The last stop was the US Supreme Court. The High Court heard the case in October, and issued their ruling on December 18, 1944. By a margin of 6-3, the majority rejected Fred Korematsu's appeal and upheld the constitutionality of internment, saying it wasn't motivated by racism, but rather "military necessity." While the decision was disappointing, the three dissenting justices – doubtless recognizing that this case, Korematsu versus US, would one day be ranked with other ignominious Supreme Court decisions like Dred Scott and Plessy vs. Ferguson, issued a blistering dissent. Justice Frank Murphy wrote: "I dissent, therefore, from this legalization of racism. Racial discrimination in any form and in any degree has no justifiable part whatever in our democratic way of life." And Justice Robert H. Jackson concurred: "The Court for all time has validated the principle of racial discrimination in criminal procedure and of transplanting American citizens. The principle then lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need." World War II came to an end the following year, and eventually Japanese Americans were released to begin the process of rebuilding the shattered lives. Fred Korematsu get married, found work

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with Holly Jackson about her new book, American Radicals: How 19th Century Protest Shaped The Nation." Jackson is an associate professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She has written widely on US cultural history for scholarly journals, as well as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. In the course of our discussion, Holly Jackson explains: How American radicals – from abolitionists and free thinkers, to women's rights advocates to socialists – reshaped American society in the 19th century. How these radicals justified their critique of US society by invoking the Founders and calling upon Americans to live up to their high ideals of liberty, equality, and justice. How some Americans resisted the emerging capitalist economy by forming cooperative societies based on socialist principles – places like Brook Farm and New Harmony. Why some radicals attacked mainstream religion as an impediment to social progress, either for advocating superstitious ideas or upholding evil practices like slavery of women's subjugation. Why it's important to acknowledge that the American past – just like the present – has been rocked by radicals demanding major social change. Recommended reading: Holly Jackson, American Radicals: How 19th Century Protest Shaped The Nation (Crown, 2019) Howard Brick and Christopher Phelps, Radicals in America: The U.S. Left since the Second World War Michael Kazin, American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation Timothy Patrick McCarthy, John Campbell McMillian, et al., The Radical Reader: A Documentary History of the American Radical Tradition Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States More info about Holly Jackson - website Follow In The Past Lane on - Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, "Perception" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald © In The Past Lane, 2019

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Ryan Swanson about his new book, The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt in the Making of the American Athlete. To say that the US is a sports-obsessed nation would be an understatement to say the least. Just consider some numbers: * In 2019 the four major sports leagues – NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL - will rake in revenues in excess of $28 billion. * Americans will illegally bet more than $150 billion on college and professional sports. * And this year about 45 million children in the US will participate in competitive sports. I could go on, but you get the point. All this obsession with sports raises an interesting question: How did it happen? Well, historical trends are always driven by multiple causes. And in the case of our obsession with sports, one of those factors was the influence of Theodore Roosevelt. While we often associate Theodore Roosevelt with military exploits in the Spanish American War, efforts to conserve the environment and natural resources, and struggles to enact progressive social legislation, Theodore Roosevelt should also be remembered for his promotion of sports and physical fitness. Ryan Swanson is an associate professor of history at the University of New Mexico. He's the author of several books on sports history, including When Baseball Went White: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Dreams of a National Past Time. He's with me today to discuss his latest work, The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt in the Making of the American Athlete. In the course of our discussion, Ryan Swanson explains: How Theodore Roosevelt used athletics to overcome childhood infirmity including asthma. How the story of Roosevelt remaking his body became a key part of his public persona as a man of zeal, courage, and accomplishment. Why Theodore Roosevelt and many other Americans in the Gilded Age grew concerned that the nation was growing soft and effeminate, and that one solution – short of a war - was athletics. How Roosevelt used tennis during his presidency as a way to stay fit and to conduct his personal brand of politics. How Roosevelt's love of football helped save the game when critics condemned it as dangerous and called for its abolition. And how in this era, promoters of physical fitness created the bond between education and sports that exist to this day. Recommended reading: Ryan Swanson, The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt in the Making of the American Athlete (Diversion Books, 2019) Richard O. Davies, Sports in American Life: A History Elliott J. Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America Michael MacCambridge, America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation John J. Miller, The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football Dave Revsine, The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation Steven A. Riess and Thomas G. Paterson, eds., Major Problems in American Sport History More info about Ryan Swanson - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Jason Shaw, "Acoustic Meditation" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Kevin Levin about his new book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth. The story behind this myth that tens of thousands of free and enslaved black men fought on behalf of the Confederacy is fascinating. And in light of recent conflicts over the Confederate flag and Confederate monuments, it's a very timely and important book that examines why the myth was developed in the late 1970s and how it has been used to argue that slavery was not the cause of the Civil War. In the course of our discussion, Kevin Levin explains: How the Black Confederate myth emerged in the 1970s in response to the civil rights movement and new historical scholarship that emphasized slavery as the cause of the Civil War. How the Confederate military effort relied on the labor of tens of thousands of African Americans – but as enslaved workers, not soldiers. Why many white Confederates brought enslaved men to accompany them as servants during their service in the Civil War. How and why historic photographs and official government records are either misinterpreted or willfully misrepresented as "evidence" of Black Confederate soldiers. How the Black Confederate myth has found its way into history textbooks and public history exhibitions. And why the current popularity of the Black Confederate myth reveals how Americans have not yet come to terms with race, slavery, and the Civil War. Recommended reading: Kevin Levin, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth (UNC Press, 2019) Douglas R Egerton, Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America Stephanie McCurry, Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era Amy Murrell Taylor, Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps More info about Kevin Levin - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald © In The Past Lane, 2019

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, it's time for a special Labor Day episode where I speak with historian Erik Loomis about his new book, "A History of America in Ten Strikes." The annual Labor Day holiday is often marked by last trips to the beach and backyard barbecues. But Labor Day was established by American workers in 1882 to draw attention to three things: First, the essential role of workers in creating all of the nation's wealth and abundance. Second, that American workers faced constant threats to their well-being by abusive and greedy employers who forced them work long hours for inadequate pay. And third, that if workers succumbed to this oppression, America would cease to be a democracy. Rather, it would gradually resemble an old world society ruled by a small aristocracy. Long before 1882 and certainly ever since, American workers have had to fight for fairness, justice, equality, and dignity in the workplace. And these concerns are very much alive in 2019. So, as we debate issues like the $15 minimum wage, Medicare for all, Social Security, corporate taxation, automation and robots, and so on, we'd do well to look into the long history of workers and their struggles for a slice of the American dream. In the course of our discussion, Erik Loomis explains: Why the history of work and workers is central to US history. How the onset of the industrial revolution created new conditions for the exploitation of workers – and as a consequence – the first strikes. Why We should think of the groundswell of self-emancipation of enslaved people during the Civil War as, in the words of WEB DuBois, a general strike. Why laissez-faire is a myth that obscures the fact that the role of the government in labor-capital conflicts nearly always determines their outcome. How and why racism has been a persistent obstacle to workers of different racial and ethnic backgrounds uniting along class lines against their employers. Why workers in the Gilded Age believed in capitalism, but also believed that it had become rigged in favor of business over workers. How small but influential groups of socialists, anarchists, and communists within the labor movement have benefited workers, but also exposed the labor movement to persecution in the name of anti-communism. How federal policies and court decisions since the 1950s – especially Ronald Reagan's firing of 11,000 Air Traffic Controllers in 1981 - have dramatically weakened the American labor movement. And, finally, what are we to make of recent labor actions – especially walkouts and strikes by teachers. Recommended reading: Erik Loomis, A History of America in Ten Strikes (The New Press, 2018) Philip Dray, There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America Melvyn Dubofsky, We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World Steven Greenhouse, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor Emily Guendelsberger, On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane David Montgomery, The Fall of the House of Labor Edward T. O'Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age More info about Erik Loomis - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, "Perception" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court case

