Ruins of San Francisco City Hall after 1906 earthquake and fire.

In 1815, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia sent enough ash into the sky to disrupt weather across the globe for the next year.  In New England, 1816 became known as “The Year Without a Summer.”  Snow fell throughout June and July.   Temperatures swung wildly. Crops and animals died.  According to one diarist, the 4th of July saw “ice as thick as window glass” as far south as Pennsylvania.  Tens of thousands of people picked up and left; their search for greener pastures in Indiana and Illinois became the first chapter in a larger story of westward expansion.

This week on BackStory, we tackle weather in its strangest and scariest permutations.  How have Americans thought about extreme weather through history, and how has the weather shaped our history?  What kinds of disaster responses have been useful and which ones have been, well, disastrous?  And how much of a natural disaster can we really blame on nature?

Please help us shape this show!   Ever moved from one region to another to escape the threat of hurricanes or earthquakes?  What do you think we learned (or didn’t learn) from Katrina?  How does climate change fit into the picture?  And why  are disaster movies so compulsively watchable?  Share your stories, questions, and ideas below!

Photo courtesy Library of Congress

Sloshed, hammered, smashed. . . Ben Franklin might have said that Americans were double toung’d or cherry merry – but it all means the same thing. Drinking, and drunkenness, has always been a feature of the American landscape. But throughout our history, there has been a tension between excess and prohibition. In the Colonial era, men frequently hit the bottle before attending court or church – and their wives provided the homemade cider. In the 19th century, anxieties about big cities, race, and ethnicity inflamed a virulent fight for prohibition. And in the 20th century, not everyone celebrated the freedom to buy booze after Prohibition’s repeal.

In this hour, we’ll explore the social, economic, and health consequences of drinking. BackStory fans may have heard our Alcohol show a few years ago – but we’re taking another look deep into the liquor cabinet, and finding out what it means to drink booze in America. Right now, we want to know what YOU have to say. Is there a recipe for a drink you can’t wrap your head around? Do you have a traditional tailgating beer? Do you remember when the drinking age was 18? What are the darker sides of alcohol? We want to know what you think comprises the American story of booze. Post here, or at www.facebook.com/backstory

The Worlds Largest Peanut Monument stands along I-75 in Ashburn, Georgia.

For Memorial Day, we’re taking some time out to think about how and what Americans have memorialized. In this episode, we’ll attempt to breathe some life back into the debates and controversies that have surrounded some of our most iconic national monuments. We’ll pay particular attention to the way monuments often seem to say more about their creators than about the people they memorialize. Case-in-point: the Washington Monument, the subject of decades of controversy about what sort of country the founders meant this to be.

Help us out: Do you have a favorite memorial or monument? Anything close to home or that hits you more personally than anything in DC? Tell us all about it, below.

A woodcut of the Haymarket Square bombing in 1886. From Harper's Weekly.

On September 16th, 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street as workers took their lunch break.  The explosion killed 38 people and injured hundreds. The targets? What we’d call today the one percent, the powerful financiers who ran JP Morgan.  The Wall Street attack was the deadliest terrorist bombing in the US until Oklahoma City in 1995 - but at the time, people saw it as just one more bombing in a long string of anarchist attacks.

That got us wondering: how has Americans’ experience of terrorism changed over the centuries?  What sorts of people and movements have been identified as particular threats?  When have we found effective responses to the threat of terror, and when have we gone disastrously wrong?

Please help us shape this show!  Do you remember the Weather Underground or the kidnapping of Patty Hearst?  In the post-9/11 world, has domestic terrorism completely disappeared from view?  How do we balance counterterrorism and our civil liberties?  Share your stories, questions, and ideas below.

When yellow fever struck Philadelphia in 1793, a ninth of the city’s population died.  The entire federal government picked up and fled.   A hundred years later, the pendulum had swung sharply in the opposite direction.  Health workers took extreme measures to contain disease — imprisoning the sick, burning entire districts, and vaccinating resistant citizens at gunpoint.  We wondered: why the change?

In this episode, we’ll trace the shifting role of the state in preventing and coping with epidemics.  Where do we draw the line between promoting the public good and protecting individual rights?  How did people understand the causes and experience of disease in their own time?  And why did so many people resist public health measures, so fiercely, for so long?

Please help us shape this show!  Were you transfixed by “Contagion”?  Remember avoiding the swimming pool during polio scares?  Have an opinion on current vaccination requirements?  Share your stories, questions, and ideas below.

Tom Ireland House, Webberville, Travis County, TX 1937 (via Library of Congress)

If home ownership is such a central part of the American Dream, then why has it been so difficult for so many Americans to attain? Was there ever a Golden Age of home ownership?

In this episode of the show, we’ll search for the roots of the ideal that “Every American should own his own home,” and examine some of the systemic challenges that many Americans have faced in trying to achieve that ideal. As we’ll hear, even the homesteaders were stymied in their attempts to claim what was supposed to be theirs.

Help us Out: Has the recent housing market collapse affected you? Do you remember your family’s first move to the suburbs? Have you ever fallen victim to a neighborly feud? What are your feelings about your childhood home vs. the place you live now? Let us know in the comment section below!

Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912

From Tunisia to Zucotti Park, 2011 was a year of change-making. Time magazine dubbed “the protester” its person-of-the-year, arguing that not since 1848 had citizen-activists overthrown as many entrenched regimes as they did last year. Maybe so, but was “the protester” of 163 years ago really equivalent to today’s activists? Or has protest itself morphed and evolved in the decades since?

In this episode, we’ll explore political protest in its American forms, and ask how the protest tactics we’re familiar with today came into being. From the Tea Party of 1773 to its contemporary namesake, how have protesters marketed their message to the larger world? What strategies have proven the most successful?

What most interests you about the history of protest in America? Post your comments, stories, and questions below. Or just hold up a really big sign outside our offices.

Chicago Kent College of Law indoor baseball player, M. Ryan. 1910.

Quick — what’s the first thing that comes to mind when we say “college sports?” Did you think “scandal?” What about “pay-for-play?”

College sports have provided some of the most heated controversies of the year, and so we can’t help but wonder; why do sports even exist at colleges and universities? After all, it seems like most of the problems associated with amateur athletics would disappear if they weren’t taking place at places of “higher learning.”

In this episode, we’re going to look at the origins of college sports, and the ways universities have justified athletics on their campuses throughout history. And that question about paying student athletes? Turns out… it goes back a lot further than you might think.

Let us know what you want to know! Share your stories, questions, and ideas below.

Further Reading

COMING SOON…

Loading sugar cane in Hawaii, 1917 (Library of Congress)

From the triangle trade to labor struggles in Hawaii to the rise of high-fructose corn syrup, sweetness in America has always been politically charged. Why has sugar been so intimately linked to power over the centuries? How has our national sweet tooth shaped our political and economic priorities?

In this episode, the History Guys will explore sweetness in American history.  The Sugar Act of 1764 helped feed colonial resentment of Great Britain, paving the way for protests and, ultimately, the American Revolution. A century and a half later, US tariff walls gave Puerto Rican sugar a ready market – but pushed the territory toward a one-crop economy that later collapsed.

Through the 19th century, sugar was intimately linked to slavery; free blacks in the 1830s boycotted slave-produced sugar in a stand against the “peculiar institution.” A century later, the sugar beet industry revolutionized the rural Midwest, bringing with it questions about the role of foreign migrant workers and urban factory workers. So where does sugar fit into labor history in the US? How has this tasty cash crop affected our environment and our economy? And what does it tell us about globalization before the 20th century?

Please help us shape this episode — post your ideas, stories, and questions below!

Motorcycle Postman, 1912 (Library of Congress)

For more than two centuries, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night has kept American letter carriers from delivering the mail. But with the USPS facing losses of up to $12 billion this year, it now seems like budget woes might do what the weather couldn’t. (At least on Saturdays.)

In this episode, the History Guys will explore the rise – and fall – of the post office system. Most of us think of the mail primarily as a communications medium, but in the early days of our nation’s history, it served a vitally important political function as well. National politicians used the mail to reach a geographically-scattered electorate, and citizens used it to engage one another on the important issues of the day. If that weren’t enough, we also have the postal system to thank for the nation’s early road network. One scholar has even argued that modern privacy protections were forged by Americans’ use of the mail.

So what would it mean for our country if the mail only came a few days a week — or not at all? When you think about the post office, do you think “pillar of democracy” or just “bloated bureaucracy?” What would you most like to know about the history of the mail? Please help us shape this episode — post your thoughts, stories, and questions below!

“The most important question in American politics today is whether America is an exceptional nation.” – Newt Gingrich, 2011

180 years after Alexis de Tocqueville posited that the U.S. was an exceptional case in the history of democratic societies, the idea of “American Exceptionalism” is alive and well. Almost every GOP candidate for president in 2012 has invoked the idea, each suggesting that President Obama doesn’t sufficiently embrace it. And so you might be surprised to learn that 90 years ago, it was American communists who were Exceptionalism’s biggest fans.

In this episode, the History Guys will look at the changing meanings of Exceptionalism. From the Puritan notion of a “city upon a hill” to the 19th century concept of manifest destiny, from Woodrow Wilson’s vision of the U.S. as a worldwide model to Ronald Reagan’s rejuvenation of the Puritans, why have Americans seen themselves as different? Is there something to the idea, do you think, or is it simply a dressed-up version of patriotism?

Please — help us to build this show. Weigh in with your thoughts, stories, and questions below!

BackStory

If you’ve never listened to BackStory, spend some time in our archive of past shows to get a sense of what we’re all about. Or, you can read what others have pitched in the past here, here, here, and here. To find out how we use your input, check out this post. Basically, we’re looking for topics we can trace over the entire course of American history, rather than single episodes or chapters from history. So….

The Civil Rights Era = Bad Topic
The History of Activism = Good Topic
The Gold Rush = Bad Topic
Boom & Bust in American History = Good Topic

To suggest a topic, either “Join the Discussion” below OR send an email to <backstory at virginia dot edu>.

Part 1: THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR

"The Hercules of Union Slaying the Great Dragon of Secession," 1861 (Library of Congress)

As America launches its multi-year commemoration of the Civil War, it’s easy to overlook the fact that back in the spring of 1861, disunion was anything but inevitable. This episode traces the dramatic six months leading up to the outbreak of war, and explores the complex layers of logic and emotion that Americans experienced as they looked into a very uncertain future. Listen here.

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Part 2: WHY THEY FOUGHT

Two Soldiers from 23rd NY Infantry, c. 1861-1865 (Library of Congress)

Slavery, in a word, was what brought on the Civil War. But in the spring of 1861, most Southerners didn’t own slaves and only a tiny minority of Northerners were abolitionists. So how are we to understand the willingness of soldiers on both sides to take up arms against each other? Listen here.

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Part 3: QUESTIONS REMAIN

Ruins of Richmond and Petersburg RR Depot, 1865 (Lib. of Congress)

In this episode, the History Guys open up the phone lines and take listener questions about all aspects of the Civil War.  Listen here.

___________________________________________________________

Hungry for more? Subscribe here to BackStory’s special “Civil War 150th” podcast feed, which includes Civil War-related excerpts from our entire program archive.

If you’ve never listened to BackStory, spend some time in our archive of past shