History: Beyond the Textbook

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Its 1769, and Spain is renewing their efforts to colonize what they called “Alta California” on the Pacific Coast.  Leading the push was Fray Junipero Serra, a Franciscan whose efforts to spread the Catholic faith would earn him the title “Apostle of California.”  His actions would also lead to a re-examination of the role of Europeans in colonizing and Christianizing the Indigenous peoples of the lands in which they arrived, so his legacy isn’t without controversy.  Today's episode of History: Beyond the Textbook, the first of three episodes on "The West,"  focuses on Fray Junipero Serra, the Pious Father-President of Alta California.

Key People
Fray Junipero Serra
Fray Francisco Palou
Kumeyaays
Cochimi

Key Events/Ideas
Colonization of California
Franciscan mission system

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

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John Jay was a member of both Continental Congresses, served as ambassador to Spain during the later years of the American Revolution, helped negotiate the Peace of Paris that ended that war, authored a series of essays that became collectively known as The Federalist Papers, was appointed the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and resigned upon his election as Governor of New York…but not before negotiating an economic treaty with our former foes, Great Britain.  The man led an accomplished life, but why isn’t his name mentioned with other political titans of the era?  This episode looks at how the United States failed to successfully negotiate with European powers, specifically Spain, using this man as our conduit: John Jay and the Failings of American Foreign Policy.

Key People
John Jay
Don Diego de Gardoqui
Sarah Jay

Key Events
American Revolution
Articles of Confederation
Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
Chisolm v. Georgia

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

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He was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, so by extension, the United States of America.  Foreign-born to unwed parents, he had the reputation of being a financial wizard who understood commerce, markets, and how to maximize profit.  Victory at Yorktown would not have occurred were it not for the efforts of this man, who was Superintendent of Finance as the American Revolution drew to a close. Robert Morris  sought to place the finances of America on sound footing with the creation of the Bank of North America, an institution that was ahead of its time.

Key People
Robert Morris
John Dickinson
Alexander Hamilton

Key Events/Ideas
Bank of North America
Articles of Confederation
American Revolution

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

 It's 1783, and military mutinies are intermittently breaking out across the United States.  This, and other, issues stem from problems with the first official “national” government of the United States: the Articles of Confederation, of which today's key figure wrote the first draft.  He served as foil for John Adams during the fight to declare independence…but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a believer in the United States, and he would be well-positioned to address the simmering tensions among the military that almost led to the destruction of the new federal government.  In today’s episode of History: Beyond the Textbook, we explore the Architect of the Articles of Confederation, John Dickinson and his role in quelling the Philadelphia Mutiny of 1783.

Key People
John Dickinson
George Washington
Alexander Hamilton
Robert Morris

Key Events
Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1783
Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer
Olive Branch Petition
Articles of Confederation

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

He’s the man responsible for the loss of Britain’s North American colonies, and a cruel, despotic monarch at that…these are both perceptions of King George III, and it’s realistically how many Americans learn about Britain’s king at the time of American independence.  But he reigned for 60 years…and the Revolution lasted for 8, so clearly there must be more to this man than just “losing a war,” right?  In our final episode of Season 2 of History: beyond the Textbook, we’ll explore the reign of King George III, Enlightened King of the American Revolution.

Key People
King George III
Lord Frederick North
Thomas Hutchinson
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Ben Franklin

Key Events
Treaty of Paris/Peace of Paris
Intolerable Acts
American Revolution

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

It was the last significant battle of the American Revolution, although this couldn’t have been predicted at the time.  The Americans, British, and the French felt that 1781 was a "now or never" year for the Revolution, and that something big had to happen.  Many forces coalesced to turn the Battle of Yorktown into the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War, and  we’ll examine two individuals serving on opposing sides, and from very different backgrounds.  In this episode of History: Beyond the Textbook,  we’ll conclude the fighting of the American Revolution at Yorktown by spotlighting Lord Charles Cornwallis and Joseph Plumb Martin: the Officer and the Commoner at the Battle of Yorktown.

