American History Hit

What if we told you that puritans were actually sex-crazed? Well maybe not crazed but definitely not opposed to it.

What if we told you that, actually, the entire mainstream belief of puritans being bound to strict moral and religious codes isn't totally true?

In this episode of American History Hit, Don is joined by Lori Rogers-Stokes to answer some of the big questions. Did the Puritans really wear all black? What's the dif...

During the Revolutionary War a vital web of intelligence was established, with General Washington at its head. Operating through coded letters, hidden signals, and a chain of ordinary civilians turned spies, their secrecy and precision proved that even the quietest network could alter the course of a revolution.

Our guest today is Dr. Alexander Rose, historian and author of Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ri...

Geronimo's name is famous across the world: the Apache warrior who led a resistance movement against the United States out in the South West for years...

But what happened to Geronimo (or Goyaałé) that led to his campaign of resistance? Why did the US and Mexico feel like they had to bring him down? And how did his story end?

Our guest today is Dr. Veronica Tiller, a writer of Native American History and editor & publisher of...

From fur traders to rulers of the New York social scene - how did the Astors rise to the top? What did it mean to be 'Old Money' in the Gilded Age? And where did that power go?

Don is joined by New York Times best-selling historian and novelist, Katherine Howe. From the Titanic, to the slums of New York, to the penthouse of the Waldorf Astoria, Katherine today guides us through a family story like no other.

Edited by Aidan Lo...

Shays’ Rebellion has long been taught as a dangerous uprising, one that risked shaking the newly founded United States of America. But by tracing the events from mounting grievances to the march on the Springfield Armory, one might argue it was as a disciplined, community-driven movement born out of economic injustice...

Our guest for today’s episode is Dr. Daniel Bullen, author of the book ‘Daniel Shays's Honorable Rebellion’. ...

What was it like to live on Alcatraz? And was it possible to escape? In this episode, Don speaks to a historian with the unique experience of growing up there.

Jolene Babyak's father worked on Alcatraz during its 29 years as a federal maximum-security prison. She and Don discuss the origins of the prison, the people who were imprisoned there and the escape of 1962.

Jolene is the author of a number of books about the history o...

Driven from the United States, the Mormons journeyed West to build a new society in the desert- one that would challenge the political, economic, and moral norms of the nation they had left behind. But when the United States lay claim to the Utah Territory, a tense standoff developed between the two sides...

Our guest today is Prof. Peter Coviello, University of Illinois, who studies American literature and queer theory. His boo...

Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States. It's the windy city, the railroad capital, and home of countless film and tv hits.

But when was it founded? Who were the first people living and working on this land? And when did Chicago become Chicago.

Don is joined by Ann Durkin Keating, Professor of History at North Central College. Her book on this subject is ‘Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort ...

In 1831, a rebellion erupted in Virginia that sent shockwaves across the United States, and challenged the brutal system of slavery in a way that white slave-owners had long feared. Led by an enslaved man named Nat Turner, he and his followers carried out one of the most significant slave rebellions in American history.

To help us in the retelling of this event, we’re lucky to be joined by Dr. Vanessa Holden of the University of...

Their name is synonymous with power, influence ... and tragedy. And with so much of the latter, many have taken to speculating - are the Kennedy family cursed?

To find out more, Don is joined by Professor Barbara Perry, co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

What is the Kennedy Curse? How far back does it go? And how do the family interpret it?

Edited by Tim Arstall...

The Trail of Tears is one of the darkest chapters in American history: the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi River. In this episode we focus specifically on the experiences of the Choctaw people.

In this final episode of our 'Frontier' miniseries, we are lucky to welcome Ryan Spring to take us through this story. Ryan is a Cultural R...

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, best known as the Shakers, emerged in the UK in the 18th Century. So how is it that the three remaining Shakers are based in the US? How did this religion cross the Atlantic? And where did they get their nickname from?

Don is joined for this episode by Professor Doug Winiarski, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Richmond, and editor of upcoming 'Shake...

We've all heard of the Texas Rangers: an undoubted icon of the American West.

In this week’s instalment of our Frontier series, we’ll be exploring the history of lawmen famed for riding across a violent and uncertain landscape. But how much of their reputation reflects the realities of the frontier, and how much was shaped by legend? Were the Rangers truly defenders of order in a lawless land, or agents of expansion whose action...

This is the largest battle, by number of combatants, of the entire Civil War. But why? What was the federal objective at Fredericksburg? And how did it all go so wrong for Burnside and his troops?

Don is joined to explore the Battle of Fredericksburg by returning guest Chris Mackowski. Chris is the Copie Hill Fellow at the American Battlefield Trust, and a professor at the Jandolin School of Communication at St Bonaventure Unive...

The words 'Donner Party' have become synonymous with disaster in the American imagination. In this week’s instalment of our Frontier miniseries, we’ll be exploring how this group of pioneers' journey across the Old West ended with fatal consequences...

To tell us more about this story, we’re very lucky to welcome Daniel James Brown as our guest. Daniel is a writer who specialises in historical non-fiction and is the author of Th...

It's known as the deadliest single day in American history: the Battle of Antietam.

After weeks of Union defeats, Confederate forces pushed north into Maryland and carried the war onto Northern soil for the first time. Near a quiet creek in Maryland, two armies faced one another and engaged in a battle that would decide the course of American history.

To take us through today's episode, we welcome our guest Garry Adelman. Gar...

Heroic cowboys on horseback. Bands of outlaws. Brawls in small town saloons.

This is the Wild West as popular culture remembers it. But was it really as “wild” as we’ve been led to believe? Did the violence of the frontier truly revolve around outlaws and lawmen... or were much larger forces shaping life on the Frontier?

To explore this question, we welcome Tore Olsson as our guest for this episode. Tore is Professor of Histo...

Franklin D Roosevelt is consistently considered one of the United States' best Presidents. Elected four times, he oversaw the end of the Great Depression and victory in the Second World War.

But was all of this actually his work? Did FDR solve the depression? And how do both his failure to support an anti-lynching bill and the internment of thousands of US citizens during the war impact his legacy?

Don is joined by David Beit...

In the first instalment of our Frontier miniseries, we explore one of the most iconic symbols in American history: the Oregon Trail. For decades, thousands of Americans packed their lives into wooden wagons and set out for the West. They crossed sun-scorched plains without shade, climbed mountains without roads, and forded rivers that could turn deadly in an instant. Along the way, many buried loved ones beside the trail and presse...