The Fall of Constantinople, also known  as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of  the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453  as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun on 6  April. The city's collapse marked the end of the Middle Ages. The  attacking Ottoman Army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's  defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II, while the  Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. After  conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman  capital, replacing Adrianople. The conquest of Constantinople and the  fall of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the Late Middle Ages,  marking the effective end of the last remains of the Roman Empire, a  state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1500 years.  Among many modern historians, the Fall of Constantinople is considered  the end of the medieval period.

The fall was significant on the history of Europe, from the attitude, to the culture of the different nation states. 

Now, how would the world change if the Ottomans were repelled and Constantinople, and by extension, the Byzantine Empire didn't collapse when they did in 1453.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG 

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD 

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory 

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

Special Thanks to Dan Buck of DarkTyme for appearing as a guest in today's episode! Make sure to check out DarkTyme: Stories from the Future! 

http://darktyme.com/ 

Prohibition in the United States focused on the manufacture,  transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages;  exceptions were made  for medicinal and religious uses. Alcohol consumption was never illegal  under federal law. Nationwide Prohibition did not begin in the United  States until January 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect. The 18th amendment was ratified in 1919, and was repealed in December 1933 with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment.[45] Concern over excessive alcohol consumption began during the  American colonial era, when fines were imposed for drunken behavior and  for selling liquor without a license.[46] In the mid-19th century evangelical Protestants denounced drinking as  sinful and demanded the prohibition of the sale of beer, wine and  liquor. Apart from Maine, they had limited success until the early 20th  century. By the 1840s the temperance movement was actively encouraging individuals to immediately stop drinking. However, the issue of slavery, and then the Civil War, overshadowed the temperance movement until the 1870s. Prohibition resulted in the rise of the Mafia, as well as the birth of mainstream Jazz music. Without prohibition, what would American culture look like throughout the rest of the 20th century? Have a listen and find out! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials! 

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

We wanted to thank Kathy Joseph once again for appearing as a guest on this week's episode. We had a great time discussing with her about Michael Faraday, otherwise known to Kathy as the father of Electricity. Make sure to check out her latest book, The Lightning Tamers: True Stories of the Dreamers and Schemers Who Harnessed Electricity and Transformed Our World , amazon now! 

https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Tamers-Harnessed-Electricity-Transformed/dp/B0B4KMYGP8

Short description of the book: 

You flick on a light without thinking about it. But what about the  fascinating and bizarre stories hidden behind that simple action?  Fortunes were made and lost, ideas stolen, rivalries pursued, dogs  electrocuted, beards set on fire, arms amputated, and decapitated human  heads reanimated all with the invention and evolution of electricity.

And make sure to check Kathy's youtube channel and website!

Website: https://kathylovesphysics.com/

Who was Michael Faraday? 

Michael Faraday was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying  electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Although Faraday received little formal education, he was one of the most  influential scientists in history. It was by his research on the  magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday  established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in  physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of  light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two  phenomena. He similarly discovered the principles of electromagnetic  induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor  technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity  became practical for use in technology.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

First of all, we wanted to thank Peter Shea for guest staring with us today! Author of In the Arena: A History of American Presidential Hopefuls, Shea and photographer Tom Maday go into the legacies and histories of the many presidential candidates that were nominated by their parties, but unable to reach the oval office. Peter Shea tells of the rise, early career, campaign and later achievements of historical giants like Aaron Burr and Henry Clay, up through modern candidates Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. A foreword by 1988 candidate Michael Dukakis gives readers more personal insight into what it’s like to run for one of the most powerful positions in the world – and come up short.

Make sure to check out his book on amazon or Barnes and Nobles! 

https://www.amazon.com/Arena-History-American-Presidential-Hopefuls/dp/1732061831/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=in+the+arena+peter+shea&qid=1664419295&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-1

In today's episode, Back to the Past, along with author Peter Shea, discuss and ponder on what if Al Gore won the presidency in 2000 rather than George Bush did in our timeline. How would the reaction to 9/11 change? Would the United States still be heavily involved in Afghanistan and Iraq? And how about domestic policy? Gore was a known environmentalist, so would those policies have been implemented in the early 2000's? Would the Great Recession still happen? Make sure to have a listen and find out on the latest episode of "Back to the Past: The Alternate History Podcast"!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

Queen Elizabeth died recently on the 8th of September, 2022. She was the longest living and longest reining British monarch in history. She died at the age of 96. King Charles III, her eldest son, is the new reigning monarch. He's unpopular with the British people. With the current economic struggles in Britain, it's curious to see how King Charles the III will deal with those issues.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

The automobile was invited at the end of the 19th century by Karl Benz. Henry Ford would make it affordable to the masses with his Model T, which was made affordable by the invention of a new manufacturing method called the assembly line. Following the Great War, the way travel occurred would change forever. Cars could be seen all over. Instead of the horse buggy, this new horseless gas carriage would be moving people and products through cities and across the country. And although the world would adopt cars to move from A to B, America is especially impacted by it with its car culture and trucking culture. 

How would America and the world develop during the 20th century if Ford's Model T wasn't affordable to the masses, and the automobile remained an item of luxury rather than of need? 

Have a listen and find out!

And let us know your thoughts, we'd love to hear it!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

Recently, on 30 August 2022, Gorbachev died at a hospital in Moscow. Gorbachev was the leader of the soviet union at the time during the 80's and 90's into the fall of the Soviet Union. His policies were game changing with his allowance of a more open and freer society, and economic freedoms unseen in any communist nation of the time period. His influence is essential in the game of the 80s that would end the Cold War.

In this episode, we talk about the end of the Cold War, from significant events and people, to the tensions of the time period. Let us know if you enjoyed this type of episode, as we'd love to expand our horizons and diversify the types of episodes we produce on the podcast. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

After the Second World War, the United States would never stay at home again. All around the world, the US would protect democracies, big and small, all over. Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cuba, and Latin America are just some regions in the world that the US did or attempted to get involved. Twenty years of US foreign policy before the Second World War was completely changed. US interventionism was an integral part of global history after the second world war. 

Imagine a world where the United States decided to take a step back and for the most part, mind its own business in reference to international affairs. Would the Soviets still fund communist rebellions in nations across the world and encourage North Korea to invade the South for example? 

Would the United Nations even be a thing? NATO? Would the United States be involved anywhere, or would they be isolationist and just keep to themselves. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

Disclaimer: This episode was supposed to come out a few months ago, but unfortunately delays occurred. 

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression between 1929 and 1939 that began after the major fall in the US stock market. It resulted in essentially somewhat of a domino effect that collapsed Europe's economies and caused US banks to go bankrupt as they did not receive their debt payments from European governments. FDR took the reins in 1932 and started many programs in an attempt to revive and recover the US economy. Although it's not certain which program was the most effective, historians debate if the war is what took the US out of the depression or FDR's programs. However, it was possible that with a set of decisions, the Great Depression could have been resolved much earlier, and in this episode we discuss this approach and the impacts and ramifications of this.

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]

Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leader, and was a leader of the conservative coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats who prevented expansion of the New Deal. Often referred to as "Mr. Republican", he cosponsored the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which banned closed shops, created the concept of right-to-work states, and regulated other labor practices.

He also emerged as a prominent non-interventionist and opposed U.S. involvement into World War II prior to the 1941 Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. Taft's non-interventionist stances damaged his 1940 candidacy, and the 1940 Republican National Convention nominated Wendell Willkie. Taft sought the presidency again in 1948, but he lost to Dewey at the 1948 Republican National Convention. He opposed the creation of NATO and criticized President Harry Truman's handling of the Korean War.

He would later die in 1953 as a result of cancer. 

However, let's say that in this scenario, the Republican Party nominates Taft for the 1952 election and Taft is able to win. In addition, he does not develop cancer. With Taft's radically different perspective and policies, how would the United States develop during the 1950s, the onset of the Cold War? Would Taft lead the United States into a new era of isolationism, or would Congress force Taft to intervene? Would the US look at war and military action the same way?

Robert Taft, and his impacts on the political landscape were drastic. If he were president, even more so. The world would be different, and potentially even for the better. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected]