The Whiskey Rebellion

With the Brexit deadline looming and no clear political solution in sight, Frank and David discuss how the UK got itself into this situation and try to provide some historical context.  British listeners should forgive our (okay, mostly David's) limited understanding of the nuances of UK politics.

Last Drops

Frank: Burns Suppers

David: Campaign to save Bennett College

In our 2nd anniversary episode, Frank and David discuss the incident last weekend at the Lincoln Memorial in which students from Covington Catholic High School came face-to-face with Native American activists. They tease out how this episode links to both contemporary politics and deep historical roots.

Last Drops

Frank: murals at Notre Dame

David: NPR Planet Money episode on 1879 shutdown, Backstory's 10th Anniversary, David & Ida's 23rd Anniversary.

With the federal government still in shutdown over Trump's border wall and with the 2020 campaign already underway, Frank and David look at the history of campaign promises. Including:

• How James K. Polk kept all his promises in 1844
• GHW Bush's 1992 "No new taxes"
• LBJ's 1964 pledge not to expand the war in Vietnam
• Obama's pledge to close Gitmo

Last Drops

Frank: Apology to Andy Murray and endorsement of Declan O'Rourke

David: Michelle Obama's Becoming

Recording on New Year's Eve, Frank and David discuss some of their favorites from 2018 and what they're excited for in 2019. 

The show begins with a discussion of Erin Bartram's essay from the Chronicle of Higher Education on the job market in history. Frank and David discuss how the job market has changed over the years and what (if anything) can be done about it.

Final Recommendations/Memories from 2018:

Frank:

• 25th anniversary of "Getting Word" project at Monticello
• Red Sox' World Series victory
• Sarah Churchwell's Behold, America: The Entangled History of America First and the American Dream
• Colin Calloway's The Indian World of George Washington
• Joanne Freeman's Field of Blood
• Brian Palmer & Seth Freed Wessler, "The Costs of the Confederacy"

David: 

• Slate Standoff podcast
• Slow Burn (season 2)
• 200 birthday of Fredrick Douglass
• Martha Jones' Birthright Citizens
• Continuing struggle over Silent Sam
• Historians at the Movies

Looking forward to in 2019

Frank:

• Mueller Report
• Returning to teaching

David

• Pete Carmichael's War for the Common Soldier
• Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer's Fault Lines
• Kevin Levin's Searching for Black Confederates

 

Back after a short hiatus, Frank and David discuss the "War on Christmas" -- looking at how Americans have celebrated (or not celebrated) Christmas, including:

• Why the Puritans didn't celebrate Christmas
• How Christmas became redefined during the Civil War era
• How conservatives have felt that Christmas was under siege throughout the 20th century

Last Drops

Frank: Museum of Memory and Human Rights

David: Homecoming on Amazon Prime

Drawing upon the headlines, Frank and David discuss the role of missionaries and borders in American history, including:

• How colonial charters lead to messy borders
• How the Second Great Awakening prompted Americans to become missionaries overseas
• How the Mormons saw missionary activity as central to their religious identity
• How the border has changed during the 20th century

Last Drops

Frank: new Americanist position at the University of Edinburgh

David: SASA CFP

Back after a short hiatus, Frank and David discuss the results of the midterm elections and an interview with historian Jill Lepore.

Last Drops

Frank: Japanese illustrated history of America

David: Heather Ann Thompson, Blood in the Water and Civil War Photo Sleuth

In the lead up to Tuesday's midterm elections, President Trump claimed that he was planning on overturning the "policy" of birthright citizenship. Frank and David discuss the origins of birthright citizenship, the 14th Amendment, and offer predictions for the midterms.

For more on birthright citizenship, see Martha Jones' excellent new book.

Last Drops

Frank: SHEAR CFP

David: Send Back the Money play

After a horrifying week of news in which pipe bombs were sent to Trump critics, 11 people were killed in a synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh, and two African Americans were killed in a racially-motivated killing in Kentucky, Frank and David examine the history of political violence in an effort to find context and parallels, including:

• The Wilmington coup and the Colfax Massacre
• The 1919 and 1920 anarchist bombings
• The bombings of abortion clinics in the 1980s and 1990s

Last Drops

Frank: American Academy of Diplomacy

David: Midterms and Mandates 

 

In light of the recent UN report on climate change, Frank and David discuss how Americans have thought about the end of the world, including:

• Why Millerites thought the world would end in 1844
• How Native Americans used the Ghost Dance to bring about a spiritual rebirth
• How Americans used fallout shelters to deal with possible nuclear holocaust

Last Drops

Frank: Go vote!

David: Honor Sachs' article in Washington Post on Pocohontas