American History Hit

On February 18th, 1965, the University of Cambridge hosted one of the most legendary debates in history. Author James Baldwin and conservative intellectual William F. Buckley Jr took to the floor to discuss whether the American Dream was achievable only at the expense of black Americans.

To find out more about this debate, often overshadowed by other significant civil rights events of the same era, Don speaks to Nicholas Buccola. Nick is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and author of ‘The Fire is Upon Us’.

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

Audio from the debate republished with the permission of The Cambridge Union (https://www.cus.org).

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On 23 June 1972, a man boarded American Airlines Flight 119 in St Louis. He sat most of the way to Tulsa before donning a wig and a pair of gloves in the restroom, taking out a gun and handing a member of the cabin crew a note.

'Don't panic. This is a ransom hijacking.'

To find out more about this man, what he hoped to gain from his crimes, and how he and others were inspired by D.B. Cooper, Don speaks to John Wigger. John is Professor of History at the University of Missouri and author of ‘The Hijacking of American Flight 119: How D.B. Cooper Inspired a Skyjacking Craze and the FBI's Battle to Stop It’.

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

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ 

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The city of Tulsa is perhaps best known in history books for the events of 1921. In 36 hours, hundreds of residents of the Greenwood district were murdered and more than 30 blocks of housing and businesses were razed to the ground.

In this episode, Don is with Victor Luckerson to go beyond the story of that one day in Tulsa. Why was the Greenwood district known as Black Wall Street? Why was it targeted that day? How did its residents raise themselves up and carry on to become commercially stronger in the aftermath? And what is the legacy of the massacre in Tulsa?

Victor is a journalist and author based in Tulsa. His book on this subject is 'Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street' and his substack is https://runitback.substack.com

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ 

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From 1857 to 1861, James Buchanan held the office of President of the United States. It was a pivotal moment in the history of America, a bitterly divided nation that would very soon descend to its darkest depths during the Civil War.

So what exactly was Buchanan's role in steering his country towards this fate? Could he have done more? Why is Kansas so intrinsic to this story? And what else was unusual about his presidency?

Don speaks to Dr Ian Iverson, Historian and Editor at the John Dickinson Writings Project and author of 'Holding the Political Center in Illinois: Conservatism and Union on the Brink of Civil War', published this year by Kent State University Press.

Produced by Freddy Chick and Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ 

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From financial to conspiratorial to sexual, the words 'Clinton' and 'scandal' are regularly found in each others' vicinities. But why?

Don is talking to Professor Peter Ling today to take us back to before Bill Clinton became president, before Monica Lewinsky became a household name, to find out about the scandals that have lurked in the Clintons' shadows.

Peter, from the University of Nottingham, is working on a study of presidential scandals from Watergate to Trump.

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

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Where did the idea for Facebook come from? How has the site evolved? And how has it changed the world? In this episode, 20 years after the creation of the social media site, Don speaks to Steven Levy, WIRED’s editor at large.

Steven had access to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg over three years for his book 'Facebook: The Inside Story'. His work chronicling the digital revolution can be found at WIRED.com.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY - sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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The war between the Union and the Confederacy is a major turning point in the history of the United States. But why did it happen?

From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith explore how these intertwined issues triggered this devastating war.

Adam is a professor at the University of Oxford and Director of their Rothermere American Institute. He is also the host of podcast 'The Last Best Hope?' and author of 'The Stormy Present: Conservatism and the Problem of Slavery in Northern Politics, 1846-1865'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ 

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We're creeping closer and closer to the Civil War in our chronology of presidents, and this episode's focus did little to delay the division of the United States.

The 14th President, Franklin Pierce, took office in March 1853. To hear about his attempts at both domestic and foreign policy, as well as the personal tragedies that impacted his ability to govern, Don spoke to Brian Neumann.

Brian C Neumann is the author of 'Bloody Flag of Anarchy: Unionism in South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis' and managing director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia.

Produced by Freddy Chick and Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/

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What were the Apache Wars? How did they begin? And how did the end of the Mexican-American War impact the indigenous people of that region?

In the 19th century, U.S. forces and Apache groups in areas that are now parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas fought a series of conflicts over territory, power and resources.

In this episode, historian Doug Hocking gives us insight into the various turning points in the conflicts, notably the Bascom Affair, the role of figures like Cochise and Geronimo, and the degrading relationship between the U.S. forces and Apache tribes after the Mexican-American War.

Doug is a historian of the American South West and author of a number of books including 'Black Legend: George Bascom, Cochise, and the Start of the Apache Wars'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tomos Delargy. 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.

Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/

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How did the 100th bomber group get a reputation for being unlucky? Who were they? And what was their role in the Second World War?

In this episode, Don has the pleasure of speaking to John Orloff. John has written the TV adaptation of Donald L. Miller's 'Masters of the Air', following the men of the 'Bloody Hundredth' 25,000 feet in the air as they conduct bombing raids despite freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen and opposition fire.

John previously worked on 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific' from the same executive producers.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. 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.

Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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