Hashtag History

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the annexation of Hawaii…otherwise known as the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Because, when Hawaii was annexed to the United States, becoming the fiftieth state to join the union, it was done so via a coup de tat that overthrew the sovereignty of the Hawaiian people, something the vast majority of them were largely against. The US’s motivations were obvious: they had major economic interests in Hawaii from the goods available there (like sugar and pineapple) but also the access to a naval base in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor. Tourism wasn’t much of a thing at the time when this happened in the 1890s, but we know in the long run that the annexation of Hawaii, though not motivated by tourism back in the 1890s, certainly has played a large role in the US’s continued interest in it. Nearly 10 million people visit Hawaii every year, with 7 to 7.5 million of those tourists being from the Mainland.

The US’s annexation of Hawaii was so bad that Congress formally apologized for it in 1993 (the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy), acknowledging that what they had done was morally unethical and that the Hawaiian people had never formally relinquished their lands and sovereignty to the US.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the very first major US law restricting immigration to the United States of a specific national group. This act made it so that Chinese people could not immigrate to the United States for, initially, ten years. But then, it was renewed, made permanent, and then not officially repealed until…you ready for this? 1943. So, essentially, the Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect for more than six decades! Even when the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act passed, it still only allowed 105 Chinese immigrants to come to the US each year. So even though the Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, racist immigration laws were not officially dropped until the 50s and 60s.

Not only did the Act make it so that Chinese people could not immigrate to the United States—it also made it so that Chinese residents already in the United States could not become citizens. We’ll get into a specific case of this later in this episode but, even Chinese American citizens, when they traveled in and out of the country, were often denied re-entry into the country because they were told that they were not American citizens…even though they were.

And again, we’ll of course get into more detail about this in this episode, but…do you have any guesses why the US would finally, officially repeal this Act in 1943? The US was in the midst of World War II during 1943 and, well, we needed China as allies against Japan. As we were actively detaining Japanese Americans in detainment centers here on American soil, we dropped part of our racist laws against the Chinese so that we could get them on our side and help us work against our other enemies.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the assassination of 20th President of the United States James A. Garfield, an assassination that occurred in the summer of 1881. And the reason I give a more vague date of “the summer of 1881” as opposed to a specific date is because, although Garfield was shot on July 2nd of that year, he did not die until September 19th…a very slow and very painful death, largely attributed to the horrific lack of medical sanitation at the time.

Garfield’s assassination is a particularly fascinating one but one that goes forgotten amongst other presidential assassinations such as Abraham Lincoln’s and John F. Kennedy’s. There are many reasons for this (many of which we will dive into later on in the episode).

Despite Garfield’s short tenure, we will also be discussing who he was as a person and his goals and dreams from the presidency -- outside of his assassination -- because he was also a pretty remarkable person.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS RELEASED IN MID-MARCH 2026 BUT WAS RECORDED IN EARLY-JANUARY 2026.

This week on Hashtag History, we will be wrapping up our discussion of the American Presidents which we first brought to you in Episode 159 with Part One. We will be picking up with the twenty-sixth President of the United States and going to present day, sharing quick tidbits about their accomplishments, their downfalls, and how they shaped American history...but also, the juicy details.

This goes without saying that there is some bias that comes into play with putting together an episode like this, right? That is the nature of historiography; it is at the discretion of the historian what they personally believe to be interesting or noteworthy enough to include in their research. And so that’s certainly the case here as well and not something I’ll shy away from. The few facts and details I am going to share about each of the presidents were selected by me personally which means these are the things that I personally felt it most important (or, in some case, just the most interesting or juicy) to include.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

WELCOME BACK FOR SEASON SEVENTEEN AND A LEAH TAKEOVER EPISODE!

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the  1899 Newsboy Strike. In the summer of 1899, New York City newsboys (or newsies) organized a strike against two major newspaper publishers after a price increase for papers cut into their earnings. The strike disrupted newspaper distribution across the city and became a highly visible example of child labor organizing at the turn of the 20th century.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History for our Season Sixteen Finale, we are joined by Emily Glankler of Anti Social Studies. Emily is a historian, podcaster, teacher, and content creator who walks us through Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and how it shifted the current structure of the two main American political parties. She also speaks to the Southern Strategy and how the roots of that are still relevant in today's political and social climate.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the American Presidents. All of them…well, most of them. In this week's episode, we will be sharing some quick tidbits about the first twenty-five presidents (with more to come in Part Two next season): Their accomplishments, their downfalls, and how they shaped American history...but also, the juicy details.

