Presenting "Crime House True Crime Stories:" A Crime House Original
Mon, 17 Mar 2025
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! HTDS will be back next week with a special episode continuing our history...
175: The Dirty Thirties (The New Deal pt. 2): Dust, Doubts, and the “Second” New Deal
Mon, 10 Mar 2025
“I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet.” This is the st...
174: The First “First Hundred Days:” FDR Kicks Off the New Deal
Mon, 24 Feb 2025
“[We] had forgotten to be Republicans or Democrats. We were just a bunch of men trying to save the...
173: From Hyde Park to the White House: The Early Life and Election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Mon, 10 Feb 2025
“First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-–...
14 (Second Edition): The Newburgh Conspiracy and The Peace of Paris
Mon, 27 Jan 2025
“I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country.” This is the story (or t...
13 (Second Edition): The Battle of the Chesapeake & the World Turns Upside Down at Yorktown
Mon, 13 Jan 2025
"The British officers in general behaved like boys who had been whipped at school.” This is the s...
12 (Second Edition): An American Judas Betrays & Nathanael Greene Saves!
Mon, 30 Dec 2024
"Arnold has betrayed us! Whom can we trust now?" This isn't a story of betrayal; this is THE story ...
172: Breadlines, Bank Failures, & the Bonus Army: Hoover & the Early Great Depression
Mon, 16 Dec 2024
"Too much praise cannot be given to the President for the prompt and resolute and skillful way in wh...
171: Christmas Special VIII: Festivities in the Jazz Age
Mon, 02 Dec 2024
“There is a million dollars here for the asking!” This is the story of Christmas in the 1920s. ...
170: The Crash of 1929 & Meeting President Herbert Hoover
Mon, 18 Nov 2024
“A wise man never sells out at the first sign of trouble. That’s for the pikers.” This is the...
169: An Epilogue to the 1920s: Youth culture, The Great Gatsby, and more with Professor Sarah Churchwell
Mon, 04 Nov 2024
Our last few episodes have reveled in stories of the popularization of movies, music and sports duri...
168: Halloween Special IV: Nosferatu and Silent Horror
Mon, 21 Oct 2024
“His Lordship from Transylvania would like to purchase a nice house in our small town . . . it wil...
167: The Golden Age of Sports: Horse Racing, Boxing, Basketball, Football, & Jim Thorpe
Mon, 07 Oct 2024
“We have a basket and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it.” This is the...
166: A Conversation on Negro Leagues Baseball History with Bob Kendrick
Mon, 30 Sep 2024
As a follow up to episode 165 America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball, we’re proud to share an inte...
165: America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the Great Bambino
Mon, 23 Sep 2024
"As I hit the ball, every muscle in my system, every sense I had, told me that I had never hit a bet...
164: Harlem Renaissance: The Great Migration, Jazz, and the Flowering of Black Culture
Mon, 09 Sep 2024
“Harlem is the queen of the black belts, drawing Aframericans together in a vast humming hive . . ...
163: The Show (Boat) Must Go On: Broadway and the American Musical
Mon, 26 Aug 2024
“Miller, Lyles, and I were standing near the exit door . . . Blake stuck out there in front, leadi...
162: The Birth of the Movies: From Silent Cinema to the Rise of Hollywood & the First “Talkie”
Mon, 12 Aug 2024
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet!” This is the story of the silver ...
161: An Epilogue Toast to Prohibition’s End with Author Daniel Okrent
Mon, 29 Jul 2024
Cheers to Professor Jackson’s post Prohibition conversation with distinguished author Daniel Okren...
160: Al Capone & the End of Prohibition
Mon, 15 Jul 2024
“Only Capone kills like that.” This is the story of the rise and fall of Al Capone, and the las...
159: Scofflaws, Moonshiners, Bootleggers, and Crime Lords
Mon, 01 Jul 2024
“Don’t ask me nothin’! You hear me? Don’t ask! And don’t bring anybody in here for me to i...
158: Prohibition - So You Wanna Be a Rum Runner?
Mon, 17 Jun 2024
“You’re Bill McCoy.” “Never heard of him.” This is the story of a crazy decade-plus when ...
157: Temperance, Prohibition, and the Path to the 18th Amendment
Mon, 03 Jun 2024
Episode Description: “Farewell, you good-for-nothing, God-forsaken, iniquitous, bleary-eyed, bloat...
156: The Presidency of “Silent” Cal Coolidge
Mon, 20 May 2024
“I believe I can swing it.” This is the story of the Coolidge Administration. Calvin Coolidge ...
155: The Life & Times of Warren G. Harding & The Teapot Dome Scandal
Mon, 06 May 2024
“If you knew of a great scandal in our administration, would you for the good of the country and t...
154: An Epilogue Discussion with Ben Sawyer
Mon, 22 Apr 2024
The Prof. sits down with fellow Prof. Ben Sawyer of the Road to Now Podcast and Middle Tennessee Sta...
153: West Virginia’s Mine Wars: From Trouble in Matewan to the Battle of Blair Mountain
Mon, 08 Apr 2024
“I want to say make no settlement until they sign up that every bloody murderer of a guard has got...
152: The Second Ku Klux Klan: Racism, Anti-Semitism, & Anti-Catholicism in the 1920s
Mon, 25 Mar 2024
“Every official except one elected yesterday at the first municipal election of this borough had b...
151: The First Red Scare - Bombings, The Palmer Raids, Eugene Debs, and J. Edgar Hoover
Mon, 11 Mar 2024
“Palmer, do not let this country see red.” This is the story of America’s First Red Scare. On...
150: The Great War’s Aftermath: Coming Home, The Spanish Flu, & The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Mon, 26 Feb 2024
“I keep wondering if the Unknown Soldier is one of my men.” This is the story of the United Sta...
149: WWI Epilogue
Mon, 01 Jan 2024
The Episode to end all … World War I episodes. Professor Jackson sits down with Kelsi Dynes to tal...
148: Tales of Christmas from World War I (A Truce, Plum Pudding, and Love)
Mon, 04 Dec 2023
“The circumstances under which we are spending this particular Christmas are unusual.” This is ...
147: Peacemaking in Paris: The Treaty of Versailles
Mon, 20 Nov 2023
“A Peace which cannot be defended in the name of justice before the whole world would continually ...
146: The Armistice of November 11, 1918
Mon, 06 Nov 2023
“The German delegation has come to receive the proposals of the Allied Powers looking to an armi...
145: Halloween Special III: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Mon, 23 Oct 2023
“If I can but reach that bridge,” thought Ichabod, “I am safe.” This is the story of school...
144: A Conversation with Ken Burns - Storytelling and the American Buffalo
Mon, 09 Oct 2023
Professor Greg Jackson sits down with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his latest fil...
143: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (pt.2) – Breaking the Kriemhilde Line
Mon, 25 Sep 2023
“All right, General. We’ll take it, or my name will head the list.” This is the story of Meus...
142: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (pt.1) – “The Lost Battalion”
Mon, 11 Sep 2023
“Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.” This is...
141: Wartime Interlude
Mon, 28 Aug 2023
Time to review! Greg and Kelsi talk through the main takeaways of the American story in World War I ...
140: WWI Aviators: From the Lafayette Escadrille to the Red Baron and More
Mon, 14 Aug 2023
“Something has happened to one of the boys.” This is the story of the Great War’s flyboys –...
139: From Yeomen (F) to “Hello Girls:” American Women in World War I
Mon, 31 Jul 2023
“Is there any regulation which specifies that a Navy yeoman be a man?” This is the story of t...
138: The 15th New York/369th or The Harlem Hellfighters
Mon, 17 Jul 2023
“My men never retire. They go forward, or they die!” This is the story of the 15th New York, a....
137: The First Battle of the First American Army: St. Mihiel
Mon, 03 Jul 2023
“Marshal Foch, you have no authority as Allied Commander-in-Chief to call upon me to yield up my...
136: The German Spring Offensive’s End, or The Second Battle of the Marne
Mon, 19 Jun 2023
“Every time I have felt annoyed since then at France, this picture comes to mind and my anger soft...
135: Belleau Wood – A Cut Deeper with Captain Mac Caldwell
Mon, 05 Jun 2023
The impact of the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood on the US Marine Corps is hard to overstate. Though in...
134: (Most of) The German Spring Offensive of 1918 & The Fight for Belleau Wood
Mon, 22 May 2023
This is the story of the first real battles of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I...
133: Heading “Over There:” “Black Jack” Pershing & Creating WWI’s American Expeditionary Force
Mon, 08 May 2023
“Lafayette, nous sommes ici!” (Lafayette, we are here!) This is the story of a nation building a...
132: The US Enters WWI (RMS Lusitania, Black Tom Island, & The Zimmermann Telegram)
Mon, 24 Apr 2023
“I still think I see the struggling of poor passengers in the water.” This is the story of the ...
131: Epilogue on World War 1 before the US
Mon, 10 Apr 2023
Starting the Great War (World War I) and covering this massive conflict up to 1917 has been a pretty...
130: Russia: From the Great War to Revolution with Deputy Provost Kat Brown
Mon, 27 Mar 2023
To say Russia had a difficult go of it during World War I would be a gross understatement. Millions ...
129: World War I Before the US (Military Tech, Trenches, Global Armies, Ypres, Verdun & the Somme)
Mon, 13 Mar 2023
“In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row.” This is the story of ...
128: The Causes of World War I (From the Congress of Vienna to Franz Ferdinand & the Marne)
Mon, 27 Feb 2023
“Sopherl, Sopherl! Don’t die on me. Live for our children.” This is the 99-year story of Euro...
127: Mr. Wilson Goes to Washington (Progressive Policies & Foreign Affairs in South America)
Mon, 13 Feb 2023
“It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.” ...
126: Christmas Special 6: Jacob Riis’ “Is There a Santa Claus?”
Mon, 19 Dec 2022
“Now, how would you like to be a reporter, if you have got nothing better to do?” This is the s...
125: Epilogue: The Progressive Era
Mon, 05 Dec 2022
So much to say–it’s been a while! Kelsi and Greg share stories that they wish made it into some...
124: The “Bull Moose” Election of 1912
Mon, 21 Nov 2022
“It’s true. But it takes more than that to kill a bull moose.” This is the story of one of th...
123: The Wright Brothers Fly at Kitty Hawk
Mon, 07 Nov 2022
“Not in a thousand years would man ever fly.” This is the story of two brothers and the dream...
122: Halloween Special II: H.P. Lovecraft – “The Outsider” & “Dagon”
Mon, 24 Oct 2022
“I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight I shall be no more.” Thi...
121: Henry Ford: The Model T & Mass Production
Mon, 10 Oct 2022
“Your car is self-contained–it carries its own power-plant … keep at it.” This is the story ...
120: From Atlanta to the NAACP, or Booker T. Washington v. W.E.B. Du Bois
Mon, 26 Sep 2022
“I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate, I suspect I mu...
119: Women’s Suffrage & the Passage of the 19th Amendment
Mon, 12 Sep 2022
“President Wilson, how long must we wait for liberty?” This is the story of women’s suffrage....
118: “The Island of Hope and Tears:” Ellis Island
Mon, 29 Aug 2022
“That’s the light of freedom! Remember that. Freedom.” This is the story of 40% of modern Amer...
117: Epilogue on Progressive Era Part I (Teddy Roosevelt)
Mon, 15 Aug 2022
With the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt covered, Greg sits down with Zach and Kelsi to talk favorite ...
116: Teddy Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy: From Big Stick Diplomacy to the Panama Canal
Mon, 01 Aug 2022
“I [will] be obliged to interfere, by force if necessary, if the Germans [take] any action which l...
115: History–Doomed to Repeat It? A Conversation with Lindsay Graham
Mon, 18 Jul 2022
The Legendary podcaster and composer (but not US Senator) Lindsay Graham is a dear friend of HTDS an...
114: A Square Deal (pt. 3): “Leave it as it is” (Teddy Roosevelt & Conservationism)
Mon, 20 Jun 2022
“Very well then–I so declare it.” This is the story of the final “C” of President Theodor...
113: A Square Deal (pt. 2): Consumer Protection–The FDA, & Ida Tarbell muckrakes Standard Oil
Mon, 06 Jun 2022
“In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck Rake …”...
112: A Square Deal (pt. 1): Corp. Regulation—a coal strike, a trust, & Teddy’s Frenemy J.P. Morgan
Mon, 23 May 2022
“If we have done anything wrong, send your man to my man and they can fix it up.” This is the f...
111: The Assassination of Will McKinley & The Strenuous Life of Theodore Roosevelt
Mon, 09 May 2022
“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.” T...
110: Epilogue to the Age of Imperialism
Mon, 25 Apr 2022
Greg, Zach, and Kelsi sit down for a chat about America’s surprisingly compact burst of turn-of-th...
109: The Election of 1900 & the Rise of Anti-Imperialism
Mon, 11 Apr 2022
“Only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.” This is ...
