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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian James E. Lewis, Jr. about his book, The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis. Most people these days know that Aaron Burr was, as his character says in Hamilton, The Musical, "the damn fool" who in 1804 shot and killed Alexander Hamilton. More specifically, Burr was the sitting VP who shot a former Secretary of the Treasury in a duel resulting from a personal feud. Think about it. That's the equivalent of VP Mike Pence killing former Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geitner or Jack Lew. But amazingly, Burr went back to Washington DC and finished out his term, leaving office in March 1805. One of the statements by Hamilton about Burr that contributed to their feud and duel was Hamilton's warning that Burr had no morals and was a man driven by pure ambition. To one friend he wrote: "As to Burr there is nothing in his favour. His private character is not defended by his most partial friends. He is bankrupt beyond redemption except by the plunder of his country. His public principles have no other spring or aim than his own aggrandizement…. If he can, he will certainly disturb our institutions to secure to himself permanent power and with it wealth. He is truly the Cataline of America." Hamilton later wrote to another friend that Burr's ambition for power was boundless. He was, said Hamilton, "sanguine enough to hope everything – daring enough to attempt everything – wicked enough to scruple nothing" Was Hamilton right? Was Burr a power hungry demon? Well, his critics would say yes. And for evidence, they'd point to not only his killing of Hamilton, his chief political rival, but also the bizarre plot he got involved in just months after leaving office in 1805. To this day, scholars are divided in their assessment of just what Aaron Burr was up to in 1806 - 1807. Burr headed out to the recently acquired Louisiana purchase territory and begin recruiting men and building ships for some sort of expedition. Some evidence suggests Burr was planning to launch a military campaign to seize a chunk of the lower half of the LP, plus Spanish Mexico, whereupon he would declare it an independent nation with himself as its leader. Other evidence indicates that Burr was floating variations on this scheme by British officials, urging them to support it. And there's ample evidence that this scheme also had the backing of General James Wilkinson, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. For his part, Burr claimed he was merely assembling men and equipment to establish a colony in the new territory. In any case, as we will hear in my conversation with historian James E. Lewis Jr., the significance of the alleged Burr conspiracy is not that it existed, but that people believed it did. As a result, the Burr conspiracy constituted a major crisis in the early republic, one that suggested the young and fragile American experiment was on the verge of collapse. This incident is a vivid reminder of just how dicey things were for the United States in its earliest days. If you remember my interview with Carol Berkin in episode 28 of ITPL, the 1790s were marked by bitter political feuding, vicious partisan media, and social unrest that nearly plunged the young nation into civil war. Then in 1804, Burr killed Hamilton. Then just a few years later, the alleged Burr conspiracy was uncovered. Five years later, in 1812, the US went to war against Great Britain for a second time. Two years later, 1814, the British attacked Washington DC and burned the White House. It's worth keeping these incidents in mind when we think about the early Republic. The founders may have set up a remarkable political system based on the Constitution, but there was no guarantee that it would succeed. Indeed, the founders were keenly aware that all previous attempts at republican government had failed. This historical awareness, plus the context of near constant political turmoil, made the crisis of the Burr conspiracy of 1806-1807 an alarming and consequential event. 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) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (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 Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assess

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Rebecca Erbelding about her new book, Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America's Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe. It's a fascinating book about a forgotten World War II story about the War Refugee Board, a US agency created in 1944 to help save European Jews from the Nazi genocide. Historians and other scholars have long argued that the US could have done more to disrupt the Nazi efforts to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Erbelding acknowledges the validity of this claim, but says that it's not the same as saying the US did nothing. She chronicles the work of the War Refugee Board and how it managed, often through creative and off the books ways, to save tens of thousands of Jews in the last 20 months of World War II. In the course of our discussion, Rebecca Erbelding explains: Why US government officials initially resisted demands that it do something to save European Jews from the Nazi genocide. How the War Refugee Board was created by the US government in 1944 to save Jews from the Holocaust. Why President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the creation of the War Refugee Board to save as many European Jews as possible during World War II. How the US government used threats of post-war prosecution via propaganda to dissuade Europeans from carrying out atrocities against Jews. How the War Refugee Board used deception to get food and medicine into Nazi concentration camps during World War II. How the Nazis, aware that Americans wanted to save Jews from the concentration camps, offered to release some in exchange for money, food, and war equipment. How the Goodyear Tire Company secretly helped the W.R.B. save thousands of lives during World War II. Recommended reading: Rebecca Erbelding, Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America's Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe Deborah E. Lipstadt, Beyond Belief: The American Press And The Coming Of The Holocaust, 1933- 1945 Haskel Lookstein, Were We Our Brothers' Keepers?: The Public Response of American Jews to the Holocaust, 1938-1944 Barry Trachtenberg, The United States and the Nazi Holocaust: Race, Refuge, and Remembrance More info about Rebecca Erbelding website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter @InThePastLane Instagram @InThePastLane Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InThePastLanePodcast/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeZMGFqoAASwvSJ1cpZOEAA Related ITPL podcast episodes: 084 with James Q. Whitman on his book, Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law 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 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 @StoryBehindPo 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 R

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with legal historian James Q. Whitman about his book, Hitler's American Model: The US and the Making of Nazi Race Law. Many people are aware that the American civil rights movement served as an inspiration to freedom movements around the world. But Whitman's book examines the flip side of that phenomenon – that the very system of Jim Crow racial oppression that the civil rights movement sought to dismantle also inspired efforts around the world to create white supremacist societies, including Nazi Germany. As Whitman demonstrates, Nazi lawyers and public officials studied America's Jim Crow laws such as those prohibiting interracial sex or marriage and borrowed from them to create the 1935 Nuremberg Laws that stripped German Jews of most of their civil and legal rights. It's a dark but important chapter in American history, but one that's very relevant given the recent upsurge in white nationalist and neo-Nazi activity in the US and Europe. In the course of our discussion, James Q. Whitman explains: How and why Nazi lawyers and public officials studied America's Jim Crow (eg., prohibitions on interracial marriage) to create the Nuremberg Laws that stripped German Jews of most of their civil rights. How Nazis pointed to the existence of the Jim Crow system of racial oppression in the US as a justification for creating their own version in the 1930s. How Nazi leaders were inspired by America's conquest of the West and subjugation of Native Americans as a model for German conquest of Europe. How Nazi officials argued that some aspects of Jim Crow policy actually went too far. How and why Hitler praised the US for its Jim Crow and immigration restriction laws. How many Nazis claimed that the American Revolution was the first step in a global movement to establish white supremacy. Why German historians have been reluctant to write about the American influences in the development of Nazi race laws. Recommended reading: James Q. Whitman, Hitler's American Model: The US and the Making of Nazi Race Law Carroll P. Kakel, The American West and the Nazi East: A Comparative and Interpretive Perspective Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Stefan Kuhl, The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National Socialism Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow More info about James Q. Whitman - website Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter and Instagram @InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 074 Linda Gordon on the second coming of the KKK 040 Richard White on the rise of the Jim Crow order 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 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with Historian Andrew W. Kahrl about his new book, Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America's Most Exclusive Shoreline. Beaches, like any public space in the US, have long been contested public spaces. That's because throughout American history, the definition of the public – the citizenry – has never been agreed-upon, leading to the marginalization and exclusion of various racial, ethnic, and economic groups, not to mention women. And so attempts to access and use public spaces by these various marginalized groups have often been met with resistance. No doubt this brings to mind classic images of civil rights activists being violently attacked for sitting at whites-only lunch counters across the south during the 1950s and 1960s. Or Rosa Parks being arrested for refusing to yield her seat to a white man on a public bus. But beyond these high profile incidents, there were many, many efforts to gain access to public spaces by African-Americans another marginalized groups. In the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, African-American civil rights activists, whose names you will never know, battled to disaggregate public golf courses, public pools, and public parks. And, yes, public beaches. As we learn in my conversation with historian Andrew Kahrl, some of these battles took place in the deep South, but others occurred in the north, in elite parts of New England like Greenwich, CT. In these instances, African Americans didn't encounter explicit sign saying "whites only." But they did face innumerable barriers that were subtle, but also very effective at limiting access by people deemed "outsiders." In the course of our discussion, Andrew Kahrl explains: How for centuries the "public trust doctrine" considered waterfront land to be public property open to all. How after WWII, as suburbanization flourished and long-neglected shoreline property suddenly became valuable, communities with beaches began to restrict access to residents or members of private beach associations. How in the same era marked by public policies like redlining that promoted residential and school segregation, similar initiatives excluded people of color from beaches. How the Open Beaches movement emerged to oppose efforts to privatize parts of the American coastline and to restrict access by the public. How Ned Coll became in the 1960s and 1970s a civil rights activist who worked to force Connecticut communities – including elite towns like Greenwich, CT – to open their public beaches to all. How "wade-ins" at segregated beaches became the equivalent of "sit-ins" at segregated lunch counters during the civil rights era. Why a 2001 state Supreme Court decision that forced Connecticut communities to make their public beaches open to non-residents has led those communities to develop new exclusionary policies that perpetuate the exclusion of the poor and people of color. Why recent incidents involving white Americans calling the police on African Americans who are using public parks, pools, golf courses, and beaches is part of a long tradition of using minor ordinances to police black bodies. Recommended reading: Andrew W. Kahrl, Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America's Most Exclusive Shoreline (Yale University Press, 2018) Andrew W. Kahrl, The Land Was Ours: How Black Beaches Became White Wealth in the Coastal South Andrew W. Kahrl, "The North's Jim Crow," New York Times, May 27, 2018 https://nyti.ms/2xkcpsF Gregory W. Bush, White Sand Black Beach: Civil Rights, Public Space, and Miami's Virginia Key Robert J. Robertson, Fair Ways: How Six Black Golfers Won Civil Rights in Beaumont, Texas Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Shirley A. Wiegand and Wayne A. Wiegand, The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism Follow In The Past Lane @InThePastLane Related ITPL podcast episodes: 041 Erin Krutko Devlin on the Little Rock Crisis of 1957 035 Richard Rothstein the Color of Law 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, "Discovery" (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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Mitch Kachun about his book, The First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory. Attucks was the man of African American and Native American heritage who was among the five people killed in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. To this day, very little is known about Crispus Attucks. So Mitch Kachun's book focuses, as the subtitle suggests, on the memory of Attucks and how it's changed and evolved over nearly 250 years of history. In the course of our discussion, Mitch Kachun explains: Who Crispus Attucks was and what we know about why he was killed in the Boston Massacre. How for many decades after the Boston Massacre and American Revolution, Crispus Attucks was a forgotten figure in US history. That is, until African American abolitionists in the 1840s and 1850s began to celebrate Attucks as a patriot as a way to bolster their demand for an end to slavery and the inclusion of blacks as full citizens of the republic. How and why in the decades after the Civil War, as the freedoms won by African Americans were stripped away and replaced by Jim Crow white supremacy, black Americans clung to Crispus Attucks as a hero. As part of this process, they embellished his biography to make him appear every bit a patriot as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. How the US government used this image of Crispus Attucks the patriot as a way to recruit African Americans to fight in US wars. How African American historians worked to have Crispus Attucks included in US history textbooks, something that finally began to happen in the 1960s during the era of the civil rights movement. How some radical African American civil rights activists like Stokely Carmichael rejected Crispus Attucks as a model for black liberation. How the story of Crispus Attucks and his presence – along with many other people of color – at the Boston Massacre serves as a reminder that American society has been diverse from the very beginning. Recommended reading: Mitch Kachun, The First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory. Eric Hinderaker, Boston's Massacre Holger Hoock, Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth Gerald Horne, The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 Related ITPL podcast episodes: 065 Andrew O'Shaughnessy on How the British Lost the American Revolution 049 Gordon Wood on the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson 041 Dean Snow on the pivotal Battle of Saratoga 028 Carol Berkin on the Crisis of the 1790s 023 Stephen Knott on the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington 017 Alan Taylor, American Revolutions Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) Doc Turtle, "Thought Soup" (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 toda