This goes without saying that there is some bias that comes into play with putting together an episode like this, right? That is the nature of historiography; it is at the discretion of the historian what they personally believe to be interesting or noteworthy enough to include in their research. And so that’s certainly the case here as well and not something I’ll shy away from. The few facts and details I am going to share about each of the presidents were selected by me personally which means these are the things that I personally felt it most important (or, in some case, just the most interesting or juicy) to include.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Lynwood Vikings, one of many deputy gangs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy gangs are gangs, formed and founded, by deputies of the LASD. And, like most gangs, they involve tattoos and racism and acts of violence as a form of initiation into the gang. But unlike other gangs, these are gangs made up of law enforcement officers who are meant to serve and protect the community. These gangs enact violence on the community and – because they all believe in maintaining the blue wall of silence (AKA not snitching on another cop), their misconduct goes with them to the grave. Not only all of that: Members of these gangs have been responsible for horrific crimes, including but not limited to: beating up inmates and then filing false reports to cover it up, retaliating against whistleblowers, and even murder. 

As of 2021, there were 24 known and active deputy gangs within the LASD. As of right now when we’re recording this in 2025, there continue to be at least six that we know of.

It goes without saying, but this is unacceptable. In the 2023 report that a special oversight committee put together to combat this issue, they said of these gangs, “Both historically and currently, [they] exalt the use of excessive force against civilians, harass other deputies, and undermine the chain of command within the Department. However denominated, the existence of these groups and their impact adversely affects the mission of the Department and undermines public trust in the Department.”

To summarize: We know of at least 19 people that have been killed by these gangs, all of which were men of color. We also know that, over the last fifty years, Los Angeles County (i.e., the taxpayers of Los Angeles County) have paid out some $100 million dollars in response to settlements and lawsuits related to these deputy gangs.

There are seriously so many of these gangs that we would be here for six hours if I told you specific details about all of them. So in this episode, we are more so doing an overview of these various deputy gangs and then focusing on one specific one: the Lynwood Vikings.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Trojan War, a once-believed-to-be strictly mythological tale about a conflict between Troy and Greece which destroyed the city of Troy. This is the battle that involves the infamous Trojan horse in which the Greeks left an allegedly hollowed out wooden horse outside the Trojan city gates. The Trojans eventually determine it to be a gift and bring it inside but, lo and behold, that hollowed out horse was actually filled with Greek soldiers that came in and destroyed the city. 

The story of the Trojan war was told in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, a few other pieces of Greek literature, and then was primarily carried on through oral tradition. Because Homer’s works are not historical accounts – they are Greek literature and poetry – we cannot take any of what he said to be proven facts. But, after a discovery in the late-1800s, ruins in modern-day Turkey point to what may have once been the city of Troy…causing some to believe that perhaps Homer’s fictional, mythological works…may have had a little truth behind them.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Lavender Scare, a roughly forty-year period in history (spanning from the late-1940s and into the early-1990s) in which thousands of government employees lost their job as part of a federal anti-gay policy. Under Executive Order 10450 issued in 1953, it became a legal policy to remove all known gay men and women from federal service because it was believed that homosexuals have a proclivity for weakness and would therefore pose a threat to national security if they remained in their positions within the government.

We all know about Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare that he set off with his infamous congressional speech about the list of communists he claimed to know worked for the government. But alongside that scare, lesser known than that scare, was the Lavender Scare. As Senator Alan K. Simpson later wrote of it, “The so-called ‘Red Scare’ has been the main focus of most historians of that period of time. A lesser-known element and one that harmed far more people was the witch-hunt McCarthy and others conducted against homosexuals.”

And while McCarthyism is generally associated with the 1940s and 1950s, the Lavender Scare went far beyond that with one federal employee telling about his experience in 1980! Jamie Shoemaker was called into his boss’ office at the National Security Agency in 1980 where “...they said ‘we understand you’re leading a gay lifestyle. And I remember saying, ‘well, I didn’t think I was leading it, but yes, I’m gay.’" He was then placed on leave for four months while his bosses hemmed and hawed about what they were going to do…all to eventually fire him for his sexual orientation…nearly thirty years after the Executive Order had first been put into place!

I find this topic to be fascinating – and also, obviously, brutal and disgusting – but fascinating because it is a lesser known part of history…and yet it is wrapped up in the larger picture of a very well known part of history; that being, McCarthyism and the Red Scare.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Editor: Alex Perez

Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast