American History Too!

On Episode 30 of American History Too! we take a deep dive into the history of music and presidential campaigns in the United States. Joined by the Imperial War Museum's Fraser McCallum we discuss the rise of campaign music from the nineteenth century to the current 2016 election, including all the great love affairs and spats that have existed between politicians and musicians.  Following our discussion of music, we then delve into a debate on whether the politics as entertainment - a theme so evident in this year's campaign - is a new phenomenon or whether it's been around since the beginning of mass democracy.   We'll be back next month with a podcast on the history of the CIA. Until then, have a great election! Cheers, Mark and MalcolmLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In London on May 22nd 1846, the great anti-slavery campaigner and orator Frederick Douglass - who himself was a former slave – stood before a large audience and related to them the reasons why he was there:  “Why do I not confine my efforts to the United States? My answer first, that slavery is the common enemy of mankind and it should be made acquainted with its abominable character. Slavery is a system of wrong, so blinding to all around, so hardening to the heart, so corrupting to the morals, so deleterious to religion, so sapping to all the principles of justice, in its immediate vicinity, that the community surrounding it lacks the moral stamina necessary to its removal. It is a system of such gigantic evils, so strong, so overwhelming in its power, that no one nation is equal to its removal. I want the slaveholder surrounded, by a wall of anti-slavery fire, so that he may see the condemnation of himself and his system glaring down in letters of light. I want him to feel that he has no sympathy in En

In 1921, the influential magazine Literary Digest speculated on the morality and nature of the modern young woman: Is the “old fashioned girl”, with all that she stands for in sweetness, modesty, and innocence, in danger of becoming extinct? Or was she really no better nor worse than the “up to date” girl, who in turn will become the “old fashioned girl” to a later generation? Is it even possible as a small, but impressive, minority would have us believe that the girl of today has certain new virtues of “frankness, sincerity, seriousness of purpose”, lives on a “higher level of morality” and is on the whole “more clean minded and clean lived” than her predecessors? The Roaring Twenties in America are – in popular culture at least – seen as the era of the liberated flapper, Daisy Buchanan, and all night jazz. But is this really an accurate portrayal of womanhood, femininity, and beauty in the decade of “return to normalcy”? Today on American History Too!, we’re joined by the University of Strathclyde's

With the Republican convention in Cleveland complete, all eyes turn now to Philadelphia where the Democrats will gather to nominate the first ever woman to head a major party ticket in US history.  Joined once more by the University of Oxford's Paddy Andelic (@pkandelic) we take a deep dive into the recent history of the Democratic party and travel the road to Hillary Clinton. Beginning amid the chaos of the 1968 convention in Chicago, we talk through Humphrey, McGovern, Watergate Babies, Carter, Ted Kennedy, Tip O'Neill, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.   Thanks again for listening. Next month we'll be back turning our focus to cultural history, but look out for an election special before November! Cheers, Mark and MalcolmLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Still baffled by Donald Trump's nomination? Be perplexed no more! With the Republican party heading to their convention in Cleveland to nominate the billionaire tycoon, we're joined by the University of Oxford's Paddy Andelic (@pkandelic) to discuss the Republicans over the past half century as we look to map out the road to Trump. On our travels we cover Barry Goldwater, Civil Rights, Richard Nixon, Watergate, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and both Bush I & II. We also delve into some of the issues and causes that have defined the GOP since the 1960s.  All this, and much more, on another bumper podcast of American History Too! We'll be back soon with a podcast covering the Road to Hillary Clinton! Cheers, Mark and MalcolmLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1936, not long after German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling knocked out his African-American opponent, Joe Louis, the journal Der Weltkampf published the following statement: “These countries cannot thank Schmeling enough for this victory for he checked the arrogance of the Negro race and clearly demonstrated to them the superiority of white intelli- gence. He restored the prestige of the white race and in doing so accomplished a cultural achievement. I for one am convinced that Schmeling was fully conscious of this fact and that he fought as a representative of the white race.... The victory of Italy in Abyssinia must be regarded in the same light.... After the war started there was only one thing left, the fight of a white against a black nation. This has become a racial fight. The same question must be asked: What would have happened if Abyssinia had won? The same answer applies: the whole black world would have risen up against the white race in arrogance and bestial cruelty.” Were these horrifi

On January 20th 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - which banned the production, transport, and sale of alcohol - went into effect. Among the many Americans rejoicing at the passage of Prohibition that evening, was one Pauline Sabin.  Sabin, a wealthy WASP socialite, who was New York’s first ever female member of the Republican National Committee, foresaw many positives to an alcohol-free society. Like many American women, Sabin viewed alcohol as a threat to the morality of her family, particularly her two young sons, and, in her own words, Sabin believed that “a world without liquor would be a beautiful world.” Quickly, however, Sabin and many others realised that such utopian hopes were misplaced. Prohibition, it seemed was creating more problems than it solved. Looking around at the increased crime and disrespect for law and order in the country, Sabin came to the conclusion that Prohibition was actually creating a worse world for her sons as opposed to the beautiful world she

In early 1943 – while the Battle of Stalingrad raged thousands of miles away – US government officials explored the hotel room of a recently deceased scientist. They were looking for the plans to a weapon that could change the war. They were looking for a death ray. The death ray did not exist, but there was enough doubt that Federal officials thought it wise to assess the thousands of notes and sketches that had been made during the scientist’s lifetime. After their assessment, the notes were locked away, leading to a persistent conspiracy theory that there had been a death ray, and that the US government was covering it all up. The notes had belonged to a man who in many ways embodied the American dream, the golden age of science, and the modern image of eccentric inventor. He had been one of the most famous men not only in America, but in the world. He laid the groundwork for many of the technologies that we take for granted today and contributed to many more. In the decades that followed his death in a r

‘On the 25th of September 1984, in one of the hardest-hitting speeches of his long Presidential campaign against Ronald Reagan, former Vice-President Walter F. Mondale spoke powerfully at George Washington University about the contemporary political landscape: This election is not about jellybeans and pens pals. It is about toxic dumps that give cancer to our children. This election is not about country music and birthday cakes. It is about old people who can’t pay for medicine. This election is not about the Olympic torch. It is about the civil-rights laws that opened athletics to women and minorities who won those gold medals… This election is not about my standing in the polls. It is about my stand against the illegal war in Nicaragua. This election is not about slogans, like “standing tall.” It is about specifics, like the nuclear freeze – because if those weapons go off, no one will be left standing tall. This election is about values. I refuse to cut loose from my history and desert the beli

It was a midterm election year, the economy was beginning tolook a bit shaky again, and the Democrats were in danger of losing their majoritiesin Congress. The Democratic President, gathering his congressional troopsin the White House to rally them ahead of a tough campaign, knew just the rightnote to strike.  He acknowledged that the economy was a problem, but thePresident reminded his fellow Democrats that whatever happened their partywould never let the economic burden fall upon the American people as HerbertHoover had during the Great Depression. The President in question was not Hoover’s successor,Franklin Roosevelt, nor was it Harry Truman or even John F. Kennedy.  ThePresident was Lyndon Johnson, the year was 1966 and Herbert Hoover, had, bynow, been out of office for 33 long years. Hoover, who had been known as the Great Humanitarian beforehe assumed the office of the presidency in the 1929, was, for the rest of hislife, the symbol of an uncaring and aloof government, and the noose around theRepub