Key People
Lord Charles Cornwallis
Joseph Plumb Martin
General Henry Clinton
Alexander Hamilton

Key Events
Battle of Yorktown
Battle of New York
Battle of Monmouth

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Much of the history of the American Revolution focuses on actions in what was called the “Northern” theater, and to a degree, this makes sense: given the outsized role Massachusetts played in the pre-war years and the early years of combat.  Yet while the Southern colonies were not exactly “inactive” during the early years of the war, many narratives don’t necessarily focus on this region in great detail until the pivotal Battle of Yorktown in fall 1781.  As Britain concentrated more resources on this region in the second half of the war,  stories began to spread about one individual in particular who became known for his brutality and effectiveness as a horseman: and remarkably, he was only 27 years old by war’s end.  His wartime actions, and the actions of those who fought him, help shape the story of England’s “Southern Strategy '' in the American Revolution.  In this episode of History: Beyond the Textbook, we’ll explore the later years of the Revolution through the campaigns of “Bloody” Banastre Tarleton and the Patriots who opposed him throughout the South.

Key People
Banastre Tarleton
Lord Charles Cornwallis
Francis Marion
Daniel Morgan
Thomas Jefferson

Key Events
Battle of Waxhaw Creek
Battle of Camden
Battle of Cowpens

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

 Those present at the winter at Valley Forge in 1777-1778 included a veritable “who’s who” of future American political leadership, such as George Washington, Henry Knox, and Alexander Hamilton.  Prominent names are usually associated with this critical transition period, and rightfully so…but there were women who accompanied the army to this camp, and Indigenous allies also arrived as winter turned into spring to help the Continental Army with their war effort.  These last two categories of individuals are the ones we shall focus on in this episode of History: Beyond the Textbook: Martha Washington, the Oneidas, and the Winter at Valley Forge.

Key People
Martha Washington
Han Yerry
Two Kettles Together
Samuel Kirkland
George Washington
Marquis de Lafayette

Key Events
Valley Forge
Battle of Oriskany
Battle of Barren Hill

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

One man was all-in for independence dating back to the years before the first shots at Lexington and Concord, while the other held out hope for a moderate solution and was even accused of holding sympathies to the British cause.  One is Benjamin Franklin, and the other is Benedict Arnold, and both will play a role in the Battle of Saratoga in upstate New York, one as a soldier, the other as a politician attempting to win allies to the American cause.  It’s this critical turning point that forms the basis of today’s story.  On this episode of History: beyond the Textbook, we explore the Revolutionary lives and actions of the Dueling Bens: Franklin, Arnold, and the turning point of the American Revolution.

Key People
Benjamin Franklin
Benedict Arnold
General Johnny Burgoyne
Margaret "Peggy" Shippen
General Horatio Gates

Key Events
Battle of Saratoga
Franco-American Alliance
Invasion of Canada

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

He sided with the British in the American Revolution, and successfully convinced many of his countrymen to do so.  The education he received at the hands of Eleazar Wheelock allowed him to understand colonial culture, while his upbringing as a Mohawk immersed him in a way of life little understood by colonial Americans.  His unique background brought him into contact with prominent movers and shakers on the frontier, and also led him down the path of fighting for King George III in the American Revolution.  His experiences also provide an insight into how Indigenous nations participated in, and were affected by, the American Revolution.  Today's episode of History: Beyond the Textbook focuses on Joseph Brant, the Mohawk Loyalist of New York's frontier.

Key People
Joseph Brant
Haudenosaunee
Ethan Allen
Guy Johnson
George Washington

Key Event
Battle of New York

We're back for Season Four of History: Beyond the Textbook!  This season will  focus on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Federalist Era" in the years roughly 1789-1800.  The first six episodes will release every Tuesday from October 28-December 2, while the second six episodes will be released every Tuesday from February 17-March 24.   Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," Season Two, "America's Revolution," and Season Three, "America's Crucial Years," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Feel free to contact us with feedback or questions by clicking the "Send Us a Text" link or email us at: [email protected]