American History Hit

On May 4 1970, four students were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard during a protest. What were they protesting? Why were the National Guard brought in? And what chain of events led them to shoot?Don is joined by historian Brian VanDeMark, formerly of the United States Naval Academy, whose latest book is Kent State: An American Tragedy.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.

A two-hundred-year-old presidential speech has shaped how the United States sees its role in the world ever since. At the time, it sounded like a modest declaration from a young and uncertain nation. What would come to be known as the Monroe Doctrine would grow into something far more powerful... and far more controversial.Christopher Nichols, Professor of History at Ohio State University, joins us for this episode. Chris is the Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies and his works include ‘Rethinking American Grand Strategy’ and ‘Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of the Global Age’. He has previously appeared on Ep. 261 ‘President Eisenhower: War on Soviets and Segregation’Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

The Great Depression was, as Professor John Moser puts it, the result of a perfect storm. So what brought it on? What was it like to live through it? And could it have been prevented in any way?In this second episode of our series on America's Darkest Hours, we are examining the disastrous fall out of the great depression with John Moser. John is a Professor at Ashland University and author of 'Global Great Depression and the Coming of World War II'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.

The Civil War along the Mississippi was reaching a critical moment by the Summer of 1862. The Union had advanced and planted its flag in Louisiana’s state capital without firing a shot. To many observers, Confederate grip seemed to be slipping away for good. But before that was for certain, one desperate gamble remained...Today, we’re telling the story of the lesser known Battle of Baton Rouge: why it happened, how it unfolded, and the accounts of those who witnessed it. On today's show, Don welcomes Prof. Aaron Sheehan-Dean of Louisiana State University back onto the show. His works include ‘Why Confederates Fought: Family and a Nation in Civil War Virginia’ and most recently ‘Fighting with the Past: How Seventeenth Century History Shaped the American Civil War’.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

There is no question that the Civil War is one of the darkest chapters in American history. With roughly 2.5 percent of the population lost, a higher number of Americans than in both World Wars combined.In portraying the war in history, however, we often focus on the tragic division of loyalties in the the United States - the predicament of brother fighting brother.To discuss this idea - where it came from, how true it is and how it has been used by various parties - Don is joined once more by Aaron Sheehan-Dean. Aaron is the Fred C. Frey Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University, and author of ‘Reckoning With Rebellion: War and Sovereignty in the Nineteenth Century’.This is the first in a series on America's Darkest Hours. In the coming weeks we will explore the Great Depression, the Kent State Shootings and the origins of slavery.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.

How did Hawaiʻi - once an independent, internationally recognised kingdom - become America's 50th state? It's a tale of economic pressure, political manoeuvring, and ruthless military might. We’ll explore how a sovereign nation was overthrown, how annexation followed without consent, and why this history still matters today.Our guest today is Noah Dolim, Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Noah primarily focuses on the history of nineteenth-century Hawai’i.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

Who was the worst American army general of all time? We round off our month of military history by looking at the leaders who standout for all the wrong reasons. Don's guest is the wonderful Cecily Zander author of the upcoming 'Abraham Lincoln and the American West', and 'The Army Under Fire: Antimilitarism in the Civil War Era'. 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.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution is just forty-five words long, but its impact has drastically shaped American life. For much of American history, the First Amendment was narrow, unevenly applied and frequently ignored, especially for those challenging the status quo. The First Amendment tells a larger story about who gets to speak, who gets to be heard, and how a nation decides where freedom ends and danger begins.Our guest this week is Michael Hattem, historian of the American Revolution whose newest work titled The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History will be published in the fall of 2026.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

Eisenhower, Washington, Greene, Grant. There have been thousands of Generals in the United States' Armed Forces. Picking out the best of the crop would be impossible, right?In this episode, Don is joined once again by Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard to sift through some of the stand out figures in our military history. The impossible questions are only just getting started.Edited by Richard Power, 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.