108: G.O. 100, “The Water Cure,” & The Law of War in the Early-20th Century with Professor Ryan Vogel
Mon, 28 Mar 2022
The ugliest aspects of the Philippine-American War raised questions of legitimate warfare. Specifica...
107: The Philippine-American War
Mon, 14 Mar 2022
“Co … wards! Assassins!” This is the story of the Philippine-American War. Having bested the ...
106: The US Annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Mon, 28 Feb 2022
“You have my love, and with sorrow I dismiss you.” This is the story of the Hawaiian Kingdom’...
105: “A Splendid Little War:” The Spanish-American War and Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders
Mon, 14 Feb 2022
“Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn’t made that will kill me.” This is the story of the Spani...
104: The Road to the Spanish-American War
Mon, 31 Jan 2022
“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” This is the story of the road to war for American Emp...
103: A Gilded Age Christmas: Joseph Pulitzer’s Christmas Tree Fund
Mon, 20 Dec 2021
“Santa can’t fool [me], since the holes in [my] stockings are too big for anything to be put in....
102: Epilogue to the Gilded Age
Mon, 22 Nov 2021
Greg sits down with Zach and Kelsi for a chat. They make a rather … LIVE(ly) announcement … then...
101: The New South, Jim Crow (Plessy v. Ferguson), & the Death of Frederick Douglass
Mon, 08 Nov 2021
“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” This is the sto...
100: Halloween Special! Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, & The Raven
Mon, 25 Oct 2021
‘How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole sto...
99: The Gilded Age’s Singer Sewing Machines & Dangerous Bananas w/ Dr. Ben Sawyer of The Road To Now
Mon, 11 Oct 2021
Did Singer Sewing Machines take over the world? And are bananas as dangerous as they appear in carto...
98: Silver & Gold: From Grover Cleveland to William Jennings Bryan & William McKinley
Mon, 27 Sep 2021
“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” This is the story of the Gilded Age’s l...
97: The Gilded Age’s Robber Barons: John D. Rockefeller & Andrew Carnegie
Mon, 13 Sep 2021
“Someday, some-time, when I am a man, I want to be worth a hundred thousand dollars!” This is th...
96: The War of the Currents: (Thomas Alva Edison v. Nikola Tesla & George Westinghouse)
Mon, 30 Aug 2021
“Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor.” This is the story of opinionated inventors ...
95: "Several Thousand Things that Won't Work:" Thomas Alva Edison and His Electric Light
Mon, 16 Aug 2021
“I have got so much to do and life is so short, I am going to hustle.” This is the story of tria...
94: Epilogue to Gilded Age Part I (or Gilded Age interlude w/ Significant HTDS Updates)
Mon, 02 Aug 2021
An epilogue. Or interlude? Well, we aren’t done with the Gilded Age, but we have too much behind-t...
93: La Liberté éclairant le monde: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty
Mon, 19 Jul 2021
“Vive l’entente fraternelle des deux républiques !” This is the story of the Statue of Libert...
92: The Brooklyn Bridge, or the Story of the Roebling Family
Mon, 21 Jun 2021
“John Roebling has not the leisure to wait upon any man.” This is the story of a bridge and a f...
91: The Gilded Age, Industrialization, and Assassination of President James Garfield
Mon, 07 Jun 2021
“What is the chief end of man? A: To get rich.” This is the story of the Gilded Age and its firs...
90: Epilogue to the Wild West
Mon, 10 May 2021
This is the end of the West! Meet two new researchers, Ryan Griffith and Zach Weaver, as they join G...
89: Closing the Wild West: (Wounded Knee, Buffalo Bill & the 1893 Colombian Expo)
Mon, 26 Apr 2021
“I wish to impress upon your minds that what you are about to witness is not a performance in the ...
88: “The Last Frontier:” The Purchase of Alaska and the Klondike Gold Rush
Mon, 12 Apr 2021
“This is my last opportunity to make a big haul. Alaska is the last West.” This is the story of...
87:Gunslingers & Outlaws (pt 2): Pearl Hart, Tombstone, Jesse James, B. Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Mon, 29 Mar 2021
“The fight’s commenced. Go to fighting or get away!” This is the story of more gunslinging and...
86: Gunslingers & Outlaws (pt 1): The Second Industrial Revolution, Sam Bass & Billy the Kid
Mon, 15 Mar 2021
“I am going to hell anyhow.” This is the story of the rise of Western outlaws and gunslingers. F...
85: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 3): The Central Pacific, Chinese Workers, & The Golden Spike
Mon, 01 Mar 2021
“Did they not build the Chinese Wall, the biggest piece of masonry in the world?” The Central P...
84: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 2): Dr. Thomas Durant, The Union Pacific & “Hell on Wheels”
Mon, 15 Feb 2021
“How dare you try to hog all the continent?” This is the story of the Union Pacific Railroad. Th...
83: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 1): Industrialization, Ted Judah & The Rise of the Central Pacific
Mon, 01 Feb 2021
“Every great enterprise has been ridiculed in the outset.” This is the story of the rise of the ...
82: Best Mini Episodes and Cold Opens of 2020
Mon, 18 Jan 2021
“Gentlemen, what is the cause of this violence?” This is the story of HTDS's 2020. Most people w...
81: Epilogue to Volume 6: Reconstruction and The Indian Wars
Mon, 04 Jan 2021
“The older I get the more I’m convinced that it’s the purpose of politicians and journalists t...
80: “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus:” A History
Mon, 21 Dec 2020
“Church bristled and pooh-poohed at the subject when I suggested that he write a reply to Virginia...
79: The Indian Wars (Part 3): Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce & Standing Bear’s Fight for Civil Rights
Mon, 07 Dec 2020
“Does this court think an Indian is a competent witness?” This is the story of the start of Indi...
78: The Indian Wars (Part 2): The Battle of the Little Bighorn (the Greasy Grass)
Mon, 23 Nov 2020
“There’s a good fight coming over the hill. That’s where the big fight is going to be. We’ll...
77: The Indian Wars (Part 1): The U.S.-Dakota War
Mon, 09 Nov 2020
“To be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” This is the story of the US-Dakota War. The most ea...
76: Reconstruction (Part 4): The Battle of Liberty Place and the Mississippi Plan
Mon, 26 Oct 2020
“Hang Kellogg! We’ll fight!” This is the story of the end of Reconstruction. Voter fraud and...
75: Reconstruction (Part 3): The Rise of the KKK and the First Black Men in Government
Mon, 12 Oct 2020
“Boys, let us get up a club or society of some description.” This is the story of Reconstructio...
74: Reconstruction (Part 2): The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
Mon, 28 Sep 2020
"The office has come to me unsought; I commence its duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscious ...
73: Reconstruction (Part 1): The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Mon, 14 Sep 2020
“You are placed in a position where you have the power to save or destroy us; to bless or blast us...
72: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Mon, 31 Aug 2020
“Sic semper tyrannis!” This is the story of deception. Conspiracy. Assassination. The handsome...
71: Revisiting the Hamilton/Burr Duel: An Affair of Honor
Mon, 17 Aug 2020
"Adieu best of wives and best of women." We’re interrupting our usual chronological walk through U...
70: Epilogue: The Civil War Comes to a Close
Mon, 03 Aug 2020
After nearly a full year of covering only four years of US history, we are done with the Civil War. ...
69: Surrender at Appomattox: The Last Days of the Civil War
Mon, 20 Jul 2020
“I feel that it is … my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of ...
68: Sherman's March to the Sea and the Thirteenth Amendment
Mon, 06 Jul 2020
“I can make the march, and make Georgia howl!” This is the story of the March to the Sea and th...
67: Ending 1864: The Battles of the Crater, Mobile Bay, Centralia, and Franklin
Mon, 22 Jun 2020
“Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” This is the story of the Civil War in late 1864. Battles...
66: The Election of 1864: Lincoln's Bid for Reelection
Mon, 08 Jun 2020
“Johnson is either drunk or crazy,” This is the story of the fight for the presidency in 1864. ...
65: Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign & The Free State of Jones
Mon, 25 May 2020
“War is war, and not popularity-seeking.” This is the story of the fall of Atlanta. William Tecu...
Bonus: A New Sound for HTDS (Farewell to Josh, Hello to Lindsay Graham & Airship)
Mon, 18 May 2020
After more than two years of putting his blood, sweat, and tears into HTDS, Sound Designer Josh Beat...
64: Grant's Overland Campaign: The Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, & Petersburg
Mon, 11 May 2020
“I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.” This is the story of hard fight...
Bonus: A Chat about Southern Accents w/ Jeremy Collins from "Podcasts We Listen To"
Wed, 06 May 2020
History can touch on present-day issues, and rather than duck away from such discomforts, Greg has a...
63: Wounded and Dying: Nurses, Doctors, and Disease in the Civil War
Mon, 27 Apr 2020
“I had never severed the nerves and fibers of human flesh.” This is the story of Civil War med...
62: The War in Tennessee: Chickamauga and Chattanooga
Mon, 13 Apr 2020
“Gloom and unspoken despondency hang like a pall everywhere.” This is the story of personalitie...
61: The Louisiana Native Guard, the 54th Massachusetts & On: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
Mon, 30 Mar 2020
“It is hard to believe that Southern soldiers—and Texans at that—have been whipped by a mongre...
60: Gettysburg
Mon, 16 Mar 2020
“I shall lead my division forward, sir.” This is the story of Gettysburg. It’s summer, 1863,...
59: Stone’s River, Suspending Habeas Corpus, Vicksburg, & Stonewall’s Death at Chancellorsville
Mon, 02 Mar 2020
“Grant is my man and I am his the rest of the war.” This is the story of hard fighting—on the...
58: Conscription & Riots (“A Rich Man’s War, But a Poor Man’s Fight”)
Mon, 17 Feb 2020
“Here’s a damned abolitionist! … He’s a Tribune man! Hang the son of a b****!” This is the...
57: Recap of The Civil War's First Half (1861-63)
Mon, 03 Feb 2020
"Keep the details! We love the stories!" After 11 episodes covering the first half of the Civil Wa...
56: The Battle of Fredericksburg and the First Campaign of Vicksburg
Mon, 20 Jan 2020
“If the world had been searched by Burnside for a location in which his army could be best defeate...
55: The Road to The Emancipation Proclamation
Mon, 06 Jan 2020
“The Proclamation is the drawing of a sword that can never be sheathed again.” This is the stor...
54: The Best Opening Scenes in HTDS History
Mon, 23 Dec 2019
“Our top spot goes to …” This is the story of stories (yeah, super “meta”). You know regu...
53: A Civil War Christmas with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Mon, 09 Dec 2019
“Our dispatches state that Lieut. Longfellow of First Mass. Cavalry was severely wounded.” This ...
52: From Second Bull Run, or Second Manassas to Antietam, or Sharpsburg
Mon, 25 Nov 2019
“Come on God damn you.” This is the story of the Second Bull Run/Manassas Campaign and the Battl...
51: A Change in Command: Seven Days Battles to the Battle of Cedar Mountain
Mon, 11 Nov 2019
“[Malvern Hill] was not war--it was murder.” This is the story of a Confederate comeback. Unio...
50: Mississippi Valley 1862: The Battles of New Orleans, Corinth, Memphis, and Vicksburg
Mon, 28 Oct 2019
This is the story of the Mississippi Valley in 1862. Navy Secretary Gideon “Father Neptune” Well...
49: From Little Mac McClellan to Stonewall Jackson: The Peninsula and Shenandoah Valley Campaigns
Mon, 14 Oct 2019
“In my opinion, Cadet Jackson of Virginia is a complete jackass.” This is the story of daring. ...
48: The Battle of Shiloh: “Now boys, pitch in!”
Mon, 30 Sep 2019
“Here boys, is as good a place as any on this battlefield to meet death!” This is the story of ...
47: Bull Run, Trent Affair, the Merrimack, & Fort Donelson: The Early Days of the Civil War
Mon, 16 Sep 2019
“There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” This is the story of...
46: The Civil War Begins: Fort Sumter, Secession, & Raising Armies
Mon, 02 Sep 2019
“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” This is the story of the last, bare t...
45: Volume IV Epilogue
Mon, 19 Aug 2019
"They are beautiful words, they are beautiful ideals... and there is beauty in seeing others as they...
44: Abraham Lincoln Becomes President of the Divided States of America
Mon, 05 Aug 2019
“Mary, Mary, we are elected!” This is the story of the election of Abraham Lincoln as Presiden...
43: Honest Abe, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, & John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
Mon, 22 Jul 2019
“Any man who took Lincoln for a simple-minded man would wind up with his back in a ditch.” This ...
42: Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave
Mon, 08 Jul 2019
“Master Bass, if justice had been done, I never would have been here.” This is the story of betr...
41: Kansas! (Bleeding Kansas, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, & Caning of Charles Sumner)
Mon, 24 Jun 2019
“We can send five thousand--enough to kill every God-damned abolitionist in the Territory.” This...
40: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention & the Explosion of Social Reform
Mon, 10 Jun 2019
“In the history of the world, the doctrine of Reform had never such scope as at the present hour.”...
39: The California Gold Rush and the Compromise of 1850
Mon, 27 May 2019
“The Union is doomed to dissolution. … I fix its probable occurrence within twelve years or thre...
38: The (Early) Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
Mon, 13 May 2019
“I am your fellow man, but not your slave, Frederick Douglass.” This is the story of self-educat...
37: La Amistad Slave Rebellion and the Rise of Abolitionism
Mon, 29 Apr 2019
“Give us free! Give us free!” This is the story of a daring slave rebellion at sea and the long ...
Volume III Epilogue
Mon, 15 Apr 2019
No, no, no, no--Cortes would’ve gotten his butt whooped if he had not gained lots of indigenous he...
36: Mexican-American War (Part 4): Los Niños Héroes, St. Patrick’s Battalion, & the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mon, 01 Apr 2019
This is the story of the Mexican-American War’s end and the making of Mexican heroes. Winfield Sco...
35: Mexican-American War (Part 3): Nuevo México and the Final Push from Vera Cruz
Mon, 18 Mar 2019
“By God, that does looked forked!” This is the story of further American advancements through No...
34: Mexican-American War (Part 2): The Pathfinder, the Bear Flag Revolt, y Los Californios
Mon, 04 Mar 2019
“Who the devil is Governor of California?’” This is the story of covert ops, secret orders, fa...
33: Mexican-American War (Part 1): From the Nueces River to the Rio Grande
Mon, 18 Feb 2019
“Hostilities may now be considered as commenced.” This is the story of the Mexican-American War’...
32: Mormonism and the Mormon Trail
Mon, 04 Feb 2019
“Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon.” This is the story of o...
31: The California Trail: From the Donner Party to the Gold Rush
Mon, 21 Jan 2019
“Never take no shortcuts.” This is the story of one of the larger Oregon Trail’s most importan...
30: The Oregon Trail (“You Have Died of Dysentery”)
Mon, 07 Jan 2019
“You damn Yankees will do anything you like.” This is the story of the Oregon Trail, including t...
Christmas Special II: A Jackson White House Christmas
Mon, 24 Dec 2018
“Now let’s see how Santa Claus will treat you, Mr. Uncle Jackson, President of all these United ...
29: The Bank War, Whigs, & Revolution in Texas
Mon, 10 Dec 2018
"Come and take it!” This is the story of Andrew Jackson’s ongoing Administration and the Texas R...
28: Ushering in the Age of Jackson
Mon, 26 Nov 2018
“May God Almighty forgive her murderers as I know she forgave them. I never can.” This is the st...
Epilogue to Volume 2
Sun, 11 Nov 2018
"There were no Canadians hurt in the making of this last volume." This is not a story. This is our s...
27: The Last of the Founding Fathers
Mon, 29 Oct 2018
“Thomas Jefferson survives.” This is the story of reconciliation--and death. With peace abroad a...
26: Peace in Ghent, War in New Orleans
Mon, 15 Oct 2018
“I could have walked on the dead bodies of the British for one-quarter of a mile without stepping ...
25: From Lake Champlain to the “Defense of Fort M’Henry”
Mon, 01 Oct 2018
“Does that star-spangled banner yet wave?” This is the story of the worst of the War of 1812 for...
24: From Granny to Old Ironsides: The Campaigns of 1812 and 1813.
Mon, 17 Sep 2018
“Don’t give up the ship!” This is the story of the first two years of the War of 1812, and i...
23: Prelude to America's Forgotten War
Sun, 02 Sep 2018
“We’ll root out the damn’d tories. We’ll drink their blood. We’ll eat their hearts!” Thi...
22: An Affair of Honor: Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr
Sun, 19 Aug 2018
"Adieu best of wives and best of Women. Embrace all my darling Children for me." This is the story o...
21: Thomas Jefferson Presents: Lewis & Clark’s Excellent Expedition
Mon, 06 Aug 2018
“Damn sugar, damn coffee, damn colonies!” This is the story of Thomas Jefferson building an “e...
20: "A Wolf by the Ears": Gabriel Rebels and Cotton Becomes King
Mon, 23 Jul 2018
“I have nothing more to offer than what General Washington would have had to offer, had he been ta...
19: The Traitor and The Thieving Spy: The Start of American Industrialization
Mon, 09 Jul 2018
“He invited me to see the loom operate. I well recollect the state of admiration and satisfaction ...
