History Shorts27 Jul 2025

The Beast of New Orleans

In 1862, as Union troops occupied the Confederate stronghold of New Orleans, a new kind of warfare began, not one of bullets and bayonets, but of politics, psychology, and raw power. At the center stood Major General Benjamin Butler, a man whose mere name inspired terror and loathing across the South and even drew embarrassment among Northern allies.

Branded the "Beast," the "Butcher of New Orleans," and "Spoons Butler," his brief but incendiary tenure in New Orleans became one of the most controversial chapters of the Civil War. From his infamous General Order No. 28, which enraged women and diplomats alike, to his military trials, press censorship, executions, and alleged looting of the city's wealth, Butler ruled with a combination of iron-fisted control and political theater.

But was he a tyrant or a tactician? Did he save New Orleans from chaos, or humiliate it into submission?

In this episode, we unpack the many faces of Benjamin Butler: reformer and opportunist, conqueror and governor, villain and visionary. His story is a study in how war is fought not just with weapons, but with symbols, policies, and power plays.

DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

SPONSORED BY THE PODCAST REPUBLIC: https://www.podcastrepublic.net/

LEARN MORE AT: www.historyshortspodcast.com

SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast

ADVERTISE: https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/advertise

SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast

LEARN MORE: https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(879)

Napoleon & the Invention of Canned Food

In this episode of History Shorts, we explore the remarkable story of Nicolas Appert, the Paris confectioner who revolutionized the way the world eats. Hoping to win a prize offered by the French gove...

25 Jul 0s

Reviving Civic Education in American Classrooms, w/ Jack Miller Center President, Hans Zeiger

In this episode, I sit down with Hans Zeiger, President of the Jack Miller Center and former Washington State legislator. Hans shares how a childhood love of presidential biographies and interviewing ...

24 Jul 0s

The Forgotten WWI Choctaw Code Talkers

Everyone knows the story of the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II. Far fewer know that the first Native American code talkers helped change the course of a war more than two decades earlier. In this...

23 Jul 0s

Abraham Lincoln's Lifelong Battle with Depression

In 1841, a thirty-one-year-old lawyer from Illinois wrote a heartbreaking letter to his law partner: "I am now the most miserable man living." That lawyer was Abraham Lincoln. Long before he became on...

22 Jul 0s

When the Coffeehouse Became the Most Dangerous Room in Europe

In 1675, King Charles II of England declared war on an unlikely enemy: the coffeehouse. These weren't taverns or gambling halls—they were places where ordinary people gathered to read newspapers, exch...

21 Jul 0s

THE HISTORIANS #2 - How "Wild" was the Wild West? I Paul Andrew Hutton & Mark Lee Gardner

Welcome back to THE HISTORIANS — the series here on History Shorts where I sit down with two leading historians for an unscripted conversation about the questions that have shaped how we understand ou...

20 Jul 36min

Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office

When the American Civil War ended, the fighting was over—but for thousands of families, the agony had only just begun. Sons, husbands, and brothers had vanished without a trace, leaving loved ones des...

19 Jul 13min

When Teachers Waged War Against Calculators

In the 1970s, a tiny electronic device sparked one of the most unexpected battles in education. It wasn't over politics, funding, or curriculum. It was over whether students should be allowed to use c...

18 Jul 15min