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Saul Cornell, author of "A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America." The recent mass shootings in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX have reignited the national debate over gun control, so this seemed like a good time to do an episode on the history of the Second Amendment. Because plunging into this history makes clear that there is a great deal of mythology around what the Founders had in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment. Exposing this mythology as something at odds with the historical record reveals that the Second Amendment does not prohibit gun control. In the course of our discussion, Saul Cornell explains: The two main myths about the Second Amendment that gun rights advocates invoke, namely: 1) that the amendment was intended to allow the citizenry to rise up and overthrow the federal government by force of arms if they deemed it tyrannical and 2) that it established an individual's right to possess and bear arms. Why the framers of the Constitution were chiefly concerned about the need for strong state militias and not an individual's right to arms. How gun control in the late-18th and early 19th century was both extensive and intrusive. How this regulation was justified in the name of an ideal the Founders subscribed to: the right of citizens to live in a peaceful society. How the Second Amendment underwent a radical reinterpretation in the 1970s, one that emphasized a libertarian claim to a near absolute right of an individual to possess and bear arms. And, finally, an assessment of the current state of the gun control movement. Recommended reading: Saul Cornell, A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America (Oxford U. Press) Saul Cornell, Whose Right to Bear Arms Did the Second Amendment Protect? Saul Cornell, "The Second Amendment Case for Gun Control," The New Republic, August 4, 2019 Saul Cornell, "Gun Anarchy and the Unfree State: The real history of the Second Amendment," The Baffler, October 3, 2017. Jeffrey Toobin, "Politics Changed the Reading of the Second Amendment—and Can Change It Again" The New Yorker, August 5, 2019 More info about Saul Cornell - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Hyson, "Signals" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald © In The Past Lane, 2019

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Jeffrey A. Engel, co-author of "Impeachment: An American History." With all the talk about impeachment over the past two years, this seems like a superb moment to do an episode on the history of this rarely-used constitutional mechanism. In the course of our discussion, Jeffrey Engel explains: Why the Founders' fear of potential abuse of power by a president or high government official led them to include an impeachment provision in the US Constitution. Why the Founders made a key distinction between maladministration – essentially doing a bad job as president – and actions taken by the president that harm the nation. Only the latter required impeachment. How the Founders meant by "high crimes and misdemeanors" actions that might not be illegal, but are judged to be harmful to the nation. Why Republicans decided to impeach President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and how Johnson's own actions and personality played a key role in his near removal from office. What Richard Nixon did to merit the commencement of impeachment proceedings against him – a process he avoided by resigning. How in the aftermath of Watergate, Congress changed the rules to allow future special prosecutors investigating alleged presidential wrongdoing greater freedom and independence. And how that reform led to the wide-ranging investigation of President Bill Clinton that started with a sketchy land deal in Arkansas and ended up focused on an affair between the president and a 22-year old intern named Monica Lewinsky. And in turn, how that experience led to new rules that restricted the independence of special prosecutors, leading to the current day complaints by some that SC Robert Mueller was not allowed to fully investigate the many charges against President Trump. And, finally, what it means that we might soon witness the third impeachment effort in the last 50 years, after having only one impeachment in the first 185 years of the nation's history. Recommended reading: Jeffrey Engel, et al, Impeachment: An American History (Modern Library Press) Howard Fields, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Nixon Impeachment— Roadmap for the Next One Richard A. Posner, An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton David O. Stewart, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy Cass R. Sunstein, Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide Jeffrey Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz, To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment Brenda Wineapple, The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation More info about Jeffrey Engel - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Joshua Specht, author of Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America. It's a fascinating history of the beef industry and how it changed not just America's diet, but also its culture and politics. Beef was not always a centerpiece of the US diet. Prior to the Civil War, the most common meat source was pork. But after the Civil War, as white migrants, the railroads, and the US Army spread out across the Great Plains, cattle ranching emerged as a major industry. Over time, as entrepreneurs and investors figured out how to get cattle from Texas onto the Great Plains, then to the great slaughterhouse operations in Chicago, and then how to move large slabs of beef to regional wholesalers, who then sold to local butchers, who in turn sold retail cuts of beef to local customers, beef became affordable and widely available. Americans came to expect beef several times a week. So, too, did immigrants, who wrote letters home to their homelands in Europe extolling America as a place of freedom, opportunity, and beef. Today, even though beef consumption has declined by about one third since the mid-1970s, Americans still consume more red meat than any nation in the world. In the course of our conversation Joshua Specht explains: How beef went from a special occasion food that was raised locally, to an everyday staple produced by a vast, national market. How dispossessing Native Americans of their land was a crucial early step in the formation of a booming beef industry. How that process relied not on plucky pioneers, but rather the raw power of the federal government via the US military and support for a national railroad network. How and why massive, heavily capitalized industrial ranching in the Gilded Age failed, causing investors to shift capital to the meat processing industry, centered in Chicago. How as beef became cheap and plentiful in the late 19th century, it became a key cultural marker for white middle-class success, especially along immigrants to the US. The emergence of the four great beef packing companies, including Swift and Armour, and how they used new technology and government policy to revolutionize their industry. How the insistence on low prices led the beef packers to ruthlessly exploit their workers, a process famously chronicled by Upton Sinclair in The Jungle. How one of the great challenges today is to reconnect the costs of low beef prices to the conditions that make them possible – exploited workers, government subsidies, and environmental damage. Recommended reading: Joshua Specht, Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America (Princeton University Press) James R. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers, 1894–1922. Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West Jimmy K. Skaggs, Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607–1983. Louise C. Wade, Chicago's Pride: The Stockyards, Packingtown, and Environs in the 19th Century. Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906) More info about Joshua Specht http://joshuaspecht.com/ Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US

