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On October 24, 1861, crews joined telegraph wires at Salt Lake City, linking the coasts. California’s first message pledged its loyalty to Lincoln, and two days later the Pony Express closed. We explore the federal deal that built the line.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
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Critics mocked it as Clinton’s Ditch. In 1825, the 363-mile Erie Canal linked Lake Erie to the Hudson River, cut shipping costs by about 90 percent, made New York City a commercial capital, and helped forge America’s first national economy.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
Long before the Constitution, five nations united under the Great Law of Peace. We explore how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy governs through clans and council, survived the Revolution, and still upholds a 1794 treaty with the United States.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
In 1805 a Shawnee man had visions and became Tenskwatawa, the Prophet. With his brother Tecumseh, he built Prophetstown and a movement uniting many nations to resist land cessions, from the Treaty of Fort Wayne to Tippecanoe and the Thames.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
In 1804, five men signed a treaty the U.S. said ceded Saukenuk, the Sauk village Black Hawk called home. He never accepted that. We follow his return to Illinois in 1832, the war that followed, and the disaster at Bad Axe, in his own words.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
The Trail of Tears was never one road. In 1838 and 1839, seventeen detachments of Cherokee people were forced west by land and river. We trace the roundup, the camps, the routes, and how the Cherokee Nation survived and rebuilt in the West.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
John Ross led the Cherokee Nation for nearly four decades through petitions, Supreme Court cases, a treaty his council rejected, and forced removal. We explore how Ross and his government kept the nation alive through reunion and civil war.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
In 1871, an Iowa college made Harriette J. Cooke a full professor and reportedly paid her the same as the men. Was it the nation's first? We weigh the evidence, then trace her from preceptress to drill organizer to a Boston medical mission.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
Sequoyah never learned to read English, yet he gave the Cherokee language a written form. We trace his 85-character syllabary from his daughter's demonstration to the Cherokee Phoenix, through removal, and into today's immersion classrooms.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
Stephen Douglas wanted a railroad west. To get it, he let Kansas and Nebraska settlers vote on slavery, and the country cracked open: ballot fraud, a sacked town, a caned senator, the new Republican Party, and Lincoln's return to the fight.
Before It Became History, a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend to examine the decisions, conflicts, and ideas that tested the promise of liberty and helped define our democracy.
This is history before it hardened into memory — and a conversation about what it means for us now.
You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/
Follow us on:
From the publisher's feed
This is the official podcast of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. Our mission is to continue the distinguished legacy and lifetime work of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to advance American democracy…