18: Affairs! Foreign and ..."Domestic"
Mon, 25 Jun 2018
“The intercourse with Mrs. Reynolds, in the meantime, continued.” This is the story of seduction...
Historians (of The) Roundtable: I
Thu, 07 Jun 2018
“The American Revolution is really different from most revolutions around the world. Sometimes Ame...
17: Death of a Nation's Father
Mon, 28 May 2018
“I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.” This is the story of death and (another) revolution. Th...
16: The Founding Fractures: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
Tue, 08 May 2018
“I always knew Colonel Hamilton to be a man of superior talents, but never supposed that he had an...
Epilogue To The Revolution; Or The Big Stuff You Should’ve Caught
Wed, 25 Apr 2018
“Oh, what, you want it in a single sentence? Fine, here you go.” The epilogue to the Revolution....
Q&A with The HTDS Team
Thu, 12 Apr 2018
"I'd say you know more than 90 percent of the American population about the American Revolution at t...
15: “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly
Mon, 26 Mar 2018
“What even is the Virginia Plan but democracy checked by democracy, or pork with a little change o...
14: Peace in Paris; Turmoil in New York
Wed, 14 Mar 2018
“I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country.” This is the story (or ta...
13: The World Turns Upside Down at Yorktown
Wed, 28 Feb 2018
“The British officers in general behaved like boys who had been whipped at school.” This is the ...
12: An American Judas Betrays & Nathanael Greene Saves!
Tue, 13 Feb 2018
“Arnold has betrayed us! Whom can we trust now?” This isn’t a story of betrayal; this is the s...
Second Edition Episodes: A Discussion
Wed, 31 Jan 2018
While discussed in passing in a few epilogues, the Prof. sits down with Kelsi to go deep on “secon...
11: Southern Discomfort: Savannah & Charleston Captured, Slavery, Massacres, & 1779’s Sundries
Wed, 31 Jan 2018
“I reject your proposals … and shall defend myself to the last extremity.” This is the story ...
10: Dueling, Life Sucks at Valley Forge, von Steuben's Cool & the Battle of Monmouth
Fri, 19 Jan 2018
“Stand fast, my boys, and receive your enemy!” This is the story of a miserable winter and the s...
9: (Almost) Everything Important in 1777--Saratoga, Lafayette & George Returns Gen. Howe’s Dog
Tue, 02 Jan 2018
“If old England is not by this lesson taught humility, then she is an obstinate old slut, bent upo...
Christmas Special: George Wishes Some Hessians a Merry F’ing Christmas
Sat, 23 Dec 2017
"These are the times that try men's souls." This is the story of the Battle of Trenton. George cross...
8: From Independence to NY (meeting A. Ham, Nathan Hale & Charles Lee is a Sneaky Bastard)
Sun, 17 Dec 2017
“I wish there was a war.” This is the story of independence and crushed hope. Congress is finall...
7: An Olive Branch Rejected, Tom's a Royal Pain(e), & the Siege of Boston
Mon, 04 Dec 2017
“Remember it is the fifth of March, and avenge the death of your brethren!” This is the story of...
6: "The Shot Heard Round the World"
Sat, 18 Nov 2017
“Fire, for God’s sake, fire!” This is the story of the first battle of the American Revolu...
5: "Delenda est Bostonia:" a Congress, Paul Rides, & the First Shot at Lexington
Wed, 01 Nov 2017
"Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men." This is the story of the First Con...
4: "Boston Harbor A Tea-Pot This Night:" The Boston Tea Party
Tue, 17 Oct 2017
"We have only been making a little salt-water tea." This is the story of the Boston Tea Party. The E...
3: "Clean My Sh*t House!" The Boston Massacre
Mon, 09 Oct 2017
"Damn you, fire, be the consequences what it will!" This is the story of the Boston Massacre. In...
2: Patrick Henry and Boston Get Pissed about Taxes
Sat, 30 Sep 2017
"Treason!" This is the story of Virginia's Patrick Henry. He is a dangerous combination: young, idea...
1: That One Time When George Washington Sort of Triggered an International War
Thu, 28 Sep 2017
"[He] washed his hands with the brains." This is the story of a 22-year-old George Washington as com...
0: Preamble
Tue, 26 Sep 2017
I the Professor, in order to give you a more perfect podcast, establish my goals, insure you know wh...