068 Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln grew up as the son of a poor farmer. Yet, he became the 16th President of the United States. How did the son of a poor farmer achieve election to the presidency? Today, we investigat...
9 Feb 201649min
067 An Environmental History of Early California & Hawaii
Aside from nice weather, what do California and Hawaii have in common? Spanish longhorn cattle. Today, we explore how Spanish longhorn cattle influenced the early American and environmental historie...
2 Feb 201649min
066 How Historians Find Their Research Topics (Doing History)
How did average, poor, and enslaved men and women live their day-to-day lives in the early United States? Today, we explore the answers to that question with Simon P. Newman, a Professor of History a...
26 Jan 201645min
Bonus: Why Historians Study History (Doing History)
History is about people, but what do we know about the people behind history’s scenes? Who are the people who tell us what we know about our past? How do they come to know what they know? Today, we...
22 Jan 201627min
065 Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Network
Today, we explore espionage during the American Revolution and the origins and operations of the Culper Spy Ring with Alexander Rose, author of Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Rin...
19 Jan 201642min
064 Native American Slavery in New France
Most early Americans practiced chattel slavery: the practice of treating slaves as property that people could buy, sell, trade, and use as they would draught animals or real estate. But, did you know...
12 Jan 201658min
063 Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War
The American Civil War claimed more than 620,000 American lives. Did you know that it also cost American forests, landscapes, cities, and institutions? Today, we explore the different types of ruina...
5 Jan 201657min
062 The Bill of Rights
Did you know that when James Madison originally proposed the Bill of Rights, it consisted of 36 amendments and that the House of Representatives did not want to consider or debate Madison’s proposed a...
29 Dec 201549min
