American History Hit

From the 1880s to the 1920s the United States experienced a huge wave of immigration. People fleeing poverty and political instability in Europe, plus a huge demand for labour in the US, meant record numbers of people came to America. Most arrived by ship and were processed on Ellis Island, in New York harbour - an immigration station opened in 1892 when the facility on Manhattan couldn't deal with the numbers coming in. Vincent Cannato tells Don what happened on Ellis Island and the story of the people who, in passing through it, became Americans. From which 40 percent of the US population today are descendants.Produced and mixed by Benjie Guy. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 202333min

Dr Martin Luther King Jr was one of the figureheads of the civil rights movement in America. On 28th August 1963, he made one of the greatest English language speeches of all time, I Have A Dream. A quarter of million people, who had gathered in the National Mall after the Great March on Washington, in support of African American civil and economic rights, heard his dream of racial equality. Tragically gunned down at only 39 years old, the fight for equality that he began, continues today. On today's episode, Charles Woods III tells Dan Snow about Martin Luther King Jr. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas, Dougal Patmore and Benjie Guy. Produced by Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Jan 202334min

One of the most famous writers ever to have lived, Charles Dickens travelled twice to the US, in 1842 and 1867. This made him one of the first transatlantic celebrities. Don goes to Dickens' house in London to see some items he took with him. He also speaks to Dickens' great great great granddaughter, Lucinda Hawksley, to hear what Dickens got up to in America and what he made of the place. Produced and mixed by Benjie Guy. Assistant Producer: Sophie Gee. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Jan 202339min

Join Don as he visits Benjamin Franklin's home of nearly 16 years: 36 Craven Street, London. Now a museum, its director Marcia Balisciano explains what brought the famous polymath to London, how he lived and the various things the famed scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor and Founding Father of the United States got up to while he was there - including his role in the beginnings of the American Revolution.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Jan 202335min

Gone with the Wind, released in 1939, is the highest-grossing film of all time. Based on Margaret Mitchell's novel published a few years earlier, it is a story of romance set against the backdrop of the civil war and reconstruction era. But, as Sarah Churchwell tells Don, it whitewashes the horrors of slavery, while condemning those who abolished it. And it is not alone. This is something that has happened in popular culture and the media since the civil war and continues today.Produced by Benjie Guy. Assistant producer Sophie Gee. Mixed by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Jan 202329min

It’s December 1912 and we’re joining in with the festivities at Highclere Castle, in London England. The prime minister is Herbert H. Asquith and King George V is on the throne. Across the Atlantic, America has left the Gilded Age behind and elected Woodrow Wilson as president.Downton Abbey, the hugely popular television series, was filmed at Highclere Castle. The show is of course fiction, but it’s set in a home where the history is real, and no doubt the food was delicious…that is, if you like meat pies and blood pudding. Today, for a special festive episode, we’re looking at history through the lens of food served at Downton Abbey - and what it can tell us about how people lived at that time.How did British early 20th century eating influence dining in America? And did it go both ways, how were the Brits influenced by what we were cooking here in the US? Don is joined by food historian Annie Gray to tell us more.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Anisha Deva. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Des 202227min

Modern humans thrived in the Americas for thousands of years before the first European colonists arrived, but how and when did they get there?What's more, did their arrival spell disaster for indigenous megafauna such as giant ground sloths and wooly mammoths, or was there another culprit behind the mass extinctions across North, Central & South America?This is an episode is from our sister podcast, The Ancients. Host Tristan is joined by Professor David Meltzer, an archeologist from Southern Methodist University, to explore the nature of human migration into the Americas and how scientific developments now allow us to discover more about those very first Americans.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Des 20221h 4min

As the British and French colonies in North America expanded in the middle of the 18th century, they inevitably clashed. Fighting between the two sides and their respective Native American allies began in Ohio Country (now western Pennsylvania) in 1754. Dan Snow tells Don how fighting began in 1754 in Ohio country (now western Pennsylvania) and spread, over almost a decade, across disputed territory in the Great Lakes region and into New France (modern-day Canada). As a result of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, France's presence in North America was all but ended. They were left only with the small islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, off Newfoundland.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long. For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Des 202222min