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American History Hit
The Real Hamilton: Founding Father
Who really was Alexander Hamilton, and what do we actually know about his life?
A Founding Father, he fought in the Revolutionary War, founded the American financial system and was the first ever Secretary of the Treasury. But who really was Hamilton? How did his face come to be on our bank notes? Did he love his wife? And why would he go to duel even after his son had died in doing so?
In this first episode of our 4 part series on American History Hit, Don Wildman is talking to William Hogeland to find out. William is the author of 'The Hamilton Scheme: An Epic Tale of Money and Power in the American Founding' and his substack can be found here.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
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291. George H. W. Bush: Ending the Cold War
37:34||Ep. 291President George H. W. Bush presided over the Gulf War, the conclusion of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin Wall during what proved an eventful single term of office from 1989 to 1993. But what was his answer to the burning question of the age, the legacy of which rumbles on down to this very day: 'What next?' Don's guide to this pivotal presidency is Professor Jeremi Suri author of The Impossible Presidency and host of the podcast This Is Democracy.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.290. Frenemies: Russia & the USA, a History
01:03:31||Ep. 290For nearly half a century, the United States and Russia stood as adversaries, entrenched in a tense geopolitical rivalry known as the Cold War. Yet this period represents only a brief chapter in the broader, more complex history of their relationship...In this episode, Professor Vladislav Zubok joins Don to take us through the historic highs and lows of Russo-American relations.Vlad is a professor at LSE and is the author of many books including Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union and The World of the Cold War, 1945-1991.Edited and produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.289. What is Juneteenth?
32:33||Ep. 289June 19, 1865 - Galveston, Texas, a general in the Union army announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. Over time the date has grown from a local to a national holiday, a marker of freedom, of family, and of joy and continued struggle that emerged from this cauldron of the war.Don's guest today is Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University and host of Left of Black.Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.288. The Battle of Bunker Hill
38:05||Ep. 288How did the British win the first major battle of the Revolutionary War? In this episode, Don is joined by Major Jonathan Bratten of the Maine Army National Guard.Together, they discuss the myths of the battle, the missteps of the British and what George Washington thought about it all.Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.287. The Truth About Native American Boarding Schools
40:50||Ep. 287The Federal Government. Tens of thousands of Native American children. Around 50 boarding schools across the United States. This is the story of one of the darkest practices in American History.Our expert guest for this episode is Mary Annette Pember, author of 'Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools'. Together, Mary and Don explore why Native American boarding schools were set up, who ran them, and what life was like for the children who went there.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.286. Frenemies: France & the USA, a History
01:00:23||Ep. 286Since their respective revolutions, the USA and France have been intrinsically linked. But what have the highest points in their relationship been? And what about the lowest?In this episode, Professor Kathryn Statler joins Don to take us through 250 years of cooperation and conflict.Kathryn is a Professor of History at the University of San Diego, and author of books including 'Replacing France: The Origins of American Intervention in Vietnam' and 'Lafayette’s Ghost: How Women and War Kept the Franco-American Alliance Alive'.Edited by Tim Arstall, Produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast285. Ronald Reagan: The Hollywood President
47:38||Ep. 285Think what you like about him, Ronald Reagan was a big hitter and his presidency changed America. This ex-Hollywood actor's eight years in office set the political agenda in ways we live with today.To discuss this most charismatic of Presidents, Don is joined by Jeremi Suri host of the 'This Is Democracy' podcast & author of 'The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office'.Edited by Sophie Gee. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.284. Frenemies: Mexico & the USA, a History
43:04||Ep. 284With almost 2,000 miles of shared border, the United States and Mexico have a long history of cooperation and conflict. From territory and trade, to migration and the war on drugs - in this episode we are going to explore this relationship.Don is joined by Professor Renata Keller from the University of Nevada, Reno. Renata's upcoming book is 'The Fate of the Americas: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Hemispheric Cold War'. She is also the author of 'Nuclear Reactions: Latin America and the Cuban Missile Crisis' and 'Mexico's Cold War: Cuba, the United States, and the Legacy of the Mexican Revolution'.Edited by Tim Arstall, Produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast283. Battle of Shiloh
36:23||Ep. 283The staggering casualties of the Battle of Shiloh shocked both the North and South, marking a turning point in public perception of the Civil War's likely length and brutality. It also cemented a name in the public imagination - Ulysses S. Grant.Don's guest is Dr Timothy B. Smith, author of 'Shiloh: Conquer or Perish'.Editor Ayman Alolayan, Producer Sophie Gee, Senior Producer Charlotte Long.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. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.