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Patricia Nelson Limerick about her iconic book, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. When this work was first published 30 years ago in 1987, it sent shock waves through the community of historians whose work focused on the American west. Up to that time, much of the history of the West had focused on narrative histories of events like the famed Long Drive that established the ranching industry and biographies of famous white men like Kit Carson and Billy the Kid. This work ignored or misrepresented the stories of women, Native Americans, African Americans, and immigrants. It also glossed over the ugly aspects of westward expansion, like violence, dispossession, racism, exploitation, failure, and environmental degradation. Limerick's book reframed the understanding of the American West, insisting that these themes were essential elements of that story. Her book infuriated many old guard scholars. But it also inspired a whole generation of new scholars who went on to transform the study of western history from a sleepy subfield into one of the most dynamic fields of US history. In this episode, I begin by first explaining the core aspects of the Old Western History – it's key myths and myopias – many of them originating in the work of entertainers like Buffalo Bill and Hollywood westerns. Then I sit down with Patricia Nelson Limerick for a fun and fascinating conversation. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How and why was our understanding of the American West shaped by Buffalo Bill and Hollywood for much of the 20th century? How did New Western History scholars like Patricia Nelson Limerick radically reshape our understanding of the American West? Who was Buffalo Bill and how did his Wild West show come to exert a profound influence on the way Americans understood the history of the West? Historian Patricia Nelson Limerick reflects on the 30th anniversary of her landmark book, Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. Why the history of the American West is incomplete without women, immigrants, Native Americans, and African Americans. How the New Western History challenged the heroic Manifest Destiny narrative of westward expansion by emphasizing violence, dispossession, racism, exploitation, failure, and environmental degradation. Related ITPL podcast episodes: Episode 044 with historian Richard White talking about his book, The Republic for Which It Stands. Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Andy G. Cohen, "A Human Being" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Linda Gordon about her new book, The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition (Liveright, 2018). Most Americans are familiar with the first version of the KKK, the one that was founded in 1866, right after the Civil War, in order to uphold white supremacy in the South through campaigns of terrorist violence. Once the Jim Crow system of racial oppression was in place by the 1890s, the KKK faded away. But a new KKK emerged in 1915, inspired in part by the debut of, "The Birth of A Nation," a deeply racist film that hailed the KKK as the savior of the white South. As Linda Gordon explains, this KKK was different from the original in that it was national in scope and it expanded its message of hate to target, in addition to African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. It also promoted itself as a legitimate patriotic organization and focused its efforts on mobilizing political power. It's a fascinating conversation and one – in light of Charlottesville and the emergence of the Alt-Right – incredibly relevant to 2018. Among the many things discussed in this episode: What was the original Ku Klux Klan that emerged in the wake of the Civil War? Why did a second version of the KKK arise in 1915 and how did it differ from the original? How the KKK broadened its message of hate to target not only blacks, but also Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. Why were so many women drawn to the KKK in the 1920s? How evangelical ministers played a key role in boosting KKK membership to more than 4 million by 1927. How the KKK in the 1920s presented itself as just another patriotic fraternal society and not a hate group. How the KKK was a vast business that raked in more than $25 million a year at its peak. How the climate of intolerance in the 1920s has many similarities with contemporary America. Recommended reading: Linda Gordon, The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition (Liveright, 2018) Kathleen M. Blee, Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s Lizabeth Cohen, Making a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939 Roger Daniels, Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants since 1882 Felix Harcourt, Ku Klux Kulture: America and the Klan in the 1920s Kenneth T. Jackson, The Ku Klux Klan in the City 1915-1930 Nathan Miller, New World Coming: The 1920s And The Making Of Modern America Peter Schrag, Not Fit for Our Society: Immigration and Nativism in America Related ITPL podcast episodes: Episode 003 with historian Lisa McGirr about her book on Prohibition Episode 013 on the history of the Pledge of Allegiance Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Discovery" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak to two historians about their new book on Hamilton: The Musical. Claire Bond Potter and Renee Romano's book, Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical is Restaging America's Past, features 15 essays by historians that examine many aspects of the Broadway sensation. For example, historian Joanne Freeman – some of you know her from the Backstory podcast – has written an essay, "Can We Get Back to Politics? Please? Hamilton's Missing Politics in Hamilton." Patricia Herrera's essay is titled, "Reckoning with America's Racial Past, Present, and Future in Hamilton." Jim Cullen's essay, "Mind the Gap: Teaching Hamilton," focuses on the challenges and opportunities of using Hamilton in the classroom. Twelve additional essays, including one each by Claire Potter and Renee Romano, examine the blockbuster musical from many angles, including gender, social media, and the business of Broadway. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How "Hamilton: The Musical" Plays into "Founders Chic" How is it that "Hamilton: The Musical" appea ls to both Mike Pence and Michelle Obama? How Hamilton: The Musical kept Alexander Hamilton on $10 Bill Just how revolutionary is "Hamilton: The Musical"? How Lin-Manuel Miranda uses a savvy social media strategy to cultivate the #HamFam phenomenon for "Hamilton: The Musical" In casting people of color as Founders, does "Hamilton: The Musical" inadvertently erase the black past? How teachers are using "Hamilton: The Musical" Recommended reading: Renee C. Romano and Claire Bond Potter, eds, Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical is Restaging America's Past (Rutgers, 2018). Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (2004) Valerie Estelle Frankel, Who Tells Your Story?: History, Pop Culture, and Hidden Meanings in the Musical Phenomenon Hamilton (2016) Stephen F. Knott and Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America (2015) Dona Herweck Rice and Emily Smith, Hamilton: An American Musical: An Instructional Guide for Literature (2016) Related ITPL podcast episodes: 017 Alan Taylor on his book, American Revolutions 049 Gordon Wood on the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson 041 Dean Snow on the pivotal Battle of Saratoga 028 Carol Berkin on the Crisis of the 1790s 023 Stephen Knott on the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington 065 Andrew O'Shaugnessy on the men who lost America -- essentially the British version of the American Revolution. Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we engage with the questions: What was the experience of ordinary people -- men and women, white and black, free and enslaved, civilian and soldier, Northerner and Southerner -- during the American Civil War? These questions are ones historian Edward L. Ayers has been trying to answer for more than 25 years. Since the mid-1990s, his extraordinary project, the Shadow of the Valley (http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/), has created a vast archive of primary sources drawn from newspapers, diaries, personal letters, and more that are connected to the residents of two counties that straddled the North-South divide during the war and after. And this archive has, in turn, allowed Ayers to produce a masterful, two-volume history of the Civil War and Reconstruction, with a particular focus on the issue of emancipation. In 2004 he published the Bancroft Prize–winning book, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1864. Now in 2018, Ayers is back with volume 2: The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America (W.W. Norton). Like volume 1, it tells the story of the last half of the Civil War and Reconstruction from the perspective of the people who lived through it. It's a conversation you won't want to miss. And -- as a bonus -- Ed also talks about his experience as a co-host of the popular US history podcast, Backstory. So, strike the tents, people - your journey In The Past Lane is about to begin. Among the many things discussed in this episode: The extraordinary Civil War history project, In the Shadow of the Valley, that has gathered tens of thousands of primary source documents that chronicle the lives of the residents of two counties that straddled the North-South divide during the Civil War and after. How key military victories in late 1864 helped Abraham Lincoln win re-election in November 1864 and allowed him to continue the Union's push to final victory. How a critical mass of Northerners, always a minority, came to embrace both emancipation and full civil rights for African Americans. How two groups of Americans – Northerners and Southerners – came to embrace as necessary and virtuous the death and destruction wrought by the Civil War. How African Americans played a decisive role in their emancipation and in achieving full citizenship and rights. Why Reconstruction was a success when viewed from the successful ways that African Americans achieved and then defended – even in the face of decades of Jim Crow oppression – their right to equality and civil rights. Recommended reading: Edward L. Ayers, The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America (W. W. Norton and Company). Edward L. Ayers, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1864 (2004). Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988) James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988) Related ITPL podcast episodes: 059 Anne C. Bailey on "The Weeping Time" 044 Richard White on the period of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age 035 The story of Albert Cashier, a transgender soldier who fought for the Union 020 Douglas Edgerton on African American soldiers in the Union Army 004 Manisha Sinha on the history of the abolition movement Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we explore look at the American Revolution from a different angle – the British angle. The reasons why the Americans won the Revolution are well known. But if we step back from this event and think about it in a larger, global context, one very large question emerges: how did Great Britain, a nation well on its way to becoming the greatest global empire in history, a nation that in 1776 was the foremost military power in the world, how did it lose the American Revolution? How did it lose a war to a small and disorganized collection of 13 colonies that began the war with no established army, no real means of financing a war, and no allies? Well, to help us arrive at the answer, I speak with historian Andrew O'Shaughnessy about his award-winning book, The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire. Among the many things discussed in this episode: The myth that the British lost the American Revolution because its military and political leaders were a bunch of bungling Brits. Why a British army of conquest (vs. an army of occupation) triggered intense and widespread popular resistance among the American colonists. How the efforts of everyday Americans as part of an insurgency helped to wear down and defeat armies of experienced British soldiers. Why the leadership of George Washington was key to the American victory in the Revolution. How it was the Continental Army and not the citizen Minutemen forces that defeated the British. How in many ways the American Revolution was a civil war. Why a sharp decline in support for the war effort in Parliament led the British to cut their losses and agree to negotiations the led to American independence. How the loss of America in the Revolution was a minor setback in Britain's rise as a global power. Recommended reading: Andrew O'Shaughnessy about his award-winning book, The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (Yale Univ. Press, 2013). Related ITPL podcast episodes: 017 Alan Taylor, American Revolutions 049 Gordon Wood on the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson 041 Dean Snow on the pivotal Battle of Saratoga 028 Carol Berkin on the Crisis of the 1790s 023 Stephen Knott on the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we explore the rise of hoaxes, humbug, plagiarists, phonies, post-facts, and fake news, beginning in the early 19th century. All societies are susceptible to hoaxes and scams, but there seems to be something about America's culture of striving and reinvention that makes its people particularly vulnerable to the wily ways of tricksters, from P.T. Barnum to Bernie Madoff. To make sense of this fascinating thread that runs through US history, I speak with Kevin Young, author of, Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News. We discuss famous hoaxes, including the Moon Hoax of 1835, P.T. Barnum's fakeries like Joice Heth, whom he claimed was the 168-year old former slave nursemaid of George Washington. We also talk about famous imposters, including Grey Owl, a famous Native American from the early 20th century and the more recent case of Rachel Dolezal, an African American activist, both of whom, surprise turned out to be white. As this last point indicates, race has been at the heart of American hoaxes. And Kevin Young also gives us a lot to think about when it comes to understanding how modern day hoaxes are both similar to those in the past, and yet also different in some disturbing ways. Among the many things discussed in this episode: What is bunk, or humbug? How did P. T. Barnum popularize the hoax? Why are Americans seemingly particularly susceptible to hoaxes and frauds? How were hoaxes and fakeries in the 19th century early versions of reality TV? What was the Moon Hoax of 1835? What was the Cardiff Giant Hoax of 1869? Why race and racism have long been the inspiration of hoaxes and fakeries. How contemporary hoaxes and fake news stories are different from those in the 19th century. Recommended reading: Kevin Young, Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News (2017) Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., P. T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman (1995) Ian Tattersall and Peter Névraumont, Hoax: A History of Deception: 5,000 Years of Fakes, Forgeries, and Fallacies (2018) Scott Tribble, A Colossal Hoax: The Giant from Cardiff that Fooled America (2008) Podcasts mentioned in this episode Past Present website Ben Franklin's World website Flatbush + Main website A Great Woman and Her Time website