It's Independence Day! The perfect occasion for a special episode of In The Past Lane! This week, we take a close look at the document at the heart of the July 4th celebration -- the Declaration of Independence. There's a lot more to this patriotic piece of parchment than you might think. So here's the lineup: we'll start with a look at three key things about the Declaration and how it came to be -- including the fact that America's actual Independence Day is July 2, not July 4. Next, we examine the fascinating story of how American's understanding of the Declaration changed after 1800 and as a consequence, how it has inspired countless rights movements in the US (women's rights, labor rights, civil rights, etc) and around the world for more than 200 years. Happy July 4th to all! Episode 154 notes and credits Recommended Reading Pauline Maier, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89 Backstory podcast, "Pursuits of Happiness" - especially the feature on Frederick Douglass and his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (courtesy, JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive)

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Jill Lepore, author of a one-volume history of the United States titled, These Truths: A History of the United States. Lepore is one of the nation's most prolific and widely read historians. She combines a brilliant and engaging writing style, with extraordinary reading, research, and analysis. Over the past 20 years she's written books on everything from King Philip's War that tore apart New England in the 1670s to the history of Wonder Woman. She also writes insightful essays on history for the New Yorker. This latest work, a sweeping, 900-page one volume history of the United States, has garnered widespread praise and a spot on the NY Times bestseller list. In the course of our discussion, Jill Lepore explains: Why she chose the phrase, "These Truths" from the Declaration of Independence as the book's title. What those three key truths are – political equality, natural rights, and consent of the governed. How concepts of rights like liberty and equality develop over time. How these key American ideals were defined and codified to guarantee them to some Americans, while at the same time denying them to others. Why she chose to emphasize and weave together both political and social history, rather than treating them separately. How US history has been shaped by famous people like Thomas Jefferson, as well as lesser known people who lacked formal political rights like Maria Stewart. How developments in technology has played a key – and often underappreciated – role in US history. How social media and a 24/7 news cycle in contemporary society has diminished Americans' sense of the past. Recommended reading: Jill Lepore, These Truths: A History of the United States (WW Norton) Jill Lepore, The Story of America: Essays on Origins James West Davidson, A Little History of the United States Robert V. Remini, A Short History of the United States: From the Arrival of Native American Tribes to the Obama Presidency Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States More info about Jill Lepore - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Terry Golway, author of, Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance That Created the Modern Democratic Party. It's a remarkable story of two unlikely allies – one a patrician who went to Harvard and the other the son of immigrants who did not graduate 8th grade – and how they came together to remake the Democratic Party in the 1910s and 1920s. This transformation led to the New Deal, a revolutionary period in American history that changed the relationship between the American people and the federal government. In the course of our conversation, Terry Golway explains: Who Al Smith was and how he played a key role in the transformation of the Tammany Hall political machine into an agent of reform in the 1910s and 1920s. How Franklin Delano Roosevelt transformed from an elitist, good government reformer to a committed advocate of progressive reform. How Al Smith and FDR pioneered in making the New York State Democratic Party the agent of progressive reform and how these ideas and programs formed the foundation of the New Deal. How Al Smith played a key role in resisting the KKK's influence in the Democratic Party. How Al Smith and FDR, once great allies, had a falling out once FDR became president. And how they later reconciled. How the constituency that made up the new Democratic Party – the urban, immigrant, African American working-class – came to be known as the New Deal Coalition and how it played a key role in national politics from the 1930s through the 1970s. Recommended reading: Terry Golway, Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance That Created the Modern Democratic Party (St. Martin's Press) Robert Chiles, The Revolution of '28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal Lizabeth Cohen, Making a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939 Terry Golway, Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal: 1932-1940 Eric Rauchway, Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Clash Over the New Deal Robert A. Slayton, Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith More info about Terry Golway - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Follow the Course" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with Pulitzer Prize winning military historian, Rick Atkinson, who's just published the first of a 3-volume history of the American Revolution: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777. This project represents a new focus for Atkinson, as it follows a prize-winning trilogy on the history of World War II. This new book examines the first two years of the American war for independence. It's a fascinating conversation that I'm sure you're going to love. In the course of our conversation, Rick Atkinson explains: How George Washington had to learn on the job how to organize, manage, and command the Continental Army. How one of George Washington's key leadership insights was his awareness that American soldiers could not simply be driven. Rather they needed to be led. How George Washington was not only effective on the field of battle, but also in managing the politics surrounding the American revolutionary effort. How vital but unlikely figures emerged during the war, like Henry Knox, Benedict Arnold, and Nathaniel Greene. How the British both overestimated the percentage of colonists who remained remain loyal to the Crown, and underestimated the fighting effectiveness of the Continental Army. How and why the Continental Army enjoyed a lot of success in 1775, but then nearly lost the war in the summer and fall of 1776. How George Washington's bold decision to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey to surprise attack the British at Trenton and later at Princeton in late December 1776 and early January 1777, stopped British momentum and boosted American morale. Recommended reading: Rick Atkinson, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777 (Holt, 2019) Andrew O'Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 Dean Snow, 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 Related ITPL podcast episodes: 017 Alan Taylor, American Revolutions 023 Stephen Knott on the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington 028 Carol Berkin on the Crisis of the 1790s 041 Dean Snow on the pivotal Battle of Saratoga 049 Gordon Wood on the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson 065 Andrew O'Shaughnessy on "The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire." More info about Rick Atkinson - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Bathed in Finest Light" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Wa

What defines a US citizen? Remarkably, no official definition existed until 1868 -- some 80 years after the ratification of the Constitution. That's the year the 14th Amendment was ratified. Its opening line reads, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside." The origins of this form of citizenship, known as "birthright citizenship," are in large measure due to the efforts of free African Americans who, in the decades before the Civil War, developed and promoted a claim on US citizenship based on the fact that they had been born on US soil. To learn more about this fascinating backstory to birthright citizenship, I speak with historian Martha S. Jones, author of, Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America. In the course of our conversation, Martha S. Jones explains: Why the city of Baltimore, with its large free black population, location at the nexus of North and South, and connection to the Atlantic world as a seaport, made it an ideal focus for her study. How free African Americans in the antebellum era forged a notion of birthright citizenship, in part by asserting their rights in local courts and, in effect, "performing citizenship." How African American newspaper editors and pamphleteers developed and spread arguments in favor of birthright citizenship. How efforts by white Americans to force free blacks to resettle in Africa inspired the latter to assert a right to stay based on their birth in the US. How Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Roger B. Taney's experience living in Baltimore shaped his understanding of race and citizenship, leading to his infamous majority opinion in the 1857 Dred Scott case. And how this backstory to the concept of birthright citizenship provides important insights that are relevant to contemporary debates over birthright citizenship. Recommended reading: Martha S. Jones, Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America (Cambridge University Press, 2017) David Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom Anna-Lisa Cox, The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Forgotten Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality Kellie Carter Jackson, Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence Gerard N. Magliocca, American Founding Son: John Bingham and the Invention of the Fourteenth Amendment Manisha Sinha, The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition Shirley J. Yee, Black Women Abolitionists: Study In Activism, 1828-1860 More info about Martha S. Jones - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Hyson, "Signals" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of I

