When Americans Became ‘Splendid Liberators’

When Americans Became ‘Splendid Liberators’

America spent most of the 19th century at war with itself. It conquered its western expanse then collapsed into civil war. Once the North beat the South, partisan politics consumed the country for a generation. A string of assassinations, progressive firebrands, and civil service reforms burned people out on domestic politics and a bored and febrile nation began to search for meaning beyond its borders. It noticed the Spanish Empire was awfully close.


In Splendid Liberators, award winning journalist Joe Jackson chronicles the beginning of the American myth of the “good war.” He’s on the show today to talk to us about Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and a general who lay in state at the Alamo.


  • Recurring patterns in American history
  • Roscoe Conkling jumpscare
  • Remnants of the Spanish-American War in South Carolina
  • What did liberty mean in the 19th century?
  • Clara Barton, Leonard Wood and the dual American personality
  • The first modern concentration camps
  • The Battleship of Maine
  • When Congress used to fight, physically
  • Drones won’t win a war
  • The US in the Philippines
  • ‘The water cure’
  • American historians facing reality in the Philippines
  • Teddy, finally
  • Laying in state at the Alamo


Buy Splendid Liberators


A Defense of General Funston

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(496)

The War On Terror on Drugs

The War On Terror on Drugs

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comOn September 2, 2025 the United States escalated its decades long War on Drugs with a tactic borrowed from the War on Terror. It use...

19 Sep 20251h 2min

Traveling America’s ‘Murderland’

Traveling America’s ‘Murderland’

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe Pacific Northwest is known for its startling natural beauty, precocious rainfall, and propensity to birth serial killers. Why? C...

12 Sep 20251h 1min

After Xi

After Xi

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comAll things move towards their end, even seemingly omnipotent political leaders, and authoritarian systems are shaped by the question...

5 Sep 202557min

Does the U.S. Need an Independent Cyber Force?

Does the U.S. Need an Independent Cyber Force?

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comIf the internet is a battlefield, does that mean the United States needs a new military force to dominate it?On this episode of Angr...

29 Aug 20251h 4min

Hunting Nazis Online With Canadian Journalists

Hunting Nazis Online With Canadian Journalists

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comJournalists and Nazis have changed a lot in the years since the end of World War II; journalists are on the outs while Nazis are hav...

15 Aug 202552min

How Many Nukes Does It Take to Win a War? (Trick Question)

How Many Nukes Does It Take to Win a War? (Trick Question)

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe world is living with a Cold War hangover. The logic of deterrence, which dominates the minds of the people who plan nuclear wars...

8 Aug 20251h 5min

A History of the Iranian Nuclear Program

A History of the Iranian Nuclear Program

Sometimes it’s good to back up and ask the basic questions: How do we know Iran was even developing nuclear weapons?On this episode of the show, the Arms Control Wonk Jeffrey Lewis walks us through th...

23 Jul 20251h 1min

Talking With the Military Ethics Professor Who Resigned in Protest

Talking With the Military Ethics Professor Who Resigned in Protest

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comPauline Shanks Kaurin PhD. was, until recently, the Stockdale Chair for Professional Military Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. ...

16 Jul 202559min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
i-retten
stopp-verden
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
nokon-ma-ga
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik