The Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion 099: Can the Constitution Handle 2019?

Building on a discussion at SHEAR and on Twitter (h/t Serena Zabin) and a recent Amicus podcast, Frank and David discuss whether the Constitution has outlived its usefulness, including:

• Whether an 18th century document is appropriate for governing in the 21st century
• How much the Constitution has changed since 1787
• Whether the Senate and the Electoral College can/should be reformed

Last Drops

Frank: David Blight article in NYT on the Party of Lincoln

David: Reconstruction exhibit at Constitution Center

Whiskey Rebellion 098: Live from SHEAR with Shira Lurie

Live from SHEAR, Frank and David talk with Dr. Shira Lurie about Liberty Poles, Canada, and being a public facing historian. A recent UVA PhD, Dr. Lurie will be the University College Fellow in Early American History at the University of Toronto in 2019-2020. 

 

Whiskey Rebellion 097: Baseball in London and the World Cup

In our periodic sports themed episode, Frank and David discuss the recent Red Sox-Yankee games in London and the US victory in the World Cup.

Last Drops

Frank: SHEAR in Cambridge

David: White Flag in Philadelphia

Whiskey Rebellion 096: Concentration Camps

Joined by Holocaust expert Dr. Tereza Valney, Frank and David discuss whether it's proper to call US immigration detention facilities "concentration camps." We examine Rep. Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez's tweet that opened up this debate and the various responses to it.

Last Drops

Frank: John Adams on July 2 and why the Declaration of Arbroath did not inspire the Declaration of Independence

David: end of the AHA interview

Whiskey Rebellion 095: Jefferson in 2019

Live from the Teviot Lecture Theatre, Frank and David (mostly Frank) answer questions from a room full of teachers who have been studying this week with Frank in a Gilder Lehrman Institute programme on Thomas Jefferson. In a wide-ranging discussion, they address everything from Jefferson's foreign policy, to reparations, to how to teach Jefferson to high school students.

Whiskey Rebellion 094: Overturning Precedent

Over the past few weeks, several states have passed legislation significantly limiting access to abortion in order to challenge the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. Frank and David look at how Supreme Court precedents get overturned to put this recent strategy into some context.

Included in this episode, Frank calls for the repeal of the 11th Amendment.

Last Drops

Frank: book giveaway

David: White Lies podcast on NPR

Whiskey Rebellion 093: D-Day at 75

Today, June 6, marks the 75th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 during World War II. Frank and David discuss what the anniversary means and looks at earlier commemorations of D-Day and other comparable events.

Addendum: David mistakenly said that more British soldiers fought at D-Day than Americans. He meant that Americans were a minority of those Allied soldiers who fought at D-Day and that the combined British and Canadian forces outnumbered the Americans. 

Last Drops

Frank: the death of iTunes

David: the passing of Tony Horwitz

 

Whiskey Rebellion 092: War Crimes

President Trump has suggested that he might recognize Memorial Day by pardoning some American soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes. Frank and David look how the United States has dealt with war crimes from the Revolution to today.

Last Drops

Frank: Isenberg and Burstein's The Problem of Democracy

David: discovery of the Clotilda

Whiskey Rebellion 091: McCullough's Pioneers

David McCullough's recently published book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West, has prompted highly critical reviews in the New York Times and on Slate. Frank and David discuss the controversy and whether some historians have overreacted. 

Last Drops

Frank: Remembrace of Edinburgh SPS colleague John Peterson

David: Nursing Clio's articles on abortion

 

 

Whiskey Rebellion 090: High Crimes and Misdemeanors

In the two weeks since the redacted Mueller report became public, many Democrats have discussed the possibility of impeaching President Trump. Frank and David look at the history of impeachment, including:

• what the impeachment of judges in the Early Republic tells us about what the Founders thought about impeachment
• how the impeachment (or near impeachment) of Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton inform the current situation
• hypothesizing whether Democrats will proceed with impeachment

Last Drops

Frank: Texas Tech flash mob at Dallas Old Parkland Debate

David: new American Civil War Museum in Richmond