American History Too!

By Recorded History Podcast NetworkSociety & Culture History

American History Too! episodes

May 29, 2018 Episode 49 - Sisters Doin' It For Themselves: Progressives, Women, and the City
On Episode 49 of American History Too! we're joined by the University of Manchester's Katie Myerscough (@katiemyerscough) to discuss her research into the Progressive Era and the role women played in shaping American cities at the turn of the 20th century. Think that this era saw women focus exclusively on Suffrage? Well, think again.
We get stuck into whether or not there was actually a progressive movement, what it was, and how it succeeded. Katie then guides us through how women sought to shape their surroundings, all the while pretending not be political, so as not to draw the attention of male political figures.
Finally, with people - and women especially - turning to personal activism in the contemporary America, we discuss whether or not we are on the cusp of a new Progressive Era in the United States.
Thanks again for listening and we'll be back next month to discuss American Exceptionalism.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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52 min
April 30, 2018 Episode 48 - Back to the Future: A New Cold War?
On Episode 48, our resident Cold War expert, Malcolm, is in the hotseat to discuss whether we are in the midst of a new Cold War (drawing upon his recent contribution to this BBC article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43546340).
Before we tackle the present day, we cover the old Cold War - what was it? when did it peak? who won? And what amount of credit does Ronald Reagan deserve for ending the long conflict?
We then turn our attention to the present day to consider the rise of Russia in the modern world and the role of Vladimir Putin.
Finally, Malcolm supplies his top three film and television recommendations for those wanting to understand the Cold War and its implications.
Thanks again for listening and we'll be back with a new guest next month.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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59 min
March 30, 2018 Episode 47 - Terminated: Native Americans and the Federal Government, 1860-2018
Picking up from last month's episode on Native Americans and slavery, this month's episode with Reeta Humalajoki (University of Turku) explores the relationship between the American government from the civil war to the present day.
We explore the various policies from assimilation to termination that characterised this fractious relationship, all the way up to the recent policies pursued by the Obama and Trump White Houses.
How much say did have Native Americans had in shaping their fate? And how was this all affected by the Civil Rights era? And why is Richard Nixon one of the most laudable presidents in relation to Native American affairs?
Reetta guides us through these issues and much more in this tour de force podcast!
Cheers for listening,
Mark and Malcolm

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58 min
February 28, 2018 Episode 46 - A More Benevolent Slaveholder? Native Americans and the Peculiar Institution
On Episode 46, we're joined by the University of Hull's Edd Mair, who discusses his research on Native Americans as slaveholders during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the Seminole tribe of Florida.
We have a wide-ranging discussion of the history of Native American slavery - both as enslaved people and as slaveholders themselves.
Why did the enslave Africans? Was it out of necessity or more nefarious reasons? As we find out, some Native Americans even held similar racial beliefs to those that would become common among white people during Social Darwinism's heyday.
Mostly, we get at the question of whether or not Native American were more benevolent slaveholders in comparison with their white counterparts - a common myth that was accepted in American society.
We'll be back next month with a follow-up episode on Native Americans when we discuss how they fared during the 20th century.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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52 min
January 31, 2018 Episode 45 - 1968: 50 Years On
On Episode 45, we are joined by UCL's Nick Witham (@ndwitham) to examine the turbulent events of 1968 in the United States. 50 years on, what are the legacies of the 365 days of tumult?
What happened? What impact did it have on various groups in society? And how important were the 'Sixties' more broadly? We guide you through the assassinations, cultural upheavals, Vietnam protest, and - of course - the music of 1968.
Thanks again for listening. We'll be back next month to examine Native Americans and slavery.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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1 hr 3 min
December 19, 2017 Episode 44 - Excluded and Interned: The Asian-American Experience from the Yellow Peril to ‘Model Minority’
On Episode 44 of American History Too! we're joined by TWO very special guests - the University of Exeter's Rachel Pistol (@PistolRachel) and the University of Edinburgh's Tim Cooper (@tscooper11) - to discuss how Asian-Americans have fared in American society since the late nineteenth century to the present day.
Discover more about the so-called 'Yellow Peril', Japanese Internment during World War II, and why these issues are still relevant to modern day America.
Look out for a NEW kind of AHTOO podcast landing in your feeds in January.
Until then, thanks again for listening.
Mark and Malcolm

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56 min
November 30, 2017 Episode 43 - South of the Border: US-Latin America Relations from Monroe to Mann
On Episode 43 of American History Too! we delve into the United States' topsy-turvy relationship with its southern neighbours. The US has had a fascinating and complex relationship with its American cousins and joined by the University of Manchester's Tom Tunstall Allcock (@TunstallAllcock) we trace its highs and lows from the Monroe Doctrine in the 1800s all the way to the 1960s and the LBJ administration's 'Man in Latin America', Thomas Mann.
We examine JFK's 'Alliance for Progress' and whether LBJ really deserves the blame for its collapse or not, and how the 1965 intervention in the Dominican Republic fits into the wider story of Johnson's presidency. Tom also treats us to the story of LBJ, a sheepdog, a monkey, and the West German Chancellor - stay tuned until the end for that one!
We'll be back in December with a special episode on Japanese-Americans.
Thanks again for listening.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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55 min
October 25, 2017 Episode 42 - The Pioneers: Black Candidates Before Obama
On this month's episode we're joined by Lancaster University's politics lecturer Richard Johnson (@richardmarcj) to discuss five pioneering black politicians who ran for election in the decades before Barack Obama's ascension to the White House in 2008: Ed Brooke, Tom Bradley, Douglas Wilder, Harvey Gantt, and Carol Moseley Braun.
The podcast begins with a clip of Richard's interview with Braun in which she discusses her views on race and politics.
Throughout the discussion Richard reflects on whether Obama was a political unicorn with his appeal to white and black audiences; how these five pioneers navigated the choppy waters of racial politics and what their candidacies tell us about the country in wich they were running; and finally, whether their candidacies - and, in some cases, spells in office - were able to inspire change in American society.
Thanks again for listening, we'll be back next month, discussing barbeque diplomacy and Vietnam (all will be explained).
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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1 hr 1 min
September 28, 2017 Episode 41 - Anti-Slavery Dynamite: Black Abolitionists in Britain
(Our guest this month, Hannah Rose Murray, @Hannah_RoseM , frederickdouglassinbritain.com)
One spring evening in 1838, formerly enslaved African American Moses Roper spoke to a crowded audience in Leicester, and during one section of his speech, declared:
"Many will say “This is the slaves’ side of the question. The slave-holders would tell a different story.” You have heard the slave-holders’ story 250 years ago. Now, I think it is time for the slaves to speak."
In an extraordinary chapter of the antislavery movement, hundreds of black activists – many of whom were formerly enslaved – echoed Roper’s bold decision to tell the truth about slavery. Many of these individuals sought temporary reprieve from American soil, others permanent; some raised money to free themselves or enslaved family members; others sought work with varying success. Black men such as Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Josiah Henson, and women such as Sarah Parker Remond lectured in large cities and tiny fishing villages, wrote narratives, stayed with influential reformers and ensured millions of words were written about them in the newspapers. The Victorian press is littered with coverage of their speeches, from the John O’Groat Journal to the Royal Cornwall Gazette, alongside with accounts of audiences cramming into tiny churches or town halls to cure an insatiable appetite about American slavery.
Even by the end of the nineteenth century this appetite had not abated. Activists such as Ida B. Wells built on the precedent set by Moses Roper and declared to a Leeds audience in 1894 that “it was her mission to tell the black people’s side of the story.” In a powerful and succinct summation, Wells echoed the reason why African Americans travelled to Britain: to champion their testimony against slavery and its legacies, and challenge white supremacy.

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52 min
August 28, 2017 Episode 40 - Age of Charisma: America’s Magnetic Losers, 1870-1940
For Episode 40 of American History Too! we've fired up the Translatlantic cables to chat to Dixie State University's Jeremy Young (@jeremycyoung) about his work on the 'Age of Charisma' between 1870 and 1940.
Jeremy guides through what it meant to be a charismatic leader and, indeed, a charismatic follower during this era.
Why were these leaders both appealing and yet simulatanously destined to lose in presidential elections? Why did they die out from 1940 onwards? And who was the first ever radio star in the United States? (hint: it's not who you think it is!)
We touch on all these issues and much more.
Thanks again for listening and we'll be back next month.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm

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44 min