Episodes
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The Prof. sits down with fellow Prof. Ben Sawyer of the Road to Now Podcast and Middle Tennessee State University to chat through the last volume episodes. Russia, the Red Scare, the second Klan, and more, while Ben gets Greg to share behind-the-scenes details on the writing process. Enjoy!
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“I want to say make no settlement until they sign up that every bloody murderer of a guard has got to go.”
This is the story of the largest uprising in the United States since the Civil War.
As unions spread across the Progressive-Era United States, West Virginia mine owners manage to keep them out. They have some good reasons (tough margins) and some less savory ones … like their preference for an oppressive “mine guard system” in “company towns” that effectively removes civil government and private ownership, and reduces the American citizens working in their mines to serfdom. Mother Jones inspires the miners to push back.
Over the course of a decade, that pushback turns bloody – especially in Mingo County. But the worst of it comes just after the Great War, as the miner’s hero, Police Chief Sid “Two Gun” Hatfield, is murdered in cold blood at McDowell County Courthouse. Now, all bets are off. 10,000 miners grab their guns, ready to get revenge and free incarcerated miners. But they’ll have to go through Sheriff Don Chafin’s forces first. The two sides clash at Blair Mountain as the US Army arrives with regiments and aviation squadrons.
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“Every official except one elected yesterday at the first municipal election of this borough had been endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.”
This is the story of the Second Ku Klux Klan.
It’s been nearly half a century since the Third Enforcement Act killed off the Klan in 1871. But amid Jim Crow segregation in 1915, the lynching of a Jewish Georgian Leo Frank, coupled with a new film, The Birth of a Nation, inspires William Simmons to resurrect the Klan.
This new Klan has a longer list of enemies. While still opposed to Black Americans fully integrating into American society, this KKK also targets Jews and Catholics. It’s also more politically connected than the first Klan. While Klansmen will participate in violence–including the near annihilation of the Black quarter of Tulsa, Oklahoma–most Kluxers are more focused on politics. As membership swells into the millions, the Klan’s endorsed candidates will win seats in Congress, state houses, and city councils across the nation. Yet, the Klan will come crashing down almost as quickly as it rose in the 1920s. We’ll find out why.
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“Palmer, do not let this country see red.”
This is the story of America’s First Red Scare. On June 2, 1919, Attorney General Mitchell Palmer is just going to bed when the first floor of his home is blown apart. It was a bomb, and part of a larger plot to attack several national leaders. It’s the work of anarchists.
Shaken to the core, Mitch is determined to use his position as AG to rid the nation of such extremist, violent leftists–anarchists, Bolsheviks, and the like. Mitch turns to the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor of the FBI) to help round up foreign Reds. He’ll find a bright young lawyer named J. Edgar Hoover particularly useful in his “Palmer Raids.”
But as famed socialist Eugen Debs goes to prison for speaking against the war and union workers get treated like they’re a part of the far left, some start to wonder: is the AG still protecting the nation from violent radicals, or is he conducting a witch hunt? With bombings scaring the nation and Wall Street, the nation must debate where to draw the line between security and liberty.
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“I keep wondering if the Unknown Soldier is one of my men.”
This is the story of the United States coping with and facing the aftermath of World War I.
The American Expeditionary Force in France is breaking up but that means a lot of different things as doughboys occupy Germany, go fight in Russia, convalesce, or just head home. If only going home was so easy–for many, it’s a hard transition back to civilian life. One of the few familiar things they find in the States is a deadly strain of influenza: “The Spanish Flu.”
Meanwhile, the world is in turmoil. War still rages in much of Eastern Europe and Ireland, communism and fascism are rearing their heads, and neither the French nor British are finding their new League of Nations Mandates easy to govern. But amid all these ongoing struggles, grieving Americans whose doughboy father, son, or brother disappeared in the war find solace visiting what just might be their loved one’s final resting place: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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“I reject your proposals … and shall defend myself to the last extremity.”
This Is the story of the Revolution’s new hot spot: the South.
After failing to crush the rebellion in the northern or middle states, British leaders hope to score some quick victories in the South, which they believe to be more loyal. Drawing support from loyalist and enslaved Americans, this new “Southern Strategy” enjoys a strong start as Savannah falls in late 1778.
Other events around the world are changing the war too. A French fleet has arrived in the Americas. Meanwhile, Spain isn’t allying with the United States but it is allying with France (it’s complicated). Battles are raging everywhere from Gibraltar, to the Caribbean, to the Atlantic, and the Frontier.
But as messy and global as the war is becoming, the Southern Strategy continues forward. In the South, Polish Count Casimir Pulaski gives his life for the Patriot Cause, and soon, the Continentals will suffer their greatest setback of the entire war as the British lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina. The Americans will also mourn a slaughter near the Carolinian border at the Waxhaws.
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“Stand fast, my boys, and receive your enemy!”
This is the story of a miserable winter at Valley Forge (1777-78), a possible conspiracy, and George Washington’s last major battle before Yorktown.
Continental Commander George Washington is loved by many in Congress and the Army. But he has his enemies too. Some see a path to pushing George out of leadership–but will this so-called “Conway Cabal,” which happens while Continental soldiers are freezing and starving to death, actually work? Either way, it will inspire one of the two duels we’ll hear about.
Speaking of the Continentals, they have to learn to soldier properly if they’re going to win this war. Can a recently arrived, husky Prussian with a penchant for swearing make the difference? Welcome to America, Baron von Steuben. They’ll use these new skills in the sweltering summer-time Battle of Monmouth.
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“If old England is not by this lesson taught humility, then she is an obstinate old slut, bent upon her ruin.” - Horatio Gates
This is the story of 1777’s Saratoga and Philadelphia campaigns.
Playboy and playwright General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne is leading a Canadian-based invasion of upstate New York–and it's a tale of egos. From Britain’s Gentleman Johnny to America’s Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold, a lot of Generals are looking out for "number one." But Saratoga is more than that; its outcome will help Ben Franklin score a full-on military alliance avec la France.
Meanwhile, George Washington is doing a dance with General Sir William Howe in PA. George loses battles; Howe loses his dog. And as the year’s end arrives, the towering Virginian is once again being doubted and facing yet another demoralizing winter’s camp at Valley Forge.
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The Episode to end all … World War I episodes. Professor Jackson sits down with Kelsi Dynes to talk through all the things that didn’t make it into the final Great War episodes and go big picture on the Meuse-Argonne, Armistice, and Treaty of Versailles.
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“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
This is the story of a Christmas Miracle at Trenton, New Jersey.
George Washington’s army is exhausted, disheartened, battered, starving, freezing–all but broken. Sir William Howe’s mighty British Army has chased these American soldiers out of New York, New Jersey, and now, across the ice-filled Delaware River into Pennsylvania. Worse still for the Patriots, the British have captured Continental General General Charles Lee and scared Congress into fleeing Philadelphia. The Revolution appears all but defeated.
But George isn’t ready to accept defeat. The Founding Father has made a list, checked it twice, and decided that the Hessian troops in Trenton have been naughty … neither patriot nor loyalist will soon forget Christmas of 1776.
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“The circumstances under which we are spending this particular Christmas are unusual.”
This is the story of the Christmases of World War I.
Germans and British troops, singing carols together. French and German troops, kicking, playing sports and exchanging treats. It may not last, but for a brief moment–for Christmas of 1914–these opposing armies refuse the orders of their superiors as they temporarily “beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks.”
In the years ahead, the United States’ forces have their own Christmas celebrations “over there.” In 1917, New York’s Harlem Rattlers, or Hellfighters, sing and celebrate as they travel to France. In 1918, all ranks of the AEF–be they doughboys or Hello Girls–celebrate a post-armistice Christmas. We’ll catch a speech by the president and a Christmas Bash at Black Jack Pershing’s headquarters where George Patton eats way too much plum pudding. And then, we’ll say goodbye to Black Jack. With a loving Christmas connection years down the road, it’s time to lay him to rest with his beloved doughboys in Arlington.
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“A Peace which cannot be defended in the name of justice before the whole world would continually call forth fresh resistance”
This is the story of peacemaking in 1919–a fraught peacemaking.
With the Armistice signed, some 30 nations (led by the major Allied Powers) are gathering in Paris, France, to deliberate on the terms they’ll give to Germany. But the conference is beset with conflicting views. Not only do these various nations and other unofficial representatives have conflicting views, but the three most powerful Allies–France, the UK, and the US, a.ka., The Big Three–aren't always on the same page. That’s especially true of the American President Woodrow Wilson, who’s pushing hard for his 14 points, particularly, for the creation of his League of Nations; he’s clashing with France’s Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau who’s far more interested in ensuring France’s security against German aggression than any idealistic (or as he sees it, unrealistic) notions of a world at perpetual peace.
Filled with shouting matches, disagreements, and voices from across the globe, this Conference will create a League of Nations. It will also redraw some of the map of Europe, lay the foundation for a new map of the Middle East, and lay severe penalties on Germany's shoulders. They’re trying their best–but are they creating a better world? Or laying the seeds of future conflicts? And will the US Senate approve this Treaty of Versailles? We shall see.
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“The German delegation has come to receive the proposals of the Allied Powers looking to an armistice.”
This is the story of guns falling silent across war-ravaged fronts–the story of the Great War’s armistice between Germany and the Allied Powers.
Sailors are mutinying. Soldiers are breaking. A revolution–possibly a Bolshevist revolution–is knocking on the Second Reich’s door. German leaders are coming to accept a painful reality: they can’t carry on this war. They look to the merciful words of Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points as they seek an armistice.