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we learn about the long political struggle before the Civil War to rid the US of slavery. I speak with historian Graham Peck, author of Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Battle over Freedom. It's a fascinating conversation about how during the 70 years between the ratification of the Constitution and the Civil War, opponents of slavery gradually pushed the US to become an antislavery nation. But as Peck makes clear, this was no easy task, as proponents of slavery demanded its protection and pushed for its expansion. In the course of our discussion, Graham Peck discusses: How political struggles between antislavery and proslavery settlers in Illinois in the 1820s presaged the national debates over slavery in the 1840s and 1850s. How and why antislavery leaders were content to leave slavery alone where it existed, but were adamantly opposed to allowing its extension into the American west. Why the controversy generated by the Kansas-Nebraska Act proved to be a key tipping point in the mobilization and unification of political antislavery into what became the Republican Party. How Abraham Lincoln emerged at this time as a leading advocate of what Peck calls an "antislavery nationalism" that argued that the US had been founded upon the principles of universal freedom with an eye toward to eventual eradication of slavery. And that this position was actually conservative, and that it was proslavery activists who wanted to expand slavery who were the radicals who threatened the nation's wellbeing. Recommended reading: Graham Peck, Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Battle over Freedom (Univ. Illinois Press, 2017) Anna-Lisa Cox, The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Forgotten Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality Andrew Delbanco, The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War Manisha Sinha, The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition More info about Graham Peck - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, Perceptions Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we dive into the fascinating story of the daughters of Thomas Jefferson. Ever since the revelations in 1998 – courtesy of modern DNA analysis – that Thomas Jefferson did indeed have a longterm sexual relationship with an enslaved woman named Sally Hemings, historians have examined the 3rd president in a new light. And his historic home, Monticello, has transformed the way it presents the life of Jefferson, devoting increasing amounts of attention and space to Sally Hemings and the many hundreds of other enslaved people who lived and worked there. But what of the six children Hemings and Jefferson had? What was their fate in a nation dedicated to slavery? To explain one of these lives, Harriett Hemings, and to compare it to that of her white half-sisters Martha and Maria Jefferson, I speak with historian Catherine Kerrison, the author of a new book, Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America. Recommended reading: Catherine Kerrison, Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America (Ballantine, 2018) Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf, "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs": Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination (WW Norton) Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (W.W. Norton, 2009) Annette Gordon-Reed, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (University Press of Virginia, 1997) Shannon Lanier, Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family More info about Catherine Kerrison - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a close look at America's early colonial origins. Most Americans tend to think of their nation as beginning in Massachusetts with the 1620 establishment of a colony at Plymouth by the Pilgrims. But this view overlooks Jamestown, Virginia which had been established 13 years earlier in 1607. Why? Because, apart from periodic wars with local Native Americans, Massachusetts thrived, while further south in Virginia the Jamestown colony suffered through several periods of starvation and near extinction. And then in 1619 – 400 years ago this year – Jamestown was the site of the arrival of the first shipload of enslaved Africans. Plymouth, MA came to be seen as the New World utopia in contrast to the Jamestown dystopia. But there's a lot more to the Jamestown story that's really important to know about when considering the origins of the United States and American democracy. To explain this overlooked chapter of US history, I speak with Joseph Kelly, the author of a new book, Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America's Origin. Recommended reading: Joseph Kelly, Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America's Origin (Bloomsbury, 2018) James Horn, 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America William M. Kelso, Jamestown, the Buried Truth Benjamin Woolley, Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America More info about Joseph Kelly - his website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week In The Past Lane, the American history podcast, looks into the little known and yet hugely significant development of the ice and refrigeration industries in US history. 1) first we tell the story of the Frederick Tudor, The "Ice King," who single-handedly invented the ice industry way back in 1806. This development radically redefined the American life, especially the American diet. 2) Then we check in with historian Jonathan Rees, the nation's leading authority on all things related refrigeration, to learn how mechanical refrigeration and machine-made ice accelerated this transformation of everyday life. 3) Finally, we take just a few minutes to visit a unique bar in New York City. It's called Minus 5 and with the exception of the floor and ceiling, it's made entirely of ice and kept at a temperature of Minus 5 centigrade (minus 19 F). Yeah, I know ... Episode 127 notes and credits Further Reading about the history of ice and refrigeration Oscar Edward Anderson, Jr. Refrigeration in America: A History of a New Technology and Its Impact (Princeton University Press, 1953). Mariana Gosnell, Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance (Knopf, 2005) Jonathan Rees, Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America (John Hopkins University Press, 2013) Jonathan Rees, Refrigerator (Bloomsbury, 2015) Carl Seaburg and Stanley Paterson, The Ice King: Frederic Tudor and His Circle (Massachusetts Historical Society and Mystic Seaport, 2003). Gavin Weightman, The Frozen-Water Trade: A True Story (Hyperion, 2003) Music: Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (courtesy, JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "On The Street" (Free Music Archive) Jason Shaw, "Jenny's Theme (Free Music Archive)

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we look at the largely unknown story of Black nationalist women in the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice in the mid-20th century. To explain this history, I speak with historian Keisha N. Blain about her new book, "Set The World On Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom." As she explains, in the 30+ years before the emergence of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, women like Amy Jacques Garvey. Mittie Maude Lena Gordon, Celia Jane Allen, and Audley "Queen Mother" Moore kept alive and broadened the reach of black nationalist thought and activism. So just what is black nationalism? According to Keisha N. Blain, it's "the political view that people of African descent constitute a separate group or nationality on the basis of their distinct culture, shared history, and experiences." Over the last nearly 200 years, black nationalists have advocated a wide range of initiatives, including back to Africa movements, anti-colonialism, racial separatism, black pride, political self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency. In the United States, black nationalism has its origins in the late 1820s and 1830s with the writings of David Walker and Maria Stewart. They were followed in each succeeding generation by new advocates of black liberation, self-determination, and racial pride – people like Bishop Henry Turner. Black nationalism reached a high point of popularity among African-Americans and recognition by white Americans in the early 20th century when a Jamaican immigrant named Marcus Garvey launched an organization called the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914. His goal was to unify people of African descent worldwide and to encourage the migration of African-Americans to move to the African nation of Liberia. But 1920 Garvey's organization counted some 4 million members who were attracted by his message of black liberation. But this was the 1920s, at the height of white supremacy and Jim Crow. So it wasn't long before J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Bureau of Investigation – the precursor to the FBI –decided to bring Garvey down. Garvey was charged with committing mail fraud, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison. When he was released in 1928 he was immediately deported back to Jamaica. In the traditional history of black nationalism in the United States, it's said that after Garvey's downfall, black nationalism in the US went fallow for the next 30+ years until it re-emerged – seemingly out of nowhere – with the appearance of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers in the 1960s. But now, with the publication of Keisha Blain's new book, we know this is to be untrue. Black nationalism did not go into hibernation. It was kept alive, both in the US and internationally, through the efforts of black nationalist women in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. ------------ Keisha Blain teaches history at the University of Pittsburgh and serves as editor-in-chief of The North Star, a recently re-booted version of Frederick Douglass' 1847 newspaper of the same name. She's also the editor of a collection of essays and resources titled, Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence. In this episode she talks about her latest book, Set the World On Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom. Recommended reading: Keisha N. Blain, Set The World On Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom (U. Penn Press, 2018) Wilson J. Moses, Classical Black Nationalism: From the American Revolution to Marcus Garvey Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity Ula Yvette Taylor, The Veiled Garvey: The Life and Times of Amy Jacques Garvey William L. Van Deburg, Modern Black Nationalism: From Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan More info about Keisha N. Blain - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Stay the Course" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2019 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history beh

