American History Hit

Eisenhower, Washington, Greene, Grant. There have been thousands of Generals in the United States' Armed Forces. Picking out the best of the crop would be impossible, right? In this episode, Don is joined once again by Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard to sift through some of the stand out figures in our military history. The impossible questions are only just getting started. Edited by Richard Power, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The two-term limit, the idea that the President of the United States may not seek a third term, has a long history. Originating from a decision made by George Washington, it quickly became an established political norm in America. Since then however it has transformed from a political expectation to a constitutionally mandated practice... but why? Our guest today is historian and Professor Jeremi Suri of the University of Texas at Austin, author works including ‘Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy.’ Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New weapons, new opponents, new technology - as warfare evolves, armies need generals able to evolve with it. In this episode, Don is joined by Cecily Zander to discuss the most innovative generals in American History. Whether it's the use of tanks, total war or local scouts, these mean have changed the world we live in. Cecily is the author of the upcoming 'Abraham Lincoln and the American West', and 'The Army Under Fire: Antimilitarism in the Civil War Era'. Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July 1776, a group of men in Philadelphia committed an unthinkable act: they challenged one of the most powerful empires in the world by signing what became known as the American Declaration of Independence. What had happened in the previous years that pushed them to such drastic action? What were the disagreements over the document's wording? And what movements and ideas were inspired by its message? To take us through this topic, we welcome back Michael Hattem, author of ‘Memory of ‘76: The Revolution in American History.’ His newest work titled ‘The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History’ will be published in the Fall of 2026. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruthless tactics. Extreme violence. The loss of huge numbers of their own troops. The deaths of the most opposing troops. What makes a general 'bloody'? And who fits that description best? In this first of four episodes on American Generals, Don and Jonathan Bratten sort through the rolodex of military leaders. Robert E. Lee, John Bell Hood, John J. Pershing or Douglas MacArthur. Who will win this unwelcome title? Major Jonathan D. Bratten is command historian for the Maine National Guard and a regular guest on American History Hit. He has written extensively on the history of Guard units from states across New England. His book is entitled 'To The Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919'. Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Richard Power. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AMERICANHISTORY. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the 1830s until the arrival of the transcontinental railroad, hundreds of thousands of people packed their possessions into wagons and headed west, seeking land and opportunity. Following in the footsteps of Native Americans and fur trading ‘mountain men’, many travelled for several months along what became known as the Oregon Trail. But as Don hears from YouTube history teacher Mr Beat (youtube.com/c/iammrbeat), not all would succeed. Miles from civilisation, people succumbed to disease, dangerous river crossings and attacks by Native Americans, whose land they were crossing and on which they intended to settle. Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever since independence, a question has hovered over the government of the United States. How much power should the President have? Not too much, lest they become a monarch. But not too little, they are elected to do a job and that job must be done. In this episode of American History Hit, Don is joined once again by Professor of Political Science, Graham G Dodds. Graham is author of 'The Unitary Presidency' and, together, he and Don discuss the power of the President. Can they commit a crime? How has the unitary executive been used in domestic, and foreign, spaces? And where was this theory born - with the Constitution, Hamilton, Reagan or Bush? Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AMERICANHISTORY. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When fossils were discovered in the US during the 19th Century, it altered American understandings of science, religion, race and more. So what was the Hadrosaurus Foulkii, and why did it have such an enormous effect? Caroline Winterer, William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, joins Don for this episode. Caroline's book on this topic is 'How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America'. Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Nick Thomson. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're delving into the archives and revisiting Don and Michael Kauffman's conversation on the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln... On the evening of 14th April, 1865, the Union was celebrating victory in the civil war, won 5 days earlier with General Lee's surrender at Appomattox. President Abraham Lincoln was watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC. But some Southern sympathisers still thought the Confederacy could be restored. Among them was the actor John Wilkes Booth. He entered the theatre, made his way to Lincoln's box and carried out the first assassination of a US president. Michael Kauffman takes Don through the conspiracy to murder Lincoln and the act itself, after which Booth fled on horseback, into the night. Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're delving into our back catalogue and revisiting the topic of the Boston Tea Party... On December 16th 1773, Bostonian colonists took a stand against the British Crown in the Boston Tea Party. In this episode, we dive deep into the events of that evening in Boston Harbor. Don is joined by Benjamin Carp, the Daniel M. Lyons Professor of American History at Brooklyn College. Who was involved? What signalled the start of the event? And was it really a non-violent protest? Benjamin is the author of ‘Rebels Rising: Cities and the American Revolution’; ‘Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America’; and ‘The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution’ Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's one of the most iconic symbols of early Americana; it conjures up images of bustling saloon bars and Mark Twain. But as glamorous as they may seem, there's a dark side the history of the Steamboats of the Mississippi River. In this episode we welcome Professor of History at Colorado State University, Robert Gudmestad. His newest book is The Devil’s Own Purgatory: The United States Mississippi River Squadron in the Civil War. Edited by Rich Power. Produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reunion with the dead. The return of lands, food supplies and buffalo. The disappearance of white settlers. By the end of the 19th Century, the forced assimilation of Native American people was official government policy and Native populations were already in severe decline. The promises of the Ghost Dance had a very story appeal. Professor Gregory Smoak is with Don in this episode to explore the Ghost Dance. What was it? Where did it come from? Was it as dangerous as some suggested? Gregory is Professor of History at University of Utah and author of ‘Ghost Dances and Identity: Prophetic Religion and American Indian Ethnogenesis in the Nineteenth Century’. His work with Indigenous Nations has included projects with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Navajo Nation, Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you do if you discovered that members of your family had spied for the Japanese at Pearl Harbor? When this happened to Christine Kuehn, she wanted to find out more. Alongside her husband, former journalist Mark Schiponi, Christine has been researching her father's family's movements from Nazi Germany, to Hawaii, and into the hands of the FBI. They join Don for this episode to untangle this story. Their book, 'Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor' is out now. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How could walking naked through town be seen as religious? What about digging up a corpse? Or bursting into church services to cause mayhem? In this episode, Dr Erica Canela takes Don back to the first years of Quakerism to explore where this religion came from, and how it ended up in the United States. Erica is the author of Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For thousands of years, North America was a frozen frontier buried beneath miles-deep ice... How did the first people reach the Americas live here? What was it like to share the land with mammoths, mastodons, and sabre-toothed predators? And what triggered the dramatic warming that brought this icy epoch to a close? Our guest today is Dr. David Meltzer, archaeologist and Professor at Southern Methodist University in Texas. He's the author of numerous works including First Peoples in a New World: Populating Ice Age America. Edited by Aiden Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fall of 1621, a year after the pilgrim ship the Mayflower landed on the coast of New England, the settlers of the Plymouth Colony celebrated their first successful harvest. Joining them at the three day feast were the Wampanoag people, Native Americans who had to taught the settlers how to grow corn, ensuring the community would survive the coming winter. Richard Pickering tells Don about the difficulties faced by the pilgrims as they made their way from Europe and how the first Thanksgiving forged diplomatic relations with the Wampanoag people. Creating the foundations for the national holiday now celebrated every year in America. Produced and mixed by Benjie Guy. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lindbergh Kidnapping is one of the most influential crimes in American history; it plunged a national hero into an investigation which changed the way America thought about law, justice, and “celebrity” forever. In this episode, we’ll look at what happened inside the Lindbergh home that night, how the investigation unfolded, and how one suspect was tried, convicted, and executed amid an unprecedented media storm. Today, Don is joined by Thomas Doherty, Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University and author of Little Lindy Is Kidnapped: How the Media Covered the Crime of the Century. This episode was edited by Aidan Lonergan and produced by Tom Delargy. The Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why were more than 12 thousand cases of satanic abuse brought in the 1980s? Was the Prince of Darkness walking among us then? Or did something else cause the panic? Joseph Laycock joins Don for this episode to discuss the so-called Satanic Panic, from daycares to news outlets to board games. Joe is the author of many books including 'Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds' and 'The Penguin Book of Exorcisms'. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1845, the Republic of Texas stood at a crossroads. In our history, they chose to join the USA… but what if they chose another path? Was this even possible? What impact would this have had on life within Texas? And how would it have impacted its neighbours? Today we welcome onto the show Prof. Sam W. Haynes of the University of Texas at Arlington, and he's the Director of the Centre for Greater Southwestern Studies. He's the author of Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas. Edited by Amy Haddow and produced by Tomos Delargy. The Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did New Orleans' officials bomb the levees protecting the Lower Ninth Ward in 1965? When Hurricane Betsy swept through the Atlantic Basin, it killed at least 76 people, led to a 10 foot storm surge, and was the first tropical cyclone to cause $1 billion worth of damages. It also left many of the residents of New Orleans wondering, was all that damage really natural? Or had the authorities given it a helping hand? Andy Horowitz, author of 'Katrina: A History, 1915-2015' joins Don for this episode to explore where this conspiracy theory came from, and whether there is any truth to it. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.