American History Hit

The words of an American president have often carried the power to shape not only public opinion, but the course of the nation itself. In this episode, we explore three landmark presidential speeches, examining the historical moments that inspired them, the ideas they advanced, and the lasting imprint they have left on American political culture.Our guest today is Professor Jeremi Suri, historian and Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. His works include ‘Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy’ and 'The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office.'Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

We're heading west again, this time looking for Billy the Kid. Who was he? What crimes did he really commit? Is there any chance he survived that final ambush?Don is joined by author George R. Matthews, who went back to the sources for his book 'Billy the Kid: The Life Behind the Legend'.Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

On the 250th anniversary of the United States, Revisionist History, bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood, investigates the story of what was, at the time, the biggest secession movement in the U.S. since the Civil War. The Staten Island Problem reconstructs the battle for New York City amidst the turbulent early 1990s — the rise of Rudy Giuliani, the peak of the homicide rate, the Wu-Tang Clan, young Donald Trump, and the first Black mayor of New York — all through the prism of the city’s Forgotten Borough. Staten Island’s secession movement is an early example of the politics of resentment that dominates America today and asks: what do you do when a democracy looks like it’s falling apart? Here’s episode 1. David Dinkins, the first Black mayor of New York City, faces off with the borough president of Staten Island, and tries to hold his city together. Find more episodes of Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem wherever you get podcasts.

By July 1863, the American Civil War had reached a critical turning point. As Robert E. Lee led his army into the North, the two sides collided at Gettysburg in the deadliest battle of the war... How did three days of fighting at Gettysburg change the course of the Civil War? And how has the battle been remembered in the American consciousness since?Our guest today is award winning author Garry Adelman. He’s the Chief Historian at the American Battlefield Trust and has been a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg for thirty-one years.Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Tom Delargy. Senior producer is Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast

At the start of the 20th century after victory in the Spanish-American War, the US found itself as a colonial power. How did it decide NOT to follow down the same road as the imperial powers of Europe afterwards? Today Professor Christopher Nichols of the Ohio State University talks to Don Wildman about how the US defined a new world order at the start of the 20th century.Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Before boarding the USCGC Cutter Eagle for Sail4th 250's tall ship parade, Don is finding out more about this iconic ship.How did a Nazi ship end up in American hands? Find out in this episode with Will Sofrin, a master shipwright, former professional sailor, licensed captain and the author of 'USCG Cutter Eagle: The Legacy of the Coast Guard's Flagship'.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

In 1831, it looked like enslavement in America would continue forever. 34 years later, it was permanently abolished under the 13th Amendment.How did that happen? And who made it so?We've been asking some of our favourite historians for their most important moment in these 250 years of the United States' History.In this episode, Kellie Carter Jackson returns to talk Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and all the other amazing people and groups who refused to accept enslavement.Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise Kellen ’68 Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. She is author of several books, including ‘Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence' and 'We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance'.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Lewis and Clark's expedition is a foundational story of America and Sacagawea was more central to it than is remembered. We hear this incredible tale through Sacagawea's eyes with our guest Dr Margaret Huettl, from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Hannah Feodorov and Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Was the Civil War a 'Second American Revolution', or was it a continued evolution of the nation set out by the Founding Fathers? How did Lincoln see it?We've asked some of our favourite historians for their most important moment in these 250 years of the United States' History.In this episode, Aaron Sheehan-Dean returns to discuss how winning the Civil War fits into the growth of American identity.Aaron is the Fred C. Freyer Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University. He is author of several books, including ‘Reckoning With Rebellion: War and Sovereignty in the Nineteenth Century’.Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.