76 people died on 19th April 1993 when the compound of a religious sect, the Branch Davidians, went up in flames. It had been under siege by government agencies for 51 days, but no one knows what started the fire.

Don is joined by Jeff Guinn, investigative reporter and author of ‘Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Dividians, and a Legacy of Rage’ to find out why the United States’ Government was interested in this religious compound outside Waco, Texas, and how the situation escalated to this point.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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General William Tecumseh Sherman's famous invasion of the Confederacy in 1864 has become American legend... but what did Union troops do along their route and how consequential was it to the final defeat of the Confederates?

Our guest today is Anne Sarah Rubin, professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is the author of ‘Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory’, and her most recent work is ‘The Perfect Scout: A Soldier’s Memoir of the Great March to the Sea and the Campaign of the Carolinas,’

Produced by Tomos Delargy. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

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What makes a bad President? Who was the worst of all time? In this episode from the archive, Don is joined by Professor Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency and co-host of This Is Democracy.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Signatory of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, James Wilson was a sitting Supreme Court justice when he died. So why is he missing from popular history?

From inspiring the phrase 'we the people' to starting the ball rolling on the Electoral College, Jesse Wegman joins Don to discuss Wilson's influence on the United States.

Jesse is Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and author of 'The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution'.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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We're all taught in school about the Louisiana Purchase, supposedly the greatest bargain in American history. Napoleon's deal with the Americans is widely remembered as a triumph for the United States… but is this history really as simple as we’re often taught?

Our guest today is historian Alexander Mikaberidze, Professor of History at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He is the author of award winning books including ‘The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History’ and, most recently, ‘The Louisiana Purchase: The Grand Bargain and the Making of America’.

Edited by Tim Arstall. 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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When and where did the Civil War end? Was it really over when Lee surrendered at Appomattox?

Don is joined for this episode by Caroline E. Janney, Professor at the University of Virginia and author of 'Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox'.

Listen to hear why Lee's and Grant's armies ended up at Appomattox Court House, what the terms of surrender were, and when the war actually ended.

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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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Over the course of this series, we've discussed the extraordinary promise of Reconstruction, as well as the relentless attacks these efforts came under. In this final episode, we're stepping back from the events themselves to ask the biggest question of all: why did Reconstruction fail?

For today's episode, we welcome 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 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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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On March 5 1911, 146 people died in a fire that lasted just 18 minutes. This event was to change the history of New York, and has an ongoing impact in each of our workplaces.

Don is joined for this episode by David Conrad-Pérez to find out what made the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire so deadly, who is to credit for the changes made after it, and whether anyone ever faced justice for it.

David is the author of ‘Fire in the Heart of the City: The Triangle Shirtwaist Tragedy and the Origins of Modern Charity’.

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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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Reconstruction promised freedom and political equality, but how quickly did that promise begin to unravel? Why did white Southern resistance become so violent, and why did Northern support for Reconstruction begin to fade? In this episode, we explore the rise of Jim Crow, the retreat of federal protection, and the political choices that transformed the South for generations.

Our returning guest today is Bradley Rebeiro, Associate Professor of Law at BYU Law School. He is the author of ‘Until the Last Yoke is Broke: The Constitutional Vision of Frederick Douglass’, which is out on September 29th of this year.

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.

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In March 1862, wooden warships had dominated global warfare for centuries. In less than 48 hours off the coast of Virginia, two experimental metal monsters made every Navy on Earth obsolete overnight.

Don Wildman is joined by Dr Howard Fuller reader in war studies at University of Wolverhampton, UK. His first book was Clad in Iron: The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power.

Edited by Tim Artstall. Produced by Freddy Chick and Tomos Delargy.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.