Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, Nan Aspinwall could rope, ride, shoot, and perform alongside the biggest stars of Buffalo Bill's Wild West. But in 1910, she accomplished something no woman had ever done before: she rode alone on horseback from San Francisco to New York, covering nearly 4,500 miles in 180 days.

Our American Stories regular contributor Ashley Hlebinsky shares the remarkable story of "Two-Gun Nan," the highest-paid performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, whose grit, determination, and unforgettable cross-country ride made her one of the most extraordinary women of the American West.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Winter Prosapio couldn't stand The Giving Tree. She saw it as the story of a tree that gave everything to someone who never seemed to appreciate it. Then she became a mother.

In this heartfelt reflection, Winter shares how raising two daughters transformed the way she understood Shel Silverstein's classic. Along the way, she discovered that giving, like gratitude, isn't something we're born knowing. It's something we learn.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when Catherine Thompson escaped slavery in Maryland, she built a new life in New Jersey and gave birth to a son born free. But after a slave catcher lured her into a trap in Philadelphia, she faced an impossible choice: surrender her child or risk them both being dragged back into slavery. She refused to let go. Her courage exposed the brutal reality of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Elliot Drago of the Jack Miller Center shares the remarkable story of Catherine Thompson, whose ordeal became one of many that awakened Northerners to the human cost of slavery and helped build the movement that ultimately destroyed the Fugitive Slave Act.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 1840s, America stretched west at a breathtaking pace. Texas joined the Union, the Mexican-American War added vast new territory, the California Gold Rush transformed the West, and the dream of a nation from sea to shining sea became reality. For our ongoing Story of Us—Story of America series, Dr. Bill McClay, author of Land of Hope, explains how the idea of Manifest Destiny shaped a rapidly growing republic.

But every new mile of American expansion intensified the nation's oldest conflict. As Congress struggled over whether slavery would spread into the new territories, compromises grew increasingly fragile and the path toward the Civil War became harder to avoid.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, on April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln looked forward to peace for the first time in four years. By the following morning, the president lay dead after John Wilkes Booth's assassination at Ford's Theatre. What followed became one of the largest public displays of mourning in American history.

Over the next 20 days, Lincoln's funeral train carried him 1,700 miles from Washington, D.C., back to Springfield, Illinois. Nearly 1.5 million Americans viewed his coffin, while millions more gathered along the tracks to pay their respects. Louis Picone, author of The President Is Dead, shares the remarkable story of Abraham Lincoln's final journey home.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in late 1939, thousands of Jewish refugees poured into Vilna, Lithuania, hoping to escape Nazi Germany and Soviet-occupied Poland. Moses Beckelman, a young American social worker with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, organized food, housing, and relief while searching for a way to get as many people out as possible before the borders closed.

Working alongside Dutch Consul Jan Zwartendijk and Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, Beckelman helped turn a narrow escape route into a lifeline for thousands of families. Deborah Dwork, author of Saints and Liars, shares the story of another member of the "6 Percent" who refused to stand by as Europe descended into war.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Lawrence Tureaud grew up as the youngest of 12 children in Chicago's public housing, where his mother taught him to work hard, trust God, and treat others with respect. After serving in the U.S. Army, working as a nightclub bouncer, and winning a national competition, he caught Sylvester Stallone's attention and landed the role that introduced the world to Mr. T.

The man behind the gold chains and Mohawk built his famous persona around lessons from his family, his Christian faith, and a belief that every man deserved respect. Greg Hengler shares the story of one of America's most recognizable pop culture icons.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, on December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where Carl Perkins was recording with Jerry Lee Lewis at the piano. Johnny Cash stopped by soon afterward. The four young musicians spent the afternoon singing together, and much of what they sang wasn't rock 'n' roll. It was gospel.

Greg Hengler shares the story behind one of the most famous jam sessions in American music history, the photograph that gave the group its "Million Dollar Quartet" nickname, and the gospel roots that united four future legends.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, on Kodiak Island, Alaska, Leslie Leyland Fields discovered a young bald eagle wandering outside its nest just days before her own son and daughter were due to leave for a dangerous commercial salmon fishing season in Bristol Bay. Her instinct was to protect the eaglet, just as every mother's instinct is to protect her children.

But the encounter with the young eagle, an overeager sparrow, and God's quiet lessons in nature transformed the way she thought about love, trust, and letting go. Leslie shares the story.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when gold prices collapsed in September 1869, it triggered one of the earliest financial panics in American history. Jay Gould and Jim Fisk had spent months driving prices higher in an attempt to corner the market, working back channels in Washington to shield their plan from regulation. But the scheme unraveled quickly, and when it did, the damage rippled across the economy.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, already one of the richest men in the country, moved fast to protect his own interests. In the process, he stabilized a market no one else could touch. T.J. Stiles, author of The First Tycoon, shares the story of what really happened on Black Friday and how Vanderbilt's response changed the balance of private power and public life.

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