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we explore the story of the largest slave auction in American history when some 436 enslaved people were sold in a two-day auction in 1859. To the people sold and the people they left behind, it would forever be known as "the weeping time." This wrenching event involved the Butler family, a prominent southern family with ties to the Founding, as well as a famous British actress and abolitionist, Fanny Kemble. And of course, it involved hundreds of enslaved people who were sold to pay the debts of Pierce Butler. To help us make sense of this event and the subsequent memory of it, I speak with historian Anne C. Bailey, author of The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History published by Cambridge University Press. She draws upon a rich set of primary source materials, including a detailed firsthand account written by a New York Tribune reporter posing as a buyer. Bailey also tracks the story of the people sold after the Civil War as they tried to reconstruct their families. She also interviews a number of the descendants of the people sold. The result is a remarkable examination of this extraordinary event and the wider story of slavery, slave auctions, and historical memory. More about: Anne C. Bailey - website Among the many things discussed in this episode: What was "the weeping time," the largest slave auction in US history? How did auctions shape the lives of enslaved people? What strategies did enslaved people deploy when faced with the auction block? How the auction block loomed over the enslaved as an ever-present threat. When the famed British actress and abolitionist Fanny Kemble married Pierce Butler, one of the nation's largest slaveholders. How freed people who were split up during slavery tried to reconstitute their families during Reconstruction. Recommended reading: Anne C. Bailey, The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Edward E. Baptist, The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (2015) Catherine Clinton, Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars (2000) Fanny Kemble, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation - 1838-1839. Peter Kolchin, American Slavery: 1619-1877 (2003) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

The Pit Stop is a weekly mini-episode from In The Past Lane, the podcast about history and why it matters. Every Monday The Pit Stop tells you what happened in American history this week - in under 5 minutes! We drop these minis in between our full-length episodes that feature interviews with historians about their latest books, feature pieces, and more. For more information about the In The Past Lane podcast, head to our website, www.InThePastLane.com Production Credits for The Pit Stop Original music and Voice Over by Devyn McHugh Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, It's our annual St Patrick's Day episode. In this episode, we explore the stories of two Irish Americans very few people remember, but who in their day were quite famous. One is William Joyce, who was known during World War II as Lord Haw Haw. He was the voice of Nazi propaganda that Germany broadcast to England during the course of the war. And the other is Virginia Tighe, who in the late 1950s was also known as Bridey Murphy. This was due to a famous incident involving hypnosis and the specter of reincarnation. You won't want to miss these two intriguing stories that involve Nazis and reincarnation.

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we present Part 3 of our multi-episode examination of the Gilded Age. In this episode, we look at some of the people and organizations that took on the problems that arose in the Gilded Age. In the case of the former, we examine reformers like Henry George and Mary Elizabeth Lease. And in the latter, we tell the story of the Knights of Labor and the People's Party. Taken together, these people and organizations pushed the nation to rethink its commitment to small and decentralized government, arguing that to let big business and banks operate with no regulations would lead to the disintegration of American democracy. This three-part series on the Gilded Age should remind us that all the things Americans value in their nation – all the rights, laws, norms, and liberties that we would never want to live without – have come from struggle. None of them fell from the sky. Rather, they've always come from the hard work, sacrifice, and vision of people who worked against the odds to push the nation to live up to its high ideals. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How did reformers in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era push the nation to redefine its understanding of the role of government vis-a-vis liberty? Who was Henry George and why did he wield such influence in the Gilded Age? How America has two competing traditions, individualism and the common good. What was the Knights of Labor and what did its members want? What was the extraordinary Henry George campaign for Mayor of NYC in 1886 about? What was the People's Party insurgency of the 1890s? How did Gilded Age activists set the table for Progressive Era reformers? Recommended reading: Sven Beckert, The Monied Metropolis: New York City and the Consolidation of the American Bourgeoisie, 1850-1896 (2001) Rebecca Edwards, New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age: 1865-1905 (2006) Michael McGerr, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920 (2003) Edward T. O'Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age (2015) Nell Irvin Painter, Standing at Armageddon: A Grassroots History of the Progressive Era (1987) Heather Cox Richardson, The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901 (2001) Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford, 2017) Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Episode 44 with Richard White on the Gilded Age and Reconstruction http://inthepastlane.com/episode-044/ Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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 Associate Producer: Tyler Ferolito Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we present Part 2 of our multi-episode examination of the Gilded Age. In this episode, we take a hard look at the dark side of the Gilded Age – all the troubling trends that challenged the ebullient celebration of progress in the late 19th century. We'll start by talking about the broad fear that the US was becoming Europeanized – not ethnically, but rather politically and socially. If the great fear in the 20th century was that America might descend into communism, the 19th century equivalent was that America would regress towards Europeanism – that is, become a society dominated by an entrenched aristocracy, fixed social classes, stifled opportunity, and incessant social unrest. Then we'll examine the key trends that stoked this fear of creeping Europeanization – the rise of powerful corporations, the extraordinary and undemocratic political power wielded by industrialists, the sense among workers and farmers that upward mobility was diminishing due to manipulation of the economy by big business, the troubling arrogance of "robber baron" industrialists, and the soaring incidence of labor-capital conflict. Among the many things discussed in this episode: What troubling trends in the Gilded Age challenged the notion that it was an era of progress? What was different about the modern corporations that emerged in the Gilded Age. Why some Americans have always feared monopoly power. Why did many Americans in the Gilded Age fear the US was regressing towards a European-style society of inequality, aristocracy, and stifled opportunity? How and why the wealthy of the Gilded Age adopted the opulent lifestyles of European aristocrats. Why many Americans in the Gilded Age were concerned about the soaring number of labor strikes. Why American workers and farmers in the Gilded Age believed that big business was stifling their opportunities for success and upward mobility. How Gilded Age Americans came to fear the undemocratic political power of Big Business. Recommended reading: Sven Beckert, The Monied Metropolis: New York City and the Consolidation of the American Bourgeoisie, 1850-1896 (2001) Rebecca Edwards, New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age: 1865-1905 (2006) Michael McGerr, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920 (2003) Edward T. O'Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age (2015) Nell Irvin Painter, Standing at Armageddon: A Grassroots History of the Progressive Era (1987) Heather Cox Richardson, The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901 (2001) Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford, 2017) Recommended Viewing: PBS's American Experience documentary, "The Gilded Age" Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Episode 052 What Was the Gilded Age? Part 1 http://inthepastlane.com/episode-052/ Episode 044 with Richard White on the Gilded Age and Reconstruction http://inthepastlane.com/episode-044/ Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we begin a multi-episode look at that fascinating period known as the Gilded Age. This seemed a good time to do it because PBS just aired its new documentary called The Gilded Age. I was lucky enough to be one of the featured historians. The premiere on Feb 6 drew a big audience and rave reviews. And it's not too difficult to see why: there are so many parallels between the Gilded Age (1870-1900) and the era in which we now live. The nation then and now was consumed with intense debates over wealth inequality, labor unions, immigration, terrorism, women's rights, family values, money in politics, voter disenfranchisement, Wall Street recklessness, political polarization and paralysis, religion vs. secularism, individualism vs. the common good, free market capitalism vs. regulation and wars of choice vs. diplomacy. Many people these days want to know: are we living in a second Gilded Age? Well, the best way to find out is to learn more about the first Gilded Age. So let's do it. Among the many things discussed in this episode: What was the Gilded Age? What were the positive aspects of the Gilded Age that led many Americans see it as an age of progress? What were the negative aspects of the Gilded Age that promoted many Americans to worry about the future of the republic? Are we in 2018 living in a second Gilded Age? Recommended reading: Sven Beckert, The Monied Metropolis: New York City and the Consolidation of the American Bourgeoisie, 1850-1896 (2001) Rebecca Edwards, New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age: 1865-1905 (2006) Michael McGerr, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920 (2003) Edward T. O'Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age (2015) Nell Irvin Painter, Standing at Armageddon: A Grassroots History of the Progressive Era (1987) Heather Cox Richardson, The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901 (2001) Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford, 2017) Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Episode 44 with Richard White on the Gilded Age and Reconstruction http://inthepastlane.com/episode-044/ Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we look at the complicated history of black athletes in US history. I'll speak with historian Louis Moore, author of two new books on African American athletes, I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 (University of Illinois Press), and We Will Win The Day: The Civil Rights Movement, The Black Athlete, And The Quest For Equality (Praeger). In the first half of our conversation, we discuss the emergence of black boxers in the late nineteenth century. These men overcame poverty and racism to compete in the ring with fellow African Americans, but also white Americans. For black boxers, success in the ring earned them financial success and the opportunity to engage in a vibrant "sporting" culture. Their success also symbolized the African American quest for respect and equal rights. The most famous of these men was Jack Johnson who became heavy weight champion in 1908. His success, and his flashy lifestyle, in an a when Jim Crow was being imposed across the nation infuriated many white Americans. When no white boxer could defeat Johnson in the ring, federal authorities used the legal system to end his career. In the second half of our chat, Louis Moore walks us through the long history of African American athletes and the Civil Rights movement. He talks about the well-known incidents like John Carlos and Tommy Smith raising their fists in the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics, as well as many protests by people lost to history. Suffice it to say that Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the National Anthem is part of a long tradition of black athletes and protest. Among the many things discussed in this episode: The emergence of African American boxers in the 19th century. How middle-class African Americans initially opposed black boxers but gradually came to embrace them as symbols of achievement. Why interracial boxing matches in the early 20th century, in large measure due to the dominance of black boxers over white opponents, were outlawed. How African American athletes were purged from many sports in the Jim Crow era. The rise and fall of the great African American boxer, Jack Johnson. Why riots broke out across the US when African American boxer Jack Johnson defeated Jim Jeffries in 1910. The long tradition of African American athletes using sports and protest to further Civil Rights. How protests and boycotts by the black community in cities like Washington, DC and New Orleans forced NFL franchises to bring on black players. How the NFL required cities like Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans to desegregate before awarding them a football franchise. Where Colin Kaepernick fits into the history of protest by African American athletes. More about Louis Moore - website Recommended reading: Louis Moore, I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 (University of Illinois Press). Louis Moore, We Will Win The Day: The Civil Rights Movement, The Black Athlete, And The Quest For Equality (Praeger). Amy Bass, Not the Triumph But the Struggle: 1968 Olympics and the Making of the Black Athlete (2002). Harry Edwards, The Revolt of the Black Athlete (2017) Douglas Hartmann, Race, Culture, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath (2004) William C. Rhoden, Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete (2006). Geoffrey C. Ward, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004). Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Escape the Profane" (Free Music Archive) Andy G. Cohen, "A Human Being" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we look at the history of one of the more troubled regions in American history, Appalachia. In particular, we'll examine the backstory to how Appalachia became one of the poorest places in the US, and why it has stayed poor. I'll speak with historian Steven Stoll about his new book, Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia. Stoll takes us back in time to when immigrants from northern Europe settled the region and developed an agrarian society that was self-sustaining and based on kinship networks. These backcountry people were the quintessential pioneers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, clearing land on the frontier, establishing farms, building log cabins, and developing kinship networks that helped them survive. Much of the economy was based on barter and the livelihoods of the people depended on open access to vast tracts of forests (primarily for hunting) they treated as commons. Whiskey made from rye was a key source of cash that allowed them to buy tools, guns, and other finished goods. This was the world of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. But after the Civil War, this world was upended by the arrival of big business. Lumber companies clear cut most of the forests and the coal companies enticed or forced people off the land, turning them from independent agrarians into dependent coal miners working for wages. This story of the decisions and policies that led to Appalachia's impoverishment raises important questions about how we think about the sources of poverty and our notions of what capitalism is. And as a consequence, Steven Stoll's book, Ramp Hollow, offers an important corrective to some of the underlying assumptions found in the bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, by J. D. Vance. Among the many things discussed in this episode: The agrarian society that developed in Appalachia before the arrival of big business. Why whiskey became so important to the people of Appalachia and why Hamilton's tax sparked the Whiskey Rebellion. How after the Civil War, coal mining companies forced the agrarian people of Appalachia off the land and into the mines. How big business brought coal mining -- and poverty -- to Appalachia. How the story of Appalachia reveals the important ways in which Americans misunderstand capitalism. What J. D. Vance's memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, gets wrong about Appalachia. More about Steven Stoll - website Recommended reading: Steven Stoll, Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia (Hill and Wang, 2017) J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Elizabeth Catte, What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia Ronald D Eller, Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945 William Hogeland, The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty Robert Shogan, The Battle of Blair Mountain: The Story of America's Largest Labor Uprising Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (Free Music Archive) PCIII, "Cavalcades" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we look at the fractious and imperfect, but also quite revealing relationship between two of the most brilliant Founders, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The two men came from radically different backgrounds – Adams was the striver from a middle class family in Massachusetts, Jefferson was the entitled one from Virginia. And yet, both became ardent revolutionaries in the 1770s, both served in the Continental Congress, and both were named to the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. During the war, both served as diplomats in Europe, and it was there that they developed a warm friendship. Back in the U.S. after the war, both men went on to become Vice President and then President. But it was during these latter years in the fractious 1790s that the friendship between Jefferson and Adams disintegrated into bitter enmity. After Adams lost the Election of 1800 to Jefferson, he returned to Quincy, Massachusetts. Eight years later, Jefferson completed his presidency and returned to Monticello. And it seemed there was little chance they'd ever see each other again, much less become friends. But through the intervention of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the two resumed their friendship in 1812 – through a vibrant correspondence over the next 14 years by way of some 150 letters. To help us make sense of these two very important – and very different – men, and their very different visions of the form and future of the American republic, I sit down with historian Gordon Wood to talk about his latest book, Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How the wealthy and privileged Thomas Jefferson and the middle-class and striving John Adams became allies and friends during the Revolution. Why the fractious politics of the 1790s shattered the friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – and what eventually reunited them. How the friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams was rekindled and led to their famous correspondence How Thomas Jefferson established and promoted the idea of American exceptionalism. Why Thomas Jefferson the idealist dominates the Founding Father landscape (and John Adams, the realist and pessimist, not so much). How the realism of John Adams and the idealism of Thomas Jefferson embody the primary duality of the American mind. More about Gordon Wood - website Recommended reading: Gordon Wood, Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (2017). Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (1969). Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1991) Gordon Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin (2004) Gordon Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (2009) Joseph J. Ellis, The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 (2015). John Ferling, Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 (2004). David McCullough, John Adams (2001). Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Episode 28 with Carol Berkin on the tumultuous 1790s Episode 25 with Annette Gordon-Reed on Thomas Jefferson Episode 23 with Stephen Knott on Alexander Hamilton Episode 17 with Alan Taylor on American Revolutions Episode 9 with William Hogeland on the Whiskey Rebellion Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Follow the Course" (Free Music Archive) Hyson, "Whispers" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we look at how in the decades before the Civil War, proslavery southerners dominated US foreign policy and promoted a vision of an ever expanding empire of slavery, both within the US but also throughout the western hemisphere. I'll speak with historian Matthew Karp about his new book, This Vast Southern Empire: Slaveholders at the Helm of American Foreign Policy. Let's start with some key background to this period. Between 1820 and 1860, the US was an emerging industrial power with the rise of factories, railroads, and large cities. But in those same years, the US enjoyed the status of the world's most prominent slave holding society. Between 1820 and 1860, the population of enslaved people grew from 1.5 million to 4 million. Cotton production soared from 400,000 bales in 1820 to 4,000,000 bales in 1860. As southerners liked to say, Cotton was King. But while slavery grew more prominent and profitable, it also grew more controversial. The abolitionist movement grew more vocal in its condemnation of slavery. As it did so, it helped spark controversy after controversy in the 1830s through the 1840s and 1850s – controversies that often dominated national politics. Most of us remember some of the key ones: the Gag Rule, the Wilmot Proviso, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, and the Dred Scott decision. Throughout these controversies over the future of slavery, proslavery southerners used their political influence to defend slavery and demand the right to extend it throughout the US. But as Matthew Karp makes clear in his book, these proslavery southerners did not confine to their vision of slavery's future to the United States. They developed in these decades before the Civil War a bold and enthusiastic vision of slavery's growth and expansion elsewhere in the world. And to make this vision a reality, proslavery southerners pushed for US territorial expansion. Hence, the war with Mexico in 1846 that allowed the US to seize what is now much of the western United States. Equally important, they also exerted their political power to use US foreign policy and military power to protect other slaveholding societies like Brazil, Cuba, and in the years before it was annexed by the US, the independent slaveholding republic of Texas. One of their top priorities was to thwart efforts by Great Britain to end the practice of slavery. For centuries, Great Britain was one of the world's foremost participants in slavery and the international slave trade. But in the early 1830s, Great Britain abolished slavery in its empire and made global abolition a top foreign policy concern. This move infuriated proslavery southerners and made them suspect British plots at every turn - plots they were prepared to use US power to foil. So while proslavery southerners defended slavery and pushed for expansion within the United States, they also used American power to defend slavery in places far beyond US borders, and to push for its global expansion. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How proslavery southerners shaped US foreign policy to protect slaveholding societies like Brazil and Cuba and to promote the global expansion of slavery. Why US proslavery policy versus British antislavery efforts resembled a 19th century Cold War. Why proslavery southerners feared Great Britain would push Texas to abolish slavery. How proslavery southerners were sectionalists in domestic policy, but nationalists in foreign affairs. How proslavery southerners rejected abolitionist claims that slavery was a relic of barbarism, arguing that history was on their side. More about Matthew Karp - website Recommended reading: Matthew Karp, This Vast Southern Empire: Slaveholders at the Helm of American Foreign Policy (2017). Drew Gilpin Faust, The Ideology of Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Antebellum South, 1830-1860 (1982) Paul Finkelman, Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South: A Brief History with Documents (2003) Michel Gobat, Empire by Invitation: William Walker and Manifest Destiny in Central America (2018) Robert E. May, The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire, 1854-1861 (1973) Robert E. May, Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Future of Latin America (2013). Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Manisha Sinha talks about her book, The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition http://inthepastlane.com/podcast-episode-004-the-abolitionist-movement-more/ Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (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: Darrell

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we look at a crucial war in American history that's often overlooked, the War of 1812. I'll speak with historian Willard Sterne Randall about his book, Unshackling America: How the War of 1812 Truly Ended the American Revolution. As you'll hear, he argues that the American Revolution didn't really end in 1783. Rather, it wasn't until the US won the War of 1812 that the nation truly gained its independence. That's because after the US gained its independence in the American Revolution, Great Britain was committed to dominating its former colony economically, seeking to control it like a semi-independent satellite state. That really became a problem when war between Great Britain and France broke out in 1792 and continued nearly unabated until 1815. The US declared itself neutral in the conflict and claimed the right to trade with both sides. But the British rejected this claim. It blockaded French ports and then began seizing US ships it suspected were trading with the French. And, to make matters worse, the British also seized thousands of American sailors and forced them to serve in the British navy, a policy known as impressment. President Thomas Jefferson wanted to avoid war at all costs, so in 1807 he imposed an economic embargo that closed all US ports and maritime commerce. The embargo proved to be a disaster for the United States economy, and it failed to strengthen US neutrality. The British kept seizing US ships and forcing thousands of American sailors into the British Navy. Finally, in 1812, under a more hawkish President James Madison, the US declared war on Great Britain. It was the ultimate David Goliath matchup, featuring the tiny and weak United States versus the world's foremost military power. Fortunately for the US, Great Britain was locked in a global military struggle with Napoleonic France. The US managed to build a navy and create an army out of scratch. Then it scored enough victories on land and water to convince the British to agree to a peace treaty in 1815. This US victory, says Willard Sterne Randall, finally achieved national independence. Among the many things discussed in this episode: Why the American Revolution Didn't End Until the US Won the War of 1812. Why US Victory in the War of 1812 Spelled Disaster for Native Americans. Why the British burned Washington, DC in the War of 1812. Why the American victory on Lake Champlain is far more significant than Andrew Jackson's victory in the Battle of New Orleans. How Dolley Madison managed to save the Declaration of Independence when the British burned Washington, DC How Francis Scott Key came to write the Star Spangled Banner during the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. More about Willard Sterne Randall - website Recommended reading: Willard Sterne Randall, Unshackling America: How the War of 1812 Truly Ended the American Revolution (2017) George C. Daughan, 1812: The Navy's War (2011) Allan W. Eckert, A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh (1993) Donald R. Hickey, Glorious Victory: Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans (2015). Douglas R. Pratt and Donald R Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (1989) Robert V. Remini, The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory (2001) Alan Taylor, The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies (2010). Related ITPL Podcast Episodes: Carol Berkin talks about her book, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism http://inthepastlane.com/episode-028/ Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Discovery" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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, 2017

Last week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we focused in the Pilgrims in the early 1600s. This week, we jump ahead 4 centuries to the mid 20th century to look at the history behind the unending problem of racial segregation in American society. I'll speak with scholar Richard Rothstein about his book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. As you'll hear, he lays out in meticulously researched detail, some uncomfortable truths about the history of racial segregation: First, that it was everywhere in 20th century America not just in the Jim Crow South. Second, and here's the key, most of it was due not to poverty nor the personal preferences of individuals to live with people of their own race. Rather, the single-most important factor driving racial segregation in 20th century America was the federal government. That's right. It's largely driven by explicit government policy that mandated the separation of people by race. And third, these pro-segregation policies – perhaps more than anything else – have perpetuated African American poverty and increased the wealth gap between white and black Americans. It's not a pretty story, people. But it's one we need to know if we truly believe in the idea of forming a more perfect union. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How government-mandated residential segregation worsened and perpetuated African American poverty and the wealth gap between white and black households. How the rules of FHA loans promoted residential segregation and excluded African Americans from the American Dream Why white Americans embrace the myth that residential segregation is the product of personal choices (de facto) and not explicit government policy (de jure). How federal public housing projects promoted racial segregation in 20th century America. The role of restrictive covenants barring African Americans from home ownership and the rise of suburban developments like Levittown. How large non-profit organizations like universities, hospitals, and churches enjoyed tax-exempt status from the IRS while promoting racial segregation. More about Richard Rothstein - website Recommended reading: Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (Liveright, 2017). Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul (2016) Kenneth T. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (1984). Ira Katznelson, When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America (2005) Beryl Satter, Family Properties: How the Struggle Over Race and Real Estate Transformed Chicago and Urban America (2009). Thomas J. Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit (1996). Documentary: Race: The Power of An Illusion (PBS) - in particular, Episode 3, "The House We Live In" Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) PCIII, "Cavalcades" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week at ITPL, the American history podcast, we examine the history behind the first Thanksgiving in 1621. In particular, we look at a little-known event that preceded the arrival of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. It was an epidemic that raged across southern New England for four years, beginning in 1616. The disease came from European traders and it devastated the Native American population of southern New England. And as a result, this epidemic helped pave the way for the success of the European migrants who would soon begin arriving in the region, starting with the Pilgrims in 1620. We'll explore the origins of the epidemic and how it reshaped the political and military landscape of southern New England – and in so doing, set the stage for an event that brought English settlers and local Wampanoag Indians together for a feast -- the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. Then I'll close out this episode with a fun piece on trivia related to the history of Thanksgiving. Among the many things discussed in this episode: The origins of the Great Epidemic of 1616. Why Native peoples in the Americas were so vulnerable to European diseases like small pox and plague. How early English explorers and settlers found evidence of the impact of the Great Epidemic in abandoned Indian settlements and farms. How the devastating impact of the Great Epidemic on the Wampanoag tribe led them to seek an alliance and peace treaty with the Pilgrims, a move that explains why some of them attended the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Why the turkey is called a turkey. How President Franklin D Roosevelt triggered a Thanksgiving controversy by moving the holiday to the third Thursday in November. How 19th century artists created the popular – and largely false – image of the Pilgrims as people who wore black clothes and funny hats, and who hated fun. Further Reading F. Cook, "The Significance of Disease in the Extinction of the New England Indians," Human Biology (1973) 45: 485–508. John S. Marr and John T. Cathey, "New Hypothesis for Cause of Epidemic among Native Americans, New England, 1616–1619" Emerging Infectious Disease (Feb 2000) http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/2/09-0276.htm William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England (New York: Hill & Wang; 1983). Donald R. Hopkins, The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History (University of Chicago Press, 2002). Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Knopf, 2005) Charles C. Mann, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (Knopf, 2011) George Rosen, "Epidemics in Colonial America," American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health 44.2 (February 1954) Michael Willrich, Pox: An American History (Penguin, 2011) My piece on Black Friday Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "A Storm at Eilean Mor" (Free Music Archive) Scott Holmes, "Happy Ukulele" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week at ITPL, the American history podcast, we take on the last third of the 19th century, a period known as both Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. As many of you know, the Gilded Age is the period of US history that I specialize in. I know I'm biased, but to me, this is the most fascinating and compelling period in US history. It's when the United States leaves behind the agrarian republic envisioned by founders like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and plunges headlong into an industrial age that even Alexander Hamilton could not have imagined. It's a time of incredible wealth production (hence, the Gilded label), as the United States surges to become the world's foremost industrial economy.And along with that comes the rise of great cities like New York and Chicago, and unprecedented immigration from Europe and Asia. It's also an exciting age of revolutionary new technology. The railroad spreads across the continent, along with the Internet of the day, the telegraph. Electricity and electric lights begin to transform every day life. And yet, despite all this exciting progress, the last third of the 19th century was a deeply unsettling time. The rise of big business alarmed many Americans, because industrialists like John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie acquired stupendous wealth – and with that wealth came extraordinary power. They could use that power to compel Congress or state legislatures to do their will. And they could force their workers to accept long hours, low pay, and dangerous conditions. And if those workers went on strike? Industrialists could count on the local police, state militia, or even federal troops, to crush it. And there were a lot of strikes in this area – 37,000 between 1880 and 1900. And some of them – like the Great Uprising railroad strike of 1877 – were huge and resulted in scores of people killed. And in between strikes, the evidence of rising levels of poverty and unrest was everywhere. The situation out in the heartland was just as fraught. American farmers struggled against the usual things like drought and locusts, but also predatory banks and railroads. So as urban workers join unions like the Knights of Labor, farmers joined Farmers Alliances that demanded the government regulate banks and railroads. Both movements represented popular resistance to an economy and political system that they believed had become rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. It would eventually lead to the rise of the Populists and the People's Party insurgency of the 1890s. And there was great turmoil and violence elsewhere, in the American south and west. In the south, the first decade after the Civil War saw African-Americans gain full citizenship and civil rights. And they used these rights to build new lives as free people and to exert political power. But by the mid-1870s white southerners rose up to overthrow Reconstruction and impose white supremacy, establishing a racist and oppressive social order known as Jim Crow. And in the west, the US Army launched the final, bloody campaign to defeat Native Americans and forcibly remove them to reservations. I think you'll agree, there's a LOT happening in the Gilded Age and Reconstruction, that last third of the 19th century. In many ways, it's the period when modern America takes form. And because this transformation marked a new era in US history, it raised compelling and troubling questions about democracy, equality, and citizenship. To explore these questions and the answers and how Americans in the late 19th century struggled to answer them, I speak with historian Richard White, author of a new book on the period, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896. Among the many things we discuss in this conversation: How Reconstruction and the Gilded Age are inextricably linked. The Republican Party's post-Civil War vision of eliminating regional differences and creating a unified, homogeneous republic. How and why the Republican Party initially fought during Reconstruction to create a multiracial republic based on equal citizenship but then allowed white supremacists to overthrow it. How Buffalo Bill created the popular (and convenient) narrative of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. How John Gast's famous painting, "American Progress" (1872), became the iconic image of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, despite "getting it all wrong." Why resistance to the onset of wage labor explains so much of the civil unrest in the Gilded Age. Why most Americans in the Gilded Age feared the rich and worried that plutocracy and inequality would destroy the republic. How "cooperation" (and socialism) emerged as a unifying ideal in the Gilded Age among those who feared the rise of inequality and corporate power. Why all three major political parties (Republican, Democratic, and Populist) by 1896 agreed that the challenges posed by industrialization and big business requi