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we look at a #MeToo incident from the Gilded Age. It involved a powerful congressman and a mistress he kept for ten years. But when he broke his promise to marry her, she did the unthinkable – she sued him for "breach of promise." The scandal and subsequent trial captivated the nation. To explain how this young women took down a congressman, I speak with Patricia Miller about her new book, "Bringing Down The Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the 'Powerless' Woman Who Took on Washington." The #MeToo movement originated in 2007 when civil rights activist Tarana Burke coined the phrase to unite women who were victims of sexual violence. But it really took off in 2017 with revelations in the New York Times and New Yorker magazine about women coming forward to accuse film mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and rape. It has since gained increased momentum and legitimacy as more and more powerful men have been exposed for their abusive and often criminal behavior towards women. It's quite common when stories of this magnitude make the news for journalists to look to the past for historical precedents. Think of the many stories about past financial scams that were written up in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal. Or past environmental disasters in the wake of the catastrophic B.P. Oil spill in 2010. Not surprisingly, the #MeToo movement has likewise elicited stories about sexual predators from the past, including re-examinations of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and a renewed debate over filmmaker Roman Polansky who in 1977 pled guilty to raping a 13-year old girl and then fled the country to avoid prison. He's continued to make films, several of which have been honored with Academy Awards. But as any good historian will tell you, one can always go much further back in time to find individuals and incidents that connect with our present. For example, have you ever heard of Elizabeth Jennings? Well, in 1854 – 101 years before Rosa Parks resisted a racist segregation policy on a Birmingham, Alabama bus, Elizabeth Jennings did much the same on a New York City streetcar. And like Parks, her resistance led to the desegregation of the city's streetcars. Well, in this episode we meet Madeline Pollard, a young woman who in the 1890s stood up to the patriarchy and took down an abusive and exploitive congressman. Here to tell us more about it is Patricia Miller, author of the new book, Bringing Down The Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the "Powerless" Woman Who Took on Washington. In the course of our conversation, Patricia Miller discusses: How women in the Gilded Age began to take on new roles, including the pursuit of higher education, entry into the paid workforce, and participation in a wide array of reform movements. How a 47-year old Kentucky lawyer and Congressman named Col. William Breckinridge began a sexual relationship with a 17-year old girl named Madeline Pollard. And how this relationship lasted a decade and produced two babies until it was exposed. Why the woman at the center of this story decided, despite the likelihood that she would be condemned as a gold-digging harlot, to go public in 1894 and sue Col. Breckinridge. How and why wealthy and socially prominent women supported Pollard in her lawsuit against Col. Breckinridge. How in the aftermath of the trial, women in Washington, DC and Kentucky successfully mobilized to bring about the political demise the Col. Breckinridge. Patricia Miller is an award-winning author and journalist. Her work on the interplay of politics and sexual morality has appeared in The Atlantic, Salon, The Nation, Huffington Post, and Ms. Magazine. She is with me today to talk about her first book, Bringing Down The Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the "Powerless" Woman Who Took on Washington (Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Recommended reading: Patricia Miller, Bringing Down The Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the "Powerless" Woman Who Took on Washington (Sarah Crichton Books, 2018). Jean V. Matthews, The Rise of the New Woman: The Women's Movement in America, 1875-1930 Edward T. O'Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age Martha H. Patterson, Beyond the Gibson Girl: Reimagining the American New Woman, 1895-1915 Cecelia Tichi, What Would Mrs. Astor Do?: The Essential Guide to the Manners and Mores of the Gilded Age Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 More info about Patricia Miller - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 044 Historian Richard White talks about his book, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age 052, 053, 054 a

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we look at the decades following World War II when the federal government passed civil rights laws and enacted social programs concerning public health, housing, education, transportation, and anti-poverty initiatives that aimed to provide opportunity and spread prosperity to the greatest number of citizens. To explain how this era of activist government succeeded – and then how it was scaled back after 1980, I speak with historian David Goldfield about his new book, The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good. For the past few decades in the US, anti-government rhetoric has become a major force in American politics. Conservatives insist that government has grown too big and too expensive. Many also claim that it tramples the liberty of individuals through onerous regulations concerning the environment, the economy, the workplace, and education. But there was a time in the not too distant past when Americans liked and benefitted from big government. It started in the 1930s when President FDR's administration responded to the Great Depression with a vast array of policies and programs known as the New Deal. But it really ramped up from 1945 – 1969 during the administrations of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. In those decades an activist federal government enacted laws and policies promoting civil rights, public health, housing, education, transportation, and anti-poverty programs. This era of activist government greatly expanded opportunity for success and upward mobility for millions of Americans, boosted the economy, and extended life expectancy. But then in the 1970s, a conservative political movement that had been gaining momentum since the 1960s, began to push back against activist government, denouncing it as socialist and wasteful. And before long, the US began to shrink or eliminate the programs that had opened up opportunity for so many in the postwar years. To learn more about this history of the rise and fall of activist government in US history, I'll speak with historian David Goldfield, author of The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good. In the course of our conversation, David Goldfield discusses: How three presidents, Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson in part due to their own humble origins, supported laws that expanded civil rights and access to education, as well as programs that reduced poverty. How these programs emanated from a commitment to the Commonwealth ideal - the notion that the purpose of government is to enact laws and policies that promote the general welfare of the citizenry. How and why in the 1970s American conservatives began to demonize activist government and preach a doctrine of radical individualism and free market capitalism. How the presidency of Ronald Reagan began a decades long retreat from programs and policies that reduced inequality and provided broad opportunity to the largest number of Americans. David Goldfield is professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the author of 16 books, including Black, White, and Southern: Race Relations and Southern Culture and Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers: Southern City and Region, both of which were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Recommended reading: David Goldfield, The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good (Bloomsbury, 2017). Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer, Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974 (2019) David McCullough, Truman (1993) Julian E. Zelizer, The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (2015) More info about David Goldfield - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 018 Nicole Hemmer talks about the rise of conservative media before 1980 036 Christine Woodside, author of the book, Libertarians on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of the Little House Books 046 Richard Rothstein The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Borrtex, "Perception" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Fran

