The Whiskey Rebellion

In less than a year and a half, President Trump has radically reoriented American foreign policy, including: exiting the Iran deal, opening up negotiation with North Korea, backing out of the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and imposing steel tariffs. Frank and David try to put this shift into context, including:

How Jefferson, Polk, and Carter changed the US foreign policy stance after taking office

Why most presidents tend to maintain the status quo with regards to foreign policy

What Trump's posture means for the future of foreign relations

Last Drops

Frank: Resistance genealogist Jennifer Mendelsohn

David: Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon

Recent comments by historians Joseph Ellis and Gordon Wood has prompted a contentuous debate about how academic historians engage with the public. Frank and David discuss, including:

Whether academic historians used to write better/more accessibly than they do now

Why some kinds of historical writing tend to generate a larger popular audience

Whether academic historians don't celebrate patriotic narratives enough

How academic historians can and should engage with the public in 2018

Plus! David addresses feedback on our last episode from a loyal listener in Edinburgh.

Last Drops

David: John Dickerson's article on the presidency in the Atlantic

Frank: Kanye West's comments about Trump and slavery

Last weekend, Americans remembered the life of Barbara Bush.  Frank and David (under duress) discuss the role of the First Lady, including:

A rant by David about why Americans pay too much attention to First Ladies

Which First Ladies had the most significant political impact

What will happen to the role when Americans elect the first female president

In addition, Frank and David discuss how a tweet about Barbara Bush caused a debate over free speech and tenure.

Last Drops

Frank: Mindhunter on Netflix

David: Removal of J. Marion Sims statue in NYC

News of the Cambridge Analytica data breach at Facebook and debates over adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census have raised questions about who has control over Americans' data. Frank and David discuss the history of data collection, including:

The origin and evolution of the Census

How the census data has been used and misused

How private corporations have collected data on Americans

Last Drops

Frank: New York Public Library exhibit on the 1960s

David: Demise of the Necco wafer

Frank's in NYC this week as part of the University of Edinburgh contingent for the Tartan Day parade.  Frank and David discuss the origin of Tartan Day and other ethno-nationlist holidays, including:

Why Tartan Day is celebrated in the US, but not in Scotland

How St. Patrick's Day set the template for these holidays

Why Cinco de Mayo became a national celebration after 1980

Last Drops

Frank: our listeners

David: the novel of Ready Player One

This week, Frank and David are joined by Dr. Joe Stoltz, Digital Historian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. We discuss his recent book on the Battle of New Orleans, how he got involved in public history, and Mount Vernon's new digitial experience, Be Washington!

Straight from the picket lines: As a million American school children walk out to protest gun violence and hundreds of British university students occupy campus buildings to support the UCU strike, Frank and David discuss the history of youth activism, including:

The role that youth played in the American Revolution

How the Wide Awakes helped to create a new political party

How young people were the backbone the Civil Rights movement

Last Drops

David: Bunk History

Frank: Be Washington

Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing a tariff on imported steel and aluminum, saying that the United States would easily win a trade war. Frank and David talk about the history of the tariff and trade wars, including:

Alexander Hamilton and Henry Clay's protectionist tariffs

19th century US/Canada trade war

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff

Why the US became a champion of free trade after World War II

Last Drops

David: new photo of Harriet Tubman

Frank: San Francisco removes Early Days statue

Both Frank and David are on strike this week, participating in the UCU industrial action protesting pension cuts. Recording off campus, they talk about the history of the labor movement in the United States, including:

What role government played in suppressing organized labor during the Gilded Age

Why the Great Depression became an unexpected high point for the US labor movement

Why unions have declined in membership over the past 50 years

What the West Virginia teachers strike says about the future of the labor movement

Last Drops

David: Upcoming SASA annual conference in St. Andrews and 2019 conference in Edinburgh

Frank: Upcoming University of Edinburgh tour of US and Canada

 

Bonus content: listen past the credits for authenic Scottish pub ambient noise.

With the South Korea Winter Olympics in full swing, Frank and David talk about the history of the Olympics, including:

How ideas about peace and amateurism shaped the formation of the Olympics

How nationalism and global politics have influenced the Olympics

The long history of corruption and cheating in the Olympics

Last Drops

Frank: new presidential rankings

David: all of American history in the lifetime of 3 presidents and goodbye to Freak Out and Carry On