This week I speak with historian Karen Cox, author of a new book titled: Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South. It tells the incredible story of a murder that took place in Natchez, Mississippi in 1932. It's a captivating tale in its own right, but as you'll soon hear, the Goat Castle story reveals a great deal about the US in the early years of the Great Depression, everything from mass media and sensationalism, to Jim Crow racism and popular nostalgia for the Old South. Among the many things discussed in this episode: What was the 1932 Goat Castle murder in Natchez, MS? How the 1932 Goat Castle murder reveals the injustice at the heart of Jim Crow. How white privilege and ties to the old planter aristocracy allowed two citizens of Natchez to get away with murder – and even profit from it. Why the 1932 Goat Castle murder in Natchez, MS captivated the nation. How modern media turned the 1932 Goat Castle murder in Natchez, MS into a national sensation. How nostalgia for the Old South remained strong in the 1930s. About Karen Cox – website Further Reading Karen Cox, Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South (UNC Press, 2017) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week at In The Past Lane, the American history podcast, I interview historian Joshua Clark Davis about his new book, From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs. Davis takes us through a fascinating examination of 4 types of what he calls activist entrepreneurship: African American bookstores, feminist businesses, head shops, and organic food markets. His work challenges the notion that political activists on the left rejected capitalism and the market. Rather, they sought to use the market to further political change; and to demonstrate that businesses could be run in ways more humane, democratic, and community-oriented than traditional businesses that focused primarily on profits and growth. One of centerpiece features of this book is the story of the rise of Whole Foods in the late 1970s as an activist, alternative business that was dedicated to social change and how over time it morphed into a more traditional profit-seeking corporation. Among the many things discussed in this episode: Why some activists on the left in the 1960s and 1970s turned to small business enterprises as a way to build community and promote social change. How the growth of African American bookstores in the 1960s and 1970s was closely tied to the Black Power movement. Why the growth of head shops in the 1960s and 1970s represented more than merely the rise of marijuana use. How some feminists in the 1970s founded businesses like book stores and publishing houses to promote feminism, women's voices, and independence. How activist entrepreneurs established bookstores and other enterprises to promote more a humane, democratic, and community-oriented business model that stood in contrast to traditional profit seeking one. How Whole Foods turned from being an activist, alternative business dedicated to social change to become a more traditional profit-seeking corporation. How large corporations have co-opted the language ("organic" and "artisan") and image ("local" and "mission-driven") of independent activist entrepreneur enterprises. How gentrification played a key role in reducing the number of independent activist entrepreneur enterprises like bookstores and organic food suppliers. About Joshua Clark Davis – website Further Reading Joshua Clark Davis, From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs John Mackey and Rajendra Sisodia, Conscious Capitalism (2013) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week marks the 240th anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga, So I'll speak with Dean Snow, author of a new book titled, 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga. It'll give you a new appreciation of how this often overlooked battle was in many ways, the decisive moment in the American Revolution. It led the many British military leaders to argue that they could not win this war because the American colonies constituted too large a geographic area, and because American soldiers in the Continental Army were the equal of British regulars. Even more important, the victory convinced France and other European powers to back the American Revolution with troops, supplies, and money. Among the many things discussed in this episode: How a brilliant British military plan on paper turned into a disaster on the battlefield at Saratoga. How Benedict Arnold, before turning traitor, was a hero at the Battle of Saratoga. Why the Saratoga battlefield deserves the same recognition as Gettysburg. How Gen. Horatio Gates managed to surround and defeat Gen. John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Why the 1777 Battle of Saratoga proved to be the turning point of the American Revolution. Why the significance of many pivotal battles in history is primarily political and not military. About Dean Snow – website Further Reading Dean Snow, 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga (Oxford, 2016). Richard M. Ketchum, Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War (1997) Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (2005) Nathaniel Philbrick, Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution (2016) Maps to accompany Dean Snow's book, 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga (Oxford, 2016) - click here Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Escape the Profane" (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 Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week we look at a story that calls into question just how successful the Civil Rights Movement really was. It's the iconic story of the Little Rock Nine, the courageous African American students who began the process of desegregating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They faced a hostile state governor, Orville Faubus, who called out the state's National Guard to prevent the federally-mandated desegregation order. Then, after the Eisenhower administration sent in troops from the 101st Airborne to take control of the situation and enforce the order, the students were confronted by raging mobs calling out racial slurs and threatening violence. And all of this was captured on camera. We've all seen the images. But there's a lot more to the story of Little Rock in 1957 and that's our focus today. This topic is important because racial segregation in the nation's public schools is still a huge problem – and it's getting worse. And the problem isn't just segregation, because data shows that segregated schools offer fewer college prep courses, and fewer courses and programs in the arts, compared to white majority schools. Segregated schools also have lower graduation rates and higher rates of suspensions and expulsions for discipline problems. In other words, students in these schools in 2017 are being offered an education that is, separate and unequal. How is this possible? How did we get here? Well, part of the reason is that many Americans – remembering uplifting moments like the Little Rock Nine desegregating Central High School 60 years ago this month – believe the problem of segregation in public schools was solved decades ago. It's in the past. It turns out, that happy memory of a Civil Rights victory in 1957 is actually one of the things that stands in the way of our confronting and resolving the scourge of segregation. To help us understand the long and complicated history of Little Rock and desegregation efforts, I speak with historian Erin Krutko Devlin, author of the new book, Remember Little Rock (Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 2017). Among the many things discussed in this episode: How the Little Rock crisis of 1957 is part of a problematic triumphant narrative of racial progress. Why celebrating iconic civil rights victories can bolster a misperception that racism is a thing of the past. Why 60 years after Little Rock, many public schools in the US remain segregated and unequal. How opponents of integration in Little Rock and elsewhere turned from Massive Resistance to Passive Resistance to stymie desegregation efforts. How public officials in Little Rock, Arkansas successfully conspired to thwart meaningful school integration after 1957. How conservative judges after 1980 began to roll back desegregation programs imposed by lower courts. What Little Rock in 1957 can tell us about Charlottesville in 2017. Little Rock and the emergence of Civil Rights tourism. How Little Rock and the National Park Service site and museum commemorate the #PublicHistory of the Civil Rights movement. About Erin Krutko Devlin – website Further Reading Erin Krutko Devlin, Remember Little Rock (University of Massachusetts Press, 2017) Karen Anderson, Little Rock: Race and Resistance at Central High School (2010) Derrick Bell, Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform (2004) Elizabeth Huckaby, Crisis at Central High, Little Rock, 1957-58 (1980) Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools (2012) Jonathan Kozol, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005). Carlotta Walls Lanier, A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School (2010). Greg Toppo, "GAO study: Segregation worsening in U.S. schools," USA Today, May 17, 2016 Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jason Shaw, "Acoustic Meditation" Hefferman, "Winter's 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week I speak with America's most acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, about his new project, The Vietnam War. This 10-part, 18-hour epic debuts on PBS on September 17, 2017. Vietnam has long been one of the most divisive events in recent US history. And yet, after making films on the two most popular wars in US history, the Civil War and World War II, Ken Burns has taken on this extraordinarily complicated and emotion-filled topic. It's sure to generate a lot of commentary and -- as he and I discuss in this interview -- hopefully, many conversations in homes across the US. This episode begins with a short set-up piece, kind of a Vietnam 101, and then moves on to the main event, my interview with Ken Burns. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did. Among the many things discussed in this episode: Why Ken Burns chose to tackle the Vietnam War. Why Americans initially supported the Vietnam War. What eventually made the Vietnam War so controversial. Why Ken Burns thinks his film has the potential to bring a divided America together. How the Vietnam Wall went from controversy to sacred space. About Ken Burns – website Further Reading Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The Vietnam War: An Intimate History (2017) David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest (1972) Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History (1991) Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (1989) Smithsonian, The Vietnam War: The Definitive Illustrated History (2017) Karen Gottschang Turner, Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam (1998) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Hefferman, "Discovery" (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, "Sage the Hunter" (Free Music Archive) Hefferman, "Winter's 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

It's September, so this history podcast is rolling out its annual back-to-school episode. This go around, we address the question: What do the controversies in the 1960s and 1970s surrounding sex education and bilingual education have to do with each other? Well, quite a bit, as it turns out. And that's why I'll sit down with historian Natalia Petrzela to talk about her book, Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture (Oxford University Press). It's a fascinating examination of the history of education policy and how it both reflected and shaped political discourse about immigration and diversity, as well as attitudes about sex and sexual mores, in the mid-20th century. We also talk about Natalia's role as a co-host of another fabulous history podcast, Past Present (http://www.pastpresentpodcast.com). Among the many things discussed in this episode: How political conservatives in the 1960s advocated bilingual education and cultural exchange with Mexico. Why bilingual education became more controversial, in part, due to increased political activism by Latino rights groups like La Raza. How efforts to promote bilingual education also led to increased acceptance of Latino culture and diversity in public schools. How and why sex education became politicized in the 1960s. How some conservatives in the 1960s linked sex education to promoting communism. Why, despite great opposition, both sex education and bilingual education gained wide acceptance by the 1980s. What Natalia Petrzela enjoys most about co-hosting the Past Present podcast. About Natalia Petrzela – website Further Reading Natalia Petrzela, Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture (2016). Carlos Kevin Blanton, The Strange Career of Bilingual Education in Texas, 1836-1981 (2007). Jessica Fields, Risky Lessons: Sex Education and Social Inequality (2008). Janice M. Irvine, Talk About Sex: The Battles over Sex Education in the United States (2004). Adam Laats, The Other School Reformers: Conservative Activism in American Education (2015). Guadalupe San Miguel Jr., Contested Policy: The Rise and Fall of Federal Bilingual Education in the United States, 1960-2001 (2004). Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, we respond to the virulent anti-semitism that was on display during the neo-Nazi and white supremacist march in Charlottesville,VA by bringing to you an episode about a remarkable history research project. It's called, History Unfolded: US Newspapers and the Holocaust, and it's bringing to light thousands of articles that appeared in US newspapers between 1933 and 1945 that told American readers in vivid detail about the Nazi campaign to persecute and exterminate millions of Jews in Europe. And here's a truly remarkable feature of this project -- anyone can participate as a researcher – including you, or your students, if you're a teacher. So give a listen to my conversation with Elissa Frankle of History Unfolded and learn how this new digital research initiative is changing the way we understand the American response to the Holocaust. Website: History Unfolded: US Newspapers and the Holocaust Further Reading Robert H. Abzug, America Views the Holocaust, 1933-45 : A Brief Documentary History (1999) Michael Berenbaum, The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2006). Leonard Dinnerstein, Antisemitism in America (1995) Henry Feingold, Bearing Witness: Holocaust: How America and Its Jews Responded to the Holocaust (1995). Deborah E. Lipstadt, Beyond Belief: The American Press And The Coming Of The Holocaust, 1933- 1945 (1993). Christopher Mathias, "All The Swastikas And Broken Glass Since Charlottesville," HuffPo August 25, 2017. Arthur D. Morse, While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy (1998) David S. Wyman, The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945 (2007) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Follow the Course" (Free Music Archive) Hefferman, "Epoch" (Free Music Archive) 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week we take on the topic of libertarianism, an ideology that in recent years has gained many adherents, including political conservatives and people in business, especially the high tech industry. But it's worth asking, what is libertarianism and where does it fit in the history of American political culture? Is it a mainstream ideology with deep roots in American history? Or is it one on the fringe? And what accounts for its surging popularity in recent years? Well, to answer these questions, I'll first give my historian's take on libertarianism. Spoiler alert: I'm not a big fan. I'll point out how libertarianism occupies a place on the very outer fringe of American political ideology. And that it's mainly an ideology of recent origin (ca 1945) and that it's popularity has a lot to do with the efforts of millionaires and billionaires, as well as large corporations, that fund pro-libertarian initiatives. The US has always revered individualism, but not the radical individualism that defines libertarianism. It's an individualism that has always been tempered by an equally important commitment to the common good. Then I'll speak with Christine Woodside, author of the book, Libertarians on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of the Little House Books. Wait, what? Little House on the Prairie has something to do with libertarianism? Yes. In fact, as you're about to hear, it has quite a bit to do with it. Let's just say that it's a story that includes not only Laura Ingalls Wilder, but also Ayn Rand, the Koch brothers, and the Libertarian Party. About Christine Woodside – website Further Reading Christine Woodside, Libertarians on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of the Little House Books (2015 Nancy MacLean, Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America (2017) Colin Woodard, American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good (2015) Daniel Cluchey, "The Founding Fathers Were Not Libertarians," Huffington Post, May 25, 2011 Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "I Will Be There" (Free Music Archive) Doc Turtle, "Thought Soup" (Free Music Archive) 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

President Trump's announcement via Twitter that transgender personnel would no longer be allowed to serve in the US armed forces provides an excellent opportunity to take a look at the history of female and trans soldiers who have fought in past US wars. Most people would be surprised to learn that there are over 100 documented cases of women who served in the Confederate and Union armies during the Civil War. In this episode, we look at the story of Albert Cashier, possibly the best known transgender soldier in US history who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. It's a remarkable story that provides us with some important historical perspective on the current #TransBan debate. Among the many things we discuss: Who was Albert Cashier? How did he manage to serve in the Union Army for 3 years without anyone suspecting that he was born in Ireland with the name Jenny Hodgers. How Cashier maintained his male identity for more than 40 years, only to have his "secret" discovered near the end of his life. How when word got out about Cashier's birth identity, the U.S. Pension Bureau considered revoking his pension, but opted to maintain it when they determined that Hodgers and Cashier were one in the same. Further Reading De Anne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook, They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War (2003). Lon Dawson, Also Known as Albert D. J. Cashier: The Jennie Hodgers Story, or How One Young Irish Girl Joined the Union Army During the Civil War (2005) Bonnie Tsui, She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War (2003) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Hyson, "Traces" (Free Music Archive) Hefferman, "Discovery" (Free Music Archive) 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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

With the mainstream news media under siege these days, and with some people – including one particularly powerful and influential person – denouncing it as so-called "fake news," this seems like a good time to explore the history of a free press. Just consider how central the free press has been to American history. So many key moments in American history have derived from, or somehow involved, the freedom of the press. * The abolitionist press and the eventual end of slavery. * Muckrakers at the turn of the 20th century and the exposure of abuses by big business. * The Pentagon Papers and the withdrawal of the US military from Vietnam. * The Watergate investigation and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. These are just a few examples of the vital role a free press has played in American history. And they raise the question: How did this idea of a free press get enshrined in the First Amendment? And how did it come to be seen as a fundamental principle of American democracy? It's a long and fascinating story, but it began with the arrest and prosecution of a little known New York newspaper publisher named Peter Zenger in 1735. And that's the story we'll focus on in this episode of In The Past Lane, the podcast about history and why it matters. Among the many things we'll discuss: How the British defied "seditious libel" in the 18th century – and how American colonists began to develop a very different understanding of it. The biography of Peter Zenger, the unknown printer at the center of the famous 1735 trial that bears his name. How the 1735 trial of Peter Zenger popularized the idea of freedom of the press How the legacy and memory of the Zenger Trial led to the inclusion of freedom of the press in the 1st Amendment. How Americans came to see a free press as essential to maintaining a healthy democracy.

This week at In The Past Lane, the podcast about history and why it matters, we look at the fascinating history of the Ten Commandments in the U.S. You might think that a history of the Ten Commandments would be situated in Israel, but it turns out that it's a very American story. In fact, over the last 150 years Americans have found many imaginative ways to embrace, reimagine, and repurpose the Ten Commandments. To learn more about this story, I'll talk with historian Jenna Weissman Joselit about her book, Set In Stone: America's Embrace of the Ten Commandments. Among the many things we'll discuss: The great Ten Commandments Hoax of 1860. How Americans came to embrace the Ten Commandments as an icon of religious devotion. How the Ten Commandments have served as an emblem of order and stability in times of wrenching social change in US history. Why Jewish Americans after World War II promoted the idea of an American Judeo-Christian tradition with the Ten Commandments as its iconic expression. How some late-19th century Americans supported a proposal to make knowledge of the Ten Commandments a requirement of US citizenship and a proposal to create a national holiday to honor the Ten Commandments. How the famous 1956 Cecil B. DeMille film, "The Ten Commandments," helped promote the idea of erecting Ten Commandments monuments in the US. How Americans have come to use the Ten Commandments as a template for everything from the Ten Commandments of Safe Driving to the Ten Commandments of Healthy Relationships. Why monuments of the Ten Commandments have become the focus of so many First Amendment controversies. About Jenna Joselit Weissman – website https://history.columbian.gwu.edu/jenna-weissman-joselit Further Reading Jenna Weissman Joselit about her book, Set In Stone: America's Embrace of the Ten Commandments (Oxford, 2017). Katherine Orrison, Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic, The Ten Commandments (1999). Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Stewart Vogel, The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life (1998). Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) David Szesztay, "Joyful Meeting" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week we step up to the plate to take on the origins and history of baseball, and how the sport has both reflected and shaped American society. Among the many things we'll discuss: Early bat and ball games that date back as 14th century Europe (and one involving nuns and monks!). How British immigrants in the 18th century brought early forms of baseball to North America, including rounders and cricket. Why baseball emerged as a popular sport in US cities, and not in the pastures of rural America. Why Alexander Cartwright and NOT Abner Doubleday is the the true "father of baseball." How the American Civil War played a key role in popularizing not just baseball, but the so-called "New York" version that eventually became the standard. Why the early promoters of baseball insisted it remain an amateur sport played by men of good character --and why they eventually lost the battle to the forces of commercialization. How as many as 50 African Americans played major league baseball in the 1870s and 1880s before the surging racism of the day led owners to purge black players and segregate baseball. And why Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first African American to play major league baseball, 60 years before Jackie Robinson re-integrated baseball. Why the individualism of baseball both sets it apart from other major team sports and reflects a core American value. How there are dozens of words and phrases in the American lexicon that trace their origins to baseball, everything from "rain check" to "big league" to "screwball." Further Reading Block, David. Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game (University of Nebraska Press, 2005). Nemec, David. The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Major League Baseball. 2nd ed. (University of Alabama Press, 2006). Peterson, Robert. Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams (Gramercy Books, 1999). Rielly, Edward J. Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond (Haworth Press, 2003). Riess, Steven A. Touching Base: Professional Baseball and American Culture in the Progressive Era (University of Illinois Press, 1983. Revised 1999). Rossi, John. The National Game: Baseball and American Culture (Ivan R. Dee, 2002). Thorn, John. Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game (Simon & Schuster, 2011). Tygiel, Jules. Past Time: Baseball as History (Oxford, 2000). Voigt, David Q. America Through Baseball (Nelson Hall, 1976). White, G. Edward. Creating the National Pastime: Baseball Transforms Itself, 1903-1953 (Princeton University Press, 1996). Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Winter Trek" (Free Music Archive) David Szesztay, "Joyful Meeting" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week, In the Past Lane explores the fascinating and little-known story of an American colony that developed on a small island off Cuba following the Spanish American War of 1898. The Isle of Pines attracted some 2,000 American settlers in the early 20th century. Many of them viewed the island in the same way earlier generations of Americans saw the trans-Mississippi west -- as a place brimming with opportunity for adventure, self-reinvention, and economic advancement. At the heart of their ambitions was the hope that the United States would annex the island. To tell us all about this colony and its rise, transformation, and fall in the 20th century, I speak with historian Michael Neagle about his new book, America's Forgotten Colony: Cuba's Isle of Pines (Cambridge University Press, 2016). About Michael Neagle – web Further Reading Michael Neagle, America's Forgotten Colony: Cuba's Isle of Pines (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Steven Kinzer, The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire (Henry Holt, 2016) Jane McManus, Cuba's Island of Dreams: Voices from the Isle of Pines and Youth (2000) Louis A. Perez, Jr. Cuba Under the Platt Amendment, 1902-1934 (Pittsburgh, 1986) Louis A. Jr. Perez, The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography (UNC, 1998) Evan Thomas, The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 (Little, Brown and Company, 2010) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (Free Music Archive) Jason Shaw, "Acoustic Meditation" The Bell, "I Am History" (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week at In The Past Lane, we talk about the American presidency – specifically the history of how US presidents have endeavored to communicate their positions on key issues of the day. To use modern political parlance, it's the history of "spin," that important but sometimes tawdry business of crafting and communicating a political message in such as way that it enhances your political standing. American presidents have struggled to do this since the days of the Washington administration. To help us understand what spin is and how and why it's played such a critical role in the evolution of the modern presidency and in the success or failure of individual presidents, I talk to historian David Greenberg. He's the author of a fascinating new book, Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency. Among the many things we discuss: How Theodore Roosevelt created the original permanent White House spin apparatus. Why Woodrow Wilson's Committee on Public Information during World War I is unfairly characterized as a nefarious propaganda machine. Why FDR's "fireside chats" proved so effective in promoting Roosevelt's New Deal agenda. How Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to embrace the new medium of television. Why image making became so essential to presidential success in the age of JFK. How Jimmy Carter -- yes, Jimmy Carter – was hailed early on in his presidency as a master communicator and manipulator of the media. Why spin is not inherently negative but rather an essential element of presidential leadership. Why the mainstream media is held in such low regard these days. About David Greenberg – website Further Reading David Greenberg, Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency (WW Norton, 2016) Katz and M. Barris, The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Digital Engagement (2013) William E. Leuchtenburg, The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton (2015) Stephen Ponder, Managing the Press: Origins of the Media Presidency, 1897-1933 (1999) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (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: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