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we explore the fascinating backstory of the most popular Christmas song of all time, "White Christmas." Did you know that this song, which topped the charts more than 75 years ago in late 1942, was in many ways a war song? It's true—and it has everything to do with the context in which it was released. In fact, the connection between "White Christmas" and World War II is but one of several surprising details related to the song's origins. Take for example, the fact that it was written by a Jewish songwriter. Remarkably, this was the case with many American Christmas songs, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "The Christmas Song" -- or what's popularly known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire." In the case of "White Christmas," it was written by Irving Berlin. This legendary songwriter was born Israel Baline in1888 in Siberia, Russia. He emigrated to the US with his family in 1888 at the age of 5 and they settled on New York's Lower East Side, at the time the largest Jewish enclave in the world. But not everyone in the neighborhood was Jewish. It included families from places like Germany, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and China. In Irving Berlin's building there lived an Irish family and they took a liking to the young "Izzy" and often invited him into their apartment. And that's how it came to pass that in December 1893 5-year old Irving Berlin witnessed his first Christmas in America. It was a warm a delightful experience that he never forgot. Later as an adult, he married an Irish Catholic woman named Ellin Barrett. They raised their children Catholic, so with each passing year Irving Berlin's love of the Christmas holiday – its secular trappings anyway – grew more intense. Now let's jump ahead a few decades to 1940. Irving Berlin is a famous and prolific songwriter. And in January that year he wrote "White Christmas." He sat on the song for more than a year, unsure of what to do with it. Then, as fate would have it, he was approached by a Hollywood studio to write the score for "Holiday Inn," a musical that featured songs about each of the major holidays. With one song already in hand – and word that the famous singer Bing Crosby had been cast as the lead, Berlin said yes. We should note here that Bing Crosby played a key role in making White Christmas a hit song. By the time of the filming of "Holiday Inn," Crosby was the most famous singer in America, perhaps the world. His manly, yet emotive crooning was unlike anything that preceded it in the world of pop music. This was due in part to Crosby's extraordinary voice, but also to his technique. He was the first singer to embrace and then master the microphone, a new medium for broadcasting and recording introduced in the 1920s. Historians of pop music invariably speak of Crosby's uncanny "caressing" of the microphone with his voice, creating an unparalleled intimacy and connection with his listeners. Crosby recorded "White Christmas" in the decidedly non-Yuletide season of May 1942. "Holiday Inn" opened in August and became an instant hit at the box office. So, too, was its centerpiece song, "White Christmas" (the only one sung twice in the film). "White Christmas" hit the Top 30 charts on October 3 and kept right on marching upward until it hit #1 on October 31, a position it held for an unprecedented eleven weeks. Decca, the label that produced the record, was swamped with orders and barely kept up with demand. Irving Berlin's skill as a songwriter and Bing Crosby's talent as a singer had combined to produce an American classic. But there was one additional factor that helps explain the phenomenal success of "White Christmas"—timing. As Jody Rosen writes in his book, White Christmas: The Story of an American Song, the fall of 1942 was the first holiday season away from home for millions of American servicemen. Demand by American GI's for "White Christmas" records exploded in September – fully three months before the holiday. And the reason is clear: the song acknowledged their longing to be home with their families. "In the song's melancholic yearning for Christmases past," writes Rosen, "listeners heard the expression of their own nostalgia for peacetime." And so it was that this song of peace and love soon became a most unlikely war anthem. Unlike George M. Cohan's World War I call to arms, "Over There!", "White Christmas" did not appeal to the martial spirit or vengeance. Rather, it reminded Americans on both the frontline and homefront what was at stake in the war. Here's how one newspaper, the Buffalo Courier-Express, put it: "When Irving Berlin set 120,000,000 people dreaming of a White Christmas, he provided a forcible reminder that we are fighting for the right to dream and memories to dream about." Not surprisingly, when Crosby visited the troops in Europe in late 1944, his rendition of "White Christmas" brought tears to the eyes of the most battle-hardened soldiers. For t

This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a close look at a long forgotten chapter in US history – the story of tens of thousands of African Americans who, in the 70 years before the Civil War and the end of slavery, settled on what was then the western frontier and today we know as the Midwest. They established successful farms and created thriving communities of black families. But intensifying racism in these antebellum years meant that these African Americans also faced efforts by white Americans in states like Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to deprive them of their citizenship, land, and opportunities to get ahead. To dig into this story, I speak with historian Anna-Lisa Cox. She's the author of a new book, The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality. In the course of our conversation, Anna-Lisa Cox explains: How the Northwest Territory -- what is now much of the Midwest – was established by Congress in 1787 and constituted the largest territory established in the New World that prohibited slavery. How thousands of free African Americans migrated to this territory to establish farms and small businesses. And how many of them thrived and became prosperous – and a few quite rich. How many enslaved African Americans worked extra hours for wages to gradually buy their freedom and the freedom of loved ones. How these migrants initially enjoyed full rights of citizenship, including voting rights and freedom from racist laws limiting their civil rights. How over time, however, as larger numbers of white settlers arrived and states like Ohio and Indiana were established, they succeeded in passing racist laws that prevented black migration or made it financially very difficult. How white violence, as exemplified by the so-called Cincinnati Race War of 1829, challenged African American freedom and their right to economic opportunity. And how in the early 20th century, long-established communities of black farmers began to disappear due to economic hardship and the rise of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. Recommended reading: Anna-Lisa Cox, The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality (Public Affairs, 2018). More info about Anna-Lisa Cox - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 068 featuring my conversation with Ed Ayers about his book, The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America 074 where I speak with Linda Gordon about the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century. 077 where I speak with Patricia Limerick about the New Western History Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Bathed in Finest Dust" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Teller

