The Whiskey Rebellion

Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing a tariff on imported steel and aluminum, saying that the United States would easily win a trade war. Frank and David talk about the history of the tariff and trade wars, including:

• Alexander Hamilton and Henry Clay's protectionist tariffs
• 19th century US/Canada trade war
• The Smoot-Hawley Tariff
• Why the US became a champion of free trade after World War II

Last Drops

David: new photo of Harriet Tubman

Frank: San Francisco removes Early Days statue

Both Frank and David are on strike this week, participating in the UCU industrial action protesting pension cuts. Recording off campus, they talk about the history of the labor movement in the United States, including:

• What role government played in suppressing organized labor during the Gilded Age
• Why the Great Depression became an unexpected high point for the US labor movement
• Why unions have declined in membership over the past 50 years
• What the West Virginia teachers strike says about the future of the labor movement

Last Drops

David: Upcoming SASA annual conference in St. Andrews and 2019 conference in Edinburgh

Frank: Upcoming University of Edinburgh tour of US and Canada

 

Bonus content: listen past the credits for authenic Scottish pub ambient noise.

With the South Korea Winter Olympics in full swing, Frank and David talk about the history of the Olympics, including:

• How ideas about peace and amateurism shaped the formation of the Olympics
• How nationalism and global politics have influenced the Olympics
• The long history of corruption and cheating in the Olympics

Last Drops

Frank: new presidential rankings

David: all of American history in the lifetime of 3 presidents and goodbye to Freak Out and Carry On

Earlier this week, rumors emerged that the White House was planning for a military parade in Washington. Frank and David talk about the history of military parades, including

• The Grand Review after the Civil War
• Parades after WWI and WWII
• The military in Eisenhower and JFK inaugurations

Last Drops

Frank: Coffee and Tea in Dickens

David: Report that high school students don't know that slavery was the cause of the Civil War

 

Over the past year, the FBI has received unprecedented public attention, from the Comey letter on Hillary Clinton's emails to the Nunes memo asserting corruption and bias with the FBI. Frank and David discuss the history of the FBI, including:

• The origins of the FBI
• How the FBI claims to be non-political while often taking political stances
• What the current crisis might hold for the future of the FBI

Last Drops

Frank:Kongressen podcast and demise of Indians logo

David: possible discovery of slave ship Clotilda

2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of 1968, one of the most interesting and consequental years in American history.  Frank and David discuss what made 1968 important and why it still matters, including

• Tet Offensivie
• MLK assassination
• RFK assassination
• Democratic convention in Chicago
• Mexico City Olympics
• Apollo 8

Last Drops

Frank: MLK's 1961 syllabus at Morehouse (h/t to Honor Sachs)

David: Columbia University's livetweeting of 1968 protests and Claire Potter article on free speech on campus

With Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury topping the best-seller lists, Frank and David talk about the history of political exposes, including:

• How the genre of White House evolved from Ted White and Joe McGinnis to Bob Woodward and Joe Klein
• Why political exposes became a popular genre after 1960 and how the changing journalist landscape made these books possible

Last Drops

Frank: US Embassy in London finds a new home

David: The other Fire and Fury

What do historians have to say about Star Wars? Quite a lot actually! Joined by Edinburgh Teaching Fellow (and Star Wars fan) Tereza Valney, Frank and David examine the series through the historical lens, including:

• What historical analogies did George Lucas intend and audiences see in the Original Trilogy? Are Storm Troopers Space Nazis? Is the Rebellion the Vietcong? Is the Soviet Union the Empire?
• What is the relationship between the Prequel Trilogy and the War on Terror?
• What do the new films tell us about the current political and cultural moment?

Last Drops

David: Call for Papers for the Scottish Association for the Study of America

Frank: New DNA evidence for the populating of the Americas

After the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Frank and David talk about the history of American taxation, including:

• How taxes shaped the revolutionary era
• How Progressives hoped that income and estate taxes would prevent aristocracy
• How the Reagan Revolution shaped the current tax debate

Last Drops

David: NPR Planet Money episode on the tariff and Santa Suits

Frank: Thanks our listeners for a great year

The big news this week was the Alabama senatorial election. Based on a listener question, Frank and David discuss how the party of Lincoln became the party of Roy Moore, including:

• Why the Founding Fathers disliked political parties at the same time that they were creating them
• How the Republican and Democratic parties switched places on Civil Rights 
• Why third parties never seem to last very long

Last Drops

Frank: the origins of Jingle Bells

David: Sister Rosetta Tharp in Rock Hall of Fame and how Constitutional Hall almost got demolished