This week, In The Past Lane is in Chicago to check out a cool history exhibition and speak with John Russick of the Chicago History Museum. The exhibition, "Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America," was originally created by the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC in the wake of September 11. The idea behind it was to explore the way the United States has handled the challenges posed by internal threats -- terrorists, spies, saboteurs, hate groups, etc -- while at the same time protecting civil liberties. Some of the many incidents it explores includes: the Oklahoma City bombing, the Palmer Raids, the Weather Underground, the Haymarket bombing, Japanese Internment, the KKK, German sabotage efforts during World War I, Soviet spying and McCarthyism, and the militia movement. It's an exhibition well worth seeing. Here's a link with more info. I also took a lot of photographs, so if you'd like to see what the exhibition looks like, just scroll down a bit. After I toured the exhibition, I sat down with John Russick, Vice President of Interpretation and Education at the Chicago History Museum, to talk about why the museum decided to host "Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs" and why the issues it raises are so very important to our democracy. It's a really interesting conversation about history and how it should inform the present. Among the many things we discuss: Why Americans are really good at forgetting the past (and why it's the job of public history institutions to help them remember). How so many issues that we wrestle with in contemporary American society -- immigration, terrorism, radical movements, violations of civil liberties, debates over security vs. liberty -- are not new. How the desire for security in America during tumultuous times has always been in tension with our civil liberties, especially free speech and free thought. How America has always struggled to define itself and its citizens -- What rights are essential? Which ones are the most important? Who should enjoy them? "The work of being a free and fair society," says Russick, "is never done." Why "Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs," which was created 13 years ago, is still very relevant in 2017. Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-029/ Photos of the exhibition: scroll down Information on the exhibition: here Further Reading: "Exhibit on U.S. spies and traitors hopes to speak to present day," Chicago Tribune, April 19, 2017. Description of the exhibition from the International Spy Museum - link Credits: Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) Lee Rosevere, "Going Home" (Free Music Archive) Ketsa, "Escape the Profane" (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, "Discovery" (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 Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

In this episode, we dive into the tumultuous and critically important years of the 1790s, a time when the very fate of the new republic hung in the balance. First, I'll do a short set-up segment on the really perilous political scene in the United States in the 1790s. It's a lively period when many of the key Founders like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson clashed bitterly over foreign and domestic policy, so much so that many people feared civil war was imminent. Second, I'll sit down with historian Carol Berkin to talk about her new book, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism. She focuses on four major crises that threatened the young nation: the Whiskey Rebellion, the Genet Affair, the XYZ Affair, and the Alien and Sedition Acts. Historians have long discussed these controversies as crises that ultimately doomed the Federalist Party. But the real story of the crises of the 1790s, says Berkin, is the way that these four crises all contributed to the formation of American national identity. The US at this time was a new and fragile nation, made up of people who more often than not, identified with their states rather than their nation. So while these crises were divisive and controversial, they also led more and more Americans to see themselves as Americans, and to defend national institutions like the Presidency and the Constitution. My conversation with Carol is fun and deeply interesting and I think you're going to love it. Among the things Carol Berkin discusses: * How the crises of the 1790s helped forge U.S. national identity. * How Americans in the fractious 1790s came to respect not just Washington, but the office of the president. * How the Whiskey Rebellion threatened the legitimacy of the federal government and how George Washington used a combination of firmness and leniency to defuse it. * How the Genet Affair threatened US sovereignty in the 1790s. * How John Adams bungled the XYZ Affair but ultimately benefitted from the nationalist outrage it produced. * Why the Alien and Sedition Acts were not very repressive in practice. * How the Federalists deserve credit for guiding the fragile American republic through the tumultuous 1790s. * How the brutal partisan media and fake news shaped the politics of the 1790s. * What we in 2017 can learn from the fractious politics of the 1790s. Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-028/ About Carol Berkin – website Further Reading Carol Berkin, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism (Basic Books, 2017) Ronald Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (2004) Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2000) Joseph J. Ellis, The Quartet: Orchestrating The Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 (2015) William Hogeland, The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty (Simon & Schuster, 2006) Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, "Impact Moderato" (Free Music Archive) The Womb, "I Hope It Hurts" (Free Music Archive) Scott Holmes, "The Light Between Us" (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 Podcasting Consultant: Darrell Darnell of Pro Podcast Solutions 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 © Snoring Beagle International, 2017

In this episode, in recognition of John F. Kennedy's 100 birthday -- I know, 100?, Really? -- we dive into the life and legacy of the nation's 35th President. Every couple of years, we read about a poll that ranks the presidents of the United States from best to worst. These surveys generally attract a lot of public attention, and they do so for two reasons. First, lots of people want to know where recent presidents rank (where's Obama? Bush?). And second, many people want to know who's in the top 10. They want to see if Lincoln ranks number one versus Washington, but they also seem keenly interested in the ranking of presidents like John F. Kennedy. JFK often lands in the top 10. In fact, a recent CNN Poll of historians put Kennedy at #8. But this result often leaves historians and political scientists scratching their heads. Kennedy, after all, served less than one full term. And he had his share of personal flaws and political failures. Well, there's no simple answer to this question. But part of this answer is certainly tied to the way JFK created a magnetic political persona on his way to becoming President and then, following his assassination, the way Kennedy loyalists carefully crafted and preserved a certain kind of historical image of JFK. That's our focus in this episode. Here's the lineup: 1. First, I sit down with historian Michael J. Hogan to talk about his latest book, The Afterlife of John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Biography. Hogan is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Illinois, Springfield and an emeritus professor of history at Ohio State University. 2. Second, I visit the museum dedicated to the JFK assassination, the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza to talk to some of the people who visit the site. Show Page and Credits http://inthepastlane.com/episode-027/

In this episode, we take a close look at a small war that had a massive impact on American history - the Spanish American War that began in 1898. In fact, the US is still dealing with its effects at this very moment, since there are thousands of American military personal stationed all around the world, most notably in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Korea. At the heart of this story is the question: Why in the 1890s did the US abandon a century of isolationist foreign policy to become an imperialist (or interventionist, if you prefer) power? This episode has two parts: 1) First, I'll start with a brief overview of traditional US foreign policy before 1890 and what changed at the end of the 19th century. 2) Second, I'll talk to historian Stephen Kinzer about his latest book, titled: The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire. This book takes a close look at the Spanish-American War, the great debate it triggered over imperialism, and how its resolution marked a new and troubling chapter in US history. Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-026/

In this episode, we take a close look at another Founding Father - Thomas Jefferson (Episode 23 focused on Alexander Hamilton). And why not? Jefferson was born in the month of April – April 13th to be precise – and he's Thomas Jefferson, maybe the most multi-talented of the Founders. He was part businessman, philosopher, writer, naturalist, theologian, statesman, architect, and inventor -- among other things. To help us understand Jefferson and why he still matters – despite all the Hamilton mania these days – this episode has two parts: 1) First, I provide a brief overview of the life of Thomas Jefferson. In so doing, I'll raise some of the many key questions about the 3rd President, most especially: how could the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence also own 600 slaves? And have children with one of them (Sally Hemings)? 2) Then, I'll sit down with award-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, co-author of the most recent major book on Jefferson, "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs": Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination. It's just been released in paperback. It's a deep and compelling examination of this most important and most enigmatic of Founders. Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-025/

This week we mark the 100th anniversary of the US entry into The Great War, or what we've come to know as World War I. The US declaration of war in April 1917 marked a decisive turning point in American history, as for the first time the US engaged in a European war. This decision marked a decisive break with the nation's longstanding tradition of isolationism when it came to European affairs. But at the outset of the war in 1914, that spirit of isolationism was running high in the US. Reflecting this view, President Woodrow Wilson announced that the US would remain neutral. But over the course of the next three years, many events transpired that gradually moved a majority of Americans to accept US involvement in WWI as inevitable. To help us understand this crucial period in US history from 1914-1917, this episode has two segments. 1) First, I provide a brief overview of the isolationist tradition in US history and how it changed by 1917. To illustrate this transition, I look at two hit songs from the period. In 1915, the top song in the US was explicitly anti-war: "I Didn't Raise My Boy to be A Soldier." But two years later, the #1 song in the US was "Over There!," a rousing patriotic ditty extolling America's commitment to military victory in WWI penned by the famed songwriter George M. Cohan. 2) Second, I talk to historian Michael S. Neiberg about his new book, The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America. It's a close examination of the years between 1914 – when WW1 began in Europe – and 1917, when the US finally chose to enter the conflict. It's a fascinating and largely forgotten period in American history. Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-024/

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.

Why are so many Americans in prison? Right now, there are 2.3 million Americans held in US prisons. That's a HUGE number, relative to the overall US population. The US makes up just 5% of the world's population, but we hold 25% of the world's prison population. Put another way, 1 in 4 people held in prison around the world is an American citizen. And a disproportionate number of these inmates are people of color, mostly African American and Latino. Furthermore, this phenomenon of mass incarceration is a relatively recent one. In 1970 the incarceration rate in the US was roughly 150 people per 100,000. In 2017 it's well over 700 people per 100,000! How did we get here? What happened around 1970 that sent us down this path? To answer these questions, I speak with historian Elizabeth Hinton, author of the book, From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America (Harvard University Press). She'll help us see the key public policy decisions regarding crime and criminal justice -- and the assumptions about race and poverty that shaped them -- that caused the US prison population to explode after 1970. Show page with links, suggested readings, credits, and music at http://inthepastlane.com/episode-022/

How did it come to pass that in the United States that we imprison more people than any nation in the world? That's right - the US comprises 5% of the world's population, but it holds 25% of the world's prison population. That's more people in US prisons than Russia, China, Iran -- you name it. How did it come to pass that we've put 2.3 million of our fellow Americans in prisons? Well, in this first of a two-part exploration of the origins of mass incarceration, I visit the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA. It's a famous prison built in the 1820s that closed in the 1970s and then later was turned into a museum. I take a tour of this fascinating institution with staff guide Lauren Bennett. I took A LOT of photographs so you'll want to check them out at www.InThePastLane.com. And keep in mind, this is part 1 of a deep dive into the history of prisons and criminal justice in American history. In part 2, I speak with historian Elizabeth Hinton about her book, From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America (Harvard University Press). You won't want to miss it!

In this episode of ITPL, we focus on the experiences of African Americans who joined the Union Army during the Civil War and the profound impact they had on the war's final outcome -- and on American society in the decades that followed. There's a lot more to this story than what you may have seen in the award-winning film, "Glory" (1989). So here's the lineup: 1. First, I provide a brief backgrounder on the basic details regarding African Americans and their service in the Union Army and Navy. 2. Second, I sit down with historian Douglas Egerton to talk about his new book, Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America (Basic Books, 2016). 3. Finally, I present a feature on the Ft. Pillow Massacre, perhaps the grimmest incident in the whole Civil War. You can find show notes for this episode and more information about the podcast here. In The Past Lane is a production of Snoring Beagle International, Ltd.

This week at ITPL, I speak with historian Andres Resendez about his new book, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered History of Indian Slavery in America. The enslaving of native peoples in the Americas began the moment Christopher Columbus arrived. And it was no small venture. Some 2.5 – 5 million Indians were enslaved (compared to approximately 12 million Africans). In my interview with Professor Resendez, he explains how and why this system of exploitation started and why it somehow remained hidden, both at the time and later in the historical record. This recovery of the story of Indian slavery has major implications for the understanding of not just the history of American slavery, but for all of American history. Show page with notes, readings, songlist at www.InThePastLane.com