This week at In The Past Lane, the American history podcast, we bring you Part 2 of our commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. Our previous episode explored the history of the great influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 that swept the world in the wake of the war, killing tens of millions. In this episode, we turn our attention to the question of how Americans responded to the nation's participation in the Great War. Joining me in this discussion is Andrew Huebner. He is an associate professor of history at the University of Alabama whose work focuses on American military history. He's the author of many books and scholarly articles, including the book, The Warrior Image: Soldiers in American Culture from the Second World War to the Vietnam Era. I speak with him about his latest work, Love and Death in the Great War. In the course of our discussion, Andrew Huebner explains: How Americans shifted from opposing US entry into the war to supporting it once the US decided to join the conflict. How popular discourse on why Americans needed to fight in the war focused on defending the American family. Why social turmoil in the US in the years leading up to the war led many Americans to believe US participation in WW1 would restore traditional values, racial hierarchies, and gender roles. How the experience of US soldiers in WW1 varied significantly by race. How Americans struggled to make sense of the loss of loved ones in the war. How the memory and meaning of WW1 changed in the 1920s and 1930s. Recommended reading: Andrew Huebner, Love and Death in the Great War (Oxford University Press). David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society More info about Andrew Huebner - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 024 Michael Neiberg on World War I and the Making of Modern America Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Nancy K. Bristow about her book, American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. In November 1918, even as millions of Americans and Europeans celebrated the end of World War I, their communities were being ravaged by a global influenza pandemic. Over the course of almost three years, somewhere between 50 and 100 million people were killed in the pandemic, including nearly 700,000 Americans. Nancy Bristow takes us back in time to explain the origins of the pandemic and how public health officials struggled to contain it. And she explores the reasons why the pandemic quickly faded from public memory. In the course of our discussion, Nancy Bristow: The origins of the great influenza pandemic that raged across the globe in 1918-1920. How the movement of millions of people during WW1 contributed to the spread of the pandemic. What made this particular strain of influenza so deadly. How public health officials struggled to contain the pandemic by imposing bans on large public gatherings, including church services. How nurses played a pivotal role in caring for the sick and dying. Why the pandemic – which killed nearly 700,000 Americans -- was largely forgotten in public memory. Why experts fear the onset of another global influenza pandemic. Recommended reading: Nancy K. Bristow, American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Oxford University Press). Catharine Arnold, Pandemic 1918: Eyewitness Accounts from the Greatest Medical Holocaust in Modern History Alfred W. Crosby, America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society More info about Nancy K. Bristow - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 024 Michael Neiberg on World War I and the Making of Modern America Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Craig Bruce Smith talks about his new book, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era. Throughout the era of the American Revolution, Americans spoke of honor all the time, most famously in the Declaration of Independence, the last sentence of which reads, "we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." But what did the Founders mean by "honor"? Craig Bruce Smith explains that honor was a crucial concept that shaped the way Americans came to understand their struggle for independence and to establish an enduring republic. In the course of our discussion, Craig Bruce Smith: What honor meant in 18th century American political culture – and why it was such an important concept in the era of the American Revolution. How GW and the patriots framed the Am Rev as a struggle to defend the honor of the Americans against a dishonorable attempt by the British to oppress them. And how GW likewise depicted the treason of Benedict Arnold as evidence of the dishonorable nature of the British cause. How women and the enslaved, and not just elites, appealed to honor to gain greater respect and rights. How at the end of the war, Washington defused a potential mutiny of Continental Army officers by invoking their sense of "sacred honor." How honor in the young republic was gradually transformed from something tied to high birth and status, into something one could earn by honorable conduct. Why honor, in the era of the Revolution, denounced dueling as a thoroughly dishonorable practice – and then how that changed as a very different definition of honor emerged in the early 1800s. Recommended reading: Craig Bruce Smith, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era (University of North Carolina Press, 2018) More info about Craig Bruce Smith - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 014 The Declaration of Independence 023 Stephen Knott on Alexander Hamilton and George W 028 Carol Berkin on the fractious politics of the 1790s and how they led to the formation of an American nationalism 041 Saratoga – tipping point of the Am Rev 065 Andrew O'Shaughnessy on why the British Lost the Revolution 079 Mitch Kachun on the life and legend of Crispus Attucks Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Philipp Weigl, "Even When We Fall" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikeros

This week at In The Past Lane, the American history podcast, I speak with documentary filmmaker, Michelle Ferrari, writer and producer of "The Eugenics Crusade," which airs on PBS's American Experience series on October 16, 2018. These days, eugenics is a discredited pseudoscience, one associated with deeply racist ideas and social policies, and the genocidal, master race ideology of Nazi Germany. But back in the early 20th century, eugenics was viewed by many Americans as a respectable, legitimate branch a biological science – one that had great potential for human betterment. In its most basic definition, eugenics was a program that aimed to improve the overall physical and mental health of society by controlling human reproduction. In a word, its proponents sought to limit or stop altogether people they deemed "unfit" from having children. Part of what made eugenics so alluring was its aura of science and rationality. No one at the time knew that eugenics would one day become a key plank in the diabolical creed of Nazism. In the early 20th century, the Progressive Era, Americans placed great faith and science, data, and experts to solve social problems. So when proponents of eugenics claimed it could help eliminate poverty, disease, alcoholism, mental illness, imbecility, and feeblemindedness, they garnered legions of followers. These included some very famous and influential people, including Andrew Carnegie and Margaret Sanger. Sanger, of course, was the reformer who fought for women's rights and the legalization of birth control. But because she was a reformer, she was drawn to eugenics. Now, it's important to point out that if you Google "Margaret Sanger and eugenics," your search will turn up a lot of fake quotes attributed to her, or quotes by other people misattributed to her, most of them propagate by modern day opponents of abortion. They see Margaret Sanger as the patron saint of abortion. But those false claims cannot hide the fact that the historical record include statements by Margaret Sanger such as these: In a 1921 article, Sanger wrote that, "the most urgent problem of today is how to limit and discourage the over fertility of the mentally and physically defective." In a later publication, she wrote: "Eugenics aims to arouse the enthusiasm or the interest of the people in the welfare of the world fifteen or twenty generations in the future. On its negative side it shows us that we are paying for and even submitting to the dictates of an ever increasing, unceasingly spawning class of human beings who never should have been born at all –– that the wealth of individuals and of states is being diverted from the development and the progress of human expression and civilization." As you'll hear Michelle Ferrari say in our upcoming conversation, the story of the eugenics crusade is a cautionary tale if there ever was one. In the course of our discussion, Michelle Ferrari explains: The British origins of eugenics and how the ideas caught on in the United States. How the late 19th century rediscovery of research into heredity by an Augustinian friar named Gregor Mendel inspired eugenicists. How eugenics was seized upon by nativists who ultimately succeeded in achieving a sharp reduction in immigration in the 1920s. How proponents of eugenics popularized its ideas through publications, conferences, college courses, and "fitter families" contests at county fairs. How the popularity of eugenics led 32 states to adopt policies that resulted the sterilizing of tens of thousands of Americans for being poor, sick, mentally ill, cognitively impaired, sexually deviant, or imprisoned. And how the work of American eugenicists caught the attention of the architects of the Nazi regime in the 1930s. Recommended reading: Michelle Ferrari, "The Eugenics Crusade: What's Wrong with Perfect?" PBS American Experience DVD. Alison Bashford and Philippa Levine eds., The Oxford Handbook of the History of Eugenics Edwin Black, War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race Adam Cohen, Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck Thomas C. Leonard, Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era Philippa Levine, Eugenics: A Very Short Introduction More info about Michelle Ferrari - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Follow the Course" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Margaret M. Mulrooney about her new book, Race, Place, and Memory: Deep Currents in Wilmington, NC. It's a book that examines more than 300 years of a southern city's history of racial oppression and the ways in which its citizens have obscured this legacy with distorted and self-serving versions of events. The supreme example of this trend was the 1898 massacre and coup in which white supremacists massacred scores of African Americans and then overthrew the local government in the only recorded coup d'etat in US history. Mulrooney shows how city officials justified this event by reframing it as an uprising of African Americans that needed to be suppressed, calling it the "Wilmington Revolution" and downplaying the violence. Mulrooney came to this project because in the mid-1990s she was involved in a public history initiative to commemorate the centennial of the massacre and coup. That work stirred a lot of controversy because Mulrooney's work challenged the convenient cover story for what happened in November 1898 by demonstrating that it was a naked and calculated act of white supremacist political violence. That experience prompted Mulrooney to write Race, Place, and Memory to examine the long sweep of the city's history to reveal many incidents of white supremacist violence, both before and after 1898, that were either forgotten or misremembered. It's both a history of a representative southern city and a consideration of the role of public history in fostering an accurate vision of the past and insights into the challenges facing American society in the present. Recommended reading: Margaret M. Mulrooney, Race, Place, and Memory: Deep Currents in Wilmington, NC (University of Florida Press, 2018 Leon Prather, We Have Taken A City: The Wilmington Racial Massacre and Coup of 1898 More info about Margaret M. Mulrooney https://mmulrooney.net/ Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) Cellophane Sam, "Run Hound" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Andrew Shankman about his new book, Original Intents: Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and the American Founding. It's a conversation that's perfectly timed for the Senate hearings on President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. That's because Kavanaugh adheres to a judicial philosophy known as originalism that argues judges must make their rulings based on a close reading of the Constitution that determines the original intent of the Founders. It's a neat and tidy idea that suggests a commitment to objectivity and a faithfulness to the vision of the Founders. But as Andrew Shankman makes clear, there was no single, original intent because the Founders disagreed on nearly everything when it came to the Constitution. In the course of our discussion, Andrew Shankman explains: How Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison initially agreed on many things, including a fear that the republic needed a stronger central government to avoid a descent into anarchy. How eventually major differences emerged among these men over whether the government could exercise unstated but "implied powers" of the Constitution, or only powers that were explicitly enumerated in the document. Why it's impossible, despite what so-called originalists claim, to deduce an original intent of the Founders in the Constitution. Why originalism is ahistorical and ignores the historical process and historical context. Why we shouldn't revere the Founders and more than they revered each other. Recommended reading: Andrew Shankman, Original Intents: Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and the American Founding (Oxford University Press, 2018) Akhil Reed Amar, America's Constitution: A Biography Richard Beeman, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution David O. Stewart, The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 More info about Andrew Shankman - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InThePastLanePodcast/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeZMGFqoAASwvSJ1cpZOEAA Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, "Trophy Endorphins" (Free Music Archive) Jason Shaw, "Acoustic Meditation," (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin's World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today's headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today's news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I take a deep dive into the origins of Labor Day. It's a holiday that most Americans these days take for granted. But it was born out of the crisis of the Gilded Age, that tumultuous last third of the 19th century that saw both the US economy boom as never before and social upheaval take place on an unprecedented level. This unique holiday was first celebrated on September 5, 1882. On that day thousands of workers in New York City risked getting fired for taking an unauthorized day off to participate in festivities honoring honest toil and the rights of labor. This first commemoration of Labor Day testified to labor's rising power and unity in the Gilded Age as well as its sense that both were necessary to withstand the growing power of business and industry. The Labor Day holiday originated with the Central Labor Union (CLU), a local labor federation – essentially a union of unions - formed in NYC in January 1882 to promote the interests of workers. The CLU immediately became a formidable force in New York, staging protest rallies, lobbying state legislators, and organizing strikes and boycotts. By August 1882 membership in the organization boomed to fifty-six unions representing 80,000 workers. But CLU activists wanted to do more than simply increase membership and win strikes. They wanted to build worker solidarity in the face of jarring changes being wrought by the industrial revolution in the Gilded Age – the period in American history covering roughly the last 3rd of the 19th century. During this period the United States was transformed from what today we'd call a "developing nation" in 1865 to the world's leading economic power by 1900. The favorite word of politicians and business leaders in this era was "progress." But along with this tremendous increase in national wealth came a problem: widespread poverty. Evidence of this troubling duality could be found everywhere, but especially in New York City where mansions of big business tycoons like Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Carnegie arose along Fifth Avenue, while in the rest of the city two-thirds of the population lived in cramped and squalid tenements. In short, the establishment of Labor Day signaled that Gilded Age America faced a crisis over growing inequality. The motivation to establish Labor Day also came from a growing sense of alarm among American workers over the growing power of employers over their employees and frustration over the unwillingness of political leaders to do anything about it. Employers were free to increase hours, slash wages, and fire workers at will – practices that rendered workers powerless and pushed more and more of them into poverty. These developments, noted labor leaders, called into question the future of the American republic. As the CLU put it in its constitution: "Economical servitude degrades political liberties to a farce. Men who are bound to follow the dictates of factory lords, that they may earn a livelihood, are not free. … [A]s the power of combined and centralized capital increases, the political liberties of the toiling masses become more and more illusory." In other words, workers in the Gilded Age began to argue that in this new world of industry – one that was so very different from the agrarian world of the Founders - mere political equality (one man, one vote) was no longer adequate to maintain a healthy republican society. Modern industrial life, with huge corporations, global markets, and increasing numbers of people working for wages, required a recognition that republican citizenship included an economic dimension – not just a political one. As the reformer and labor activist Henry George wrote in 1879, "In our time…creep on the insidious forces that, producing inequality, destroy Liberty." The fact that all male citizens possessed the vote and equality before the law, George continued, no longer guaranteed them the blessings of republican citizenship. If one was forced to work 60 or 80 hours a weeks and yet did not earn a living wage, his right to vote was meaningless. He had sunken into what workers in that er called, "industrial slavery." Extreme inequality, in other words, would destroy American democracy. So these were the concerns that in 1882 prompted labor activists affiliated with New York's CLU to establish Labor Day as a day that would celebrate workers and inspire them to reclaim their dissipating rights. As John Swinton, editor of the city's only labor paper wrote, "Whatever enlarges labor's sense of its power hastens the day of its emancipation." Now, we should pause here to note that the precise identity of the CLU leader who in May 1882 first proposed the idea of establishing Labor Day remains a mystery. Some accounts say it was Peter "P. J." McGuire, General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (and future co-founder of the AFL), who proposed the idea. Others argue that it was another man with a simila