Is there a ‘Special Relationship’ between the United States and the United Kingdom?  And, if there is, what actually is ‘special’ about it?  Those are the two questions we seek to answer on this month’s American History Too!.  Tune in for a guided tour of the ups and the downs of the US-UK relationship over the past 200 years – particularly during the post-World War II era – and come to your own conclusion on this fascinating topic.    New Year, New Format - we also introduce an opening question to the podcast! This week: If you could have dinner with three figures in American History who would they be?  We have our answers, but we are more interested in yours! Let us know at @ahtoopodcast or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americanhistorytoo We’ll be back next month to discuss tumultuous presidency of Herbert Hoover with Alastair Duthie.  Cheers, Mark and Malcolm   Reading List Aldrich, Richard J., ‘British intelligence and the Anglo-American “Special relationship” during the Cold War’, Review

On December 21, 1970, a man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses entered the Oval Office of the White House. He desperately wanted to bring a Colt .45 pistol with him, but even without it, his purpose was clear. In front of him stood a craggy, slightly crumpled figure. The man in black advanced, but his intent was not assassination. He had come seeking a badge. A badge that he thought would give him power. The man he met had worked all of his life to gain power, and now that he had it, he would do everything he could to hold on to it. This was one of the most bizarre meetings ever to take place in the White House, for the man in black was the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Presley and the craggy, crumpled man was President Richard M. Nixon. The photographs of that meeting are some of the most requested images from the US National Archives, but by the end of the 1970s, Elvis would be dead and Nixon would have resigned in disgrace. Yet, the event has gained the status of a modern myth and helps to illustrate

Ever thought that the United States is a more violent country than other ‘Western’ nations?  And, if so, have you ever wondered why?   On Episode 18 of American History Too! we are joined by the University of Edinburgh’s Rian Sutton (@riansutton) to discuss America’s more violent nature by looking at what one historian terms its ‘homicide problem’ (n.b. it’s more complicated than guns and cowboys!).  The reasons for the US’s higher murder rate than Europe since the mid-nineteenth century remain disputed and Rian, discussing her research on women and murder, illuminates this ongoing debate. Rian also outlines how women have murdered in the US, why some women have escaped prosecution despite damning evidence, and how the public have often reacted to such crimes.    Finally, if you want to hear a whole lot of grizzly anecdotes – mostly featuring a woman wielding an axe – then this is the podcast for you! -- We hope you enjoy this podcast and we’ll be back next month with our next episode on ‘The President

In the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, the morning of Friday July 10, 1925 was blisteringly hot. Outside the country courtroom, a crowd of around 1000 people had gathered. Squeezing through the throng came a young schoolteacher and athletics coach, John Scopes. Scopes was accompanied by Clarence Darrow, one of the most famous lawyers in the United States. But when a cheer went up from the assembled mass, it was not for Scopes or Darrow, but for the elderly, burly figure of Williams Jennings Bryan. Lawyer, moralist, three times Presidential candidate, religious authority, and key figure in the Populist movement of the 1890s. These two legal titans were here to defend and prosecute John Scopes. His crime was admitting to teaching Darwinian evolution in defiance of a state law banning the promulgation of evolutionary theory.  The Scopes Trial has entered popular myth and legend, claimed as a victory by both sides, misrepresented and misunderstood in film and literature. So, in Episode 17 of American History To

American History Too! is back for a new semester and we’re examining the Irish-American experience of the Civil War (1861-1865).  To help us delve into this vast and interesting topic is the University of Edinburgh’s Catherine Bateson.  Cat guides us through Irish immigration to North America, the different military and civilian roles played by Irish-Americans during the war, and some of the music that emerged from the Irish-American experience of the young nation’s most brutal conflict. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed listening to Cat while recording it.  Thanks again to all of our listeners; we are humbled to be nearing the 10,000 listens landmark in our first year of podcasting. As always if you have any questions or feedback then please get in touch at @ahtoopodcast or ahtoo@outlook.com  We’ll be back next month to discuss the fascinating Scopes trial of the 1920s. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading List David T. Gleeson, The Green and the Gray: The Irish in the Confed

We’re back with the second part of our discussion of President Jimmy Carter and his times.  On this episode we cast our eye beyond the United States and discuss the tumultuous foreign events that took place during the late 1970s in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.  Why is Jimmy Carter, a president who brokered a historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, remembered as a weak leader who presided over American decline on the world stage?  We wrap up with a discussion of Carter’s post-presidency and ask, is he the greatest of all the post-presidents?  Also, we should note that we recorded this podcast before the sad news that Jimmy Carter has been diagnosed with cancer. Thanks again for listening, Mark and Malcolm @ahtoopodcast   Reading for both podcasts 15a and 15b: Jimmy Carter, White House diary (New York:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010) Andrew Scott Cooper, The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia changed the balance of power in the Middle East (Oxford:  Oneworld P

‘History’s greatest monster’ or an underrated and admirable president?  We’re back and we’re discussing President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) and his times.  Such are the amount of topics that we need to cover that the podcast will be split into two, with this month’s release dealing primarily with the domestic issues of late 1970s. Welcome to a land of self-doubt, oil shocks, and a tanking economy, where the issues that would define the ‘culture wars’ for the next four decades were taking shape.  Presiding over it all is the Democratic President James Earl Carter, a born-again Christian from Plains, Georgia who has promised to never lie to the American people.  Was Carter’s presidency consigned to failure by events beyond his control or was the ‘American moralist’ responsible for his own downfall?  Hopefully, by the end of the two podcasts you’ll be able to form your own opinion! Thanks again for listening, Mark and Malcolm @ahtoopodcast Reading for both podcasts 15a and 15b: Jimmy Carter, Whi

We return for the fourteenth episode of American History Too! to discuss a horrifying and shameful period in US history:  the outbreak and response to the HIV/AIDS crisis during the 1980s.  Academic impartiality is at a premium as we delve into social and cultural reasons behind the US government’s failure to tame the spread of the deadly virus.  We also consider the important cultural touchstones that HIV/AIDS inspired and also the evolution of gay rights in the US. For those interested, the British broadcast about AIDS that begins the show can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SqRNUUOk7s  The broadcast stood in stark contrast to official US silence on the issue. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to start our series entitled ‘The Revolutionary Sixties?’ Thanks again for listening, Mark & Malcolm                  Contact at @ahtoopodast or ahtoo@outlook.com Reading List Jennifer Brier, ‘“Save Our Kids, Keep AIDS Out”: Anti-AIDS Activism and the Legacy of Community Con

On the thirteenth episode of American History Too! we embark on our very first sequel – picking up where episode six left off in our discussion of Nuclear Fallout. Why did one researcher collect thousands of baby teeth and why are her results quite terrifying?  When and where did the US almost nuke its own citizens – and how was disaster averted?  Were fallout shelters a genuine attempt to help the population in the event of nuclear warfare or were they merely ‘for show’?  Our resident nuclear aficionado has all the answers.   Finally, how was nuclear fallout represented in film and literature during the 1950s and 1960s?  We explore On the Beach, Dr Stangelove, and why the British government chose to censor Peter Watkins’ The War Game (1965) which depicted the impact of nuclear warfare on Great Britain.  And always remember, ye cannae spend a dollar when your deid! We’ll be back in a fortnight with a discussion of the contentious decade that was the 1980s.  Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading

On the twelfth podcast of American History Too! we wade through the quagmire of the Vietnam War.  In discussing arguably the first war that the United States ever lost, we consider the divisions the war created at home and how Vietnam Veterans were treated by the general public. We also chat extensively about the Kent State Shootings - 'the most popular murders ever committed in the United States' - and the backlash to the antiwar movement. Find out why the US was in Vietnam, why Great Britain never joined the coalition fighting in Vietnam, and Malcolm explains why the massive hit movie Aliens is in fact a film about the war in Southeast Asia! All this and much, much more on this week’s bumper length American History Too! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading and Viewing List -          Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Peace now!: American society and the ending of the Vietnam War (1999) -          Stewart O’Nan, The Vietnam Reader: The Definitive Collection of Fiction and Nonfiction on the War (1998) -