But as the German delegation sits down with Allied Supreme Commander Ferdinand Foch in his ornate train carriage at a secluded location within the Compiègne Forest, they find the hardened General is not there to negotiate. He presents a difficult pill to swallow. With little alternative, the German delegation moves forward. The fighting will come to a stop when the clock strikes 11 on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
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“If I can but reach that bridge,” thought Ichabod, “I am safe.”
This is the story of schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his ride home after an evening spent trying to woo Katrina Van Tassel at a party hosted by her father at their idyllic farm in rural New York. It’s a terrifying ride–perhaps as deadly as Ichabod’s pursuer is headless. For this third HTDS Halloween special, we “rewind” to one of the oldest ghost stories in American lore: Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Starting with a headless Germanic tale, we’ll hear some of the literary history behind the stories of headless riders on horseback; get a brief bio on this year’s featured author; and then … we’ll see if we can reach that covered bridge before it’s too late.
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Professor Greg Jackson sits down with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his latest film The American Buffalo which has a two-part premiere in the US on PBS beginning Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
Some refer to Ken Burns as a historian, but he would be quick to tell you that he considers himself a storyteller.
His latest documentary The American Buffalo is a sort of biography of the American bison, or the buffalo as they are more commonly known. The fact is, we would only know of buffaloes from history books if it weren’t for a collective effort to save this species from the brink of extinction in the late 19th century. It’s a remarkable story of how conservationists and hunters alike pulled together to repair some of what had been pulled apart by unchecked slaughter and displacement of wildlife and indigenous peoples.
HTDS listeners will recognize some of the historical context surrounding this tale from our episodes on the Indian Wars, the Transcontinental Railroad and Teddy Roosevelt.
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Today, we have a special off-week treat: an episode of History Daily!
Hosted by Lindsay Graham (podcaster not Senator), History Daily brings you a tale from the past, on its anniversary, daily. Listen to History Daily on Spotify, Apple, or where you get your podcasts! https://www.historydaily.com/.
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“All right, General. We’ll take it, or my name will head the list.”
This is the story of Meuse-Argonne and the Americans’ continued struggles to take the Kriemhilde Line. Tennessean Alvin York hates war, yet he finds himself an unlikely hero when his youthful days of hunting turn him into a prisoner-taking sharpshooter as the US First Army presses forward against the Germans.
But this isn’t a battle just for the First Army anymore. A stressed-out, breaking, Black Jack Pershing finally decides to go for the US Second Army and name generals to command each. He’ll oversee “only” the whole two-million-strong American Expeditionary Force. If he can keep his job, that is. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau is doing all he can to get the American fired. Nor is Black Jack doing any better at getting along with his usual French frenemy: Marshal Ferdinand Foch.
Meanwhile, General Douglas MacArthur is traumatized–so many of his doughboys are slaughtered, why, he wonders, did God spare him? Elsewhere in the battle, Choctaw doughboys save the day as they use their native language to bypass eavesdropping Germans. Yet, for all of this, can the Americans break the Kriemhilde Line? We’ll find out.
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“Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.”
This is the story of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive’s beginnings.
“Tout le monde à la bataille.” So says Ferdinand Foch as the Allies hit the Germans from several pressure points at once. For the Americans, that means fighting between the thick woods of the Argonne Forest and the deep waters of the Meuse River. The region is heavily guarded and a “natural fortress.” The attack will have a high cost – including injured Harlem Hellfighters and a wounded George Patton.
But deep in the Argonne Forest, some 550 men have the misfortune of being the only force to succeed in pushing as deep as their demanding commander asks. They’re isolated, alone, and soon, surrounded by the Germans with no food, supplies, or reinforcements coming. Worse still, the rest of the US Army isn’t even sure where they are behind German lines. This is the harrowing tale of the Lost Battalion.
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Time to review! Greg and Kelsi talk through the main takeaways of the American story in World War I to date, from causes to new inventions and social changes. We get a little behind the scenes on episodes, a few stories that didn’t make in, and set the stage for the last battle of the Great War.
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A picturesque paragliding flight becomes a terrifying nightmare when a massive storm rolls in. Sucked into the clouds, Ewa Wiśnierska is pelted by hailstones the size of oranges. With lightning crackling all around her, she is sent hurtling upwards - still clinging to her parachute. Soon, she’ll be higher than Everest and nearing the cruising altitude of a jumbo jet. Covered in ice, approaching the edge of the breathable atmosphere… how on earth does she make it down in one piece?
Real Survival Stories is the podcast that tells the true stories of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary survival situations. Stranded in the desert. Lost in the jungle. Marooned in the mountains. Shipwrecked on the high seas. You'll hear from individuals who had everything against them. But even then, they refused to give in…
New episodes Thursdays. Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts or at noiser.com
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