American History Hit

'It's one of those threads you pull on and immediately you're connected to the whole fabric of American history.'The American Buffalo, Bison Bison, is an icon of American identity. It is also the subject of a new two part documentary from legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his team.In this episode, Don and Ken explore the relationship between the United States and the buffalo, and how this relationship spills into 10,000 years of social, economic and ecological history.Watch 'The American Buffalo', a two part series directed and executive produced by Ken Burns, written by Dayton Duncan, and produced by Julie Dunfey and Ken Burns, on PBS on October 16 and 17, 2023.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

Serving from 1817 to 1825, James Monroe's presidency was only the fifth presidency of the United States. Monroe's time in power saw the development of republicanism and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 signalled the growing cracks between north and south.But this was also the end of an era. Monroe was the final President of the United States to have been a Founding Father.He was also the last of the three presidents to have died on July 4th. To find out why this was a strangely fitting end to Monroe's life, Don spoke to Dr. Brook Poston, Associate Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, author of 'James Monroe: A Republican Champion' and co-author of 'Parallel Lives: Romans and the American Founders'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

Not one of the US forces led by General George Custer into the attack on 25 June 1876 survived. But the story of 'Custer's Last Stand' as it was known for a long time, has long been told by the settlers, rather than the indigenous people who survived.In this episode, Don talks to Lindsay Stallones Marshall, Assistant Professor of History at Illinois State University. Together, they talk through the battle and the opposing narratives and names of it.She is the author of 'Teaching Us to Forget: The Wars of Westward Expansion, U.S. History Education, & Public Memory, 1870 - 1995'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

What is a bat bomb? Why would you cover a fox in radioactive paint? And who are the masterminds behind the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA?In this episode, Don is joined by John Lisle to discuss the creations of the Research and Development branch at the Office of Strategic Services.John is the author of 'The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare' and a lecturer at the University of Texas, specialising in the history of science.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

His life is one of firsts for the United States. Having contributed to the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in 1812 James Madison became the first President to make a declaration of war.In the fourth episode of our presidential series, we're taking a closer look at Madison's two terms. How did his policies differ from those of his predecessors? How much was his diplomacy influenced by his former role as Jefferson's Secretary of State? Why might this period of Madison's life be seen as his least impressive?Don is talking to Kevin R. Gutzman of Western Connecticut State University, author of 'James Madison and the Making of America' and 'The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here

New York was a city of 8 million people in 2001. A city that would be changed forever by the events of 9/11.In this episode, we will not recount the day itself. Instead, we're looking at the after effects of the attack on New York city. What dangers remained after the buildings collapsed? How did it alter the communities of Manhattan? And how did the city decide how to fill the spaces left behind?Don speaks to Susan Opotow and Zachary Baron Shemtob, authors of 'New York after 9/11' about the impact of toxic gases, conflicting planning and increased surveillance on this iconic city.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

In 1848, after almost two years of fighting, the US annexation of former Mexican territory was signed into a treaty.Mexico lost a third of its territory, land which would later yield metals and stretch the United States from coast to coast.To find out how the war broke out, and how it ended in the deal that it did, Don spoke to Peter Guardino from Indiana University. Peter's third book, The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War, is a social and cultural history of this 1846-48 war.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.

The new Oppenheimer movie has everyone asking questions about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 - were two bombs necessary? Would the war have ended without it? Was there an ulterior motive? Would the Americans have dropped a third if they had it?To answer some of the questions and more, Professor Paul Poast joined our sister podcast, Dan Snow's History Hit. Paul, from the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, explains how the decision to drop the bombs was really made, what would have happened if they hadn't and reveals that the Manhattan Project was actually more about impressing Stalin than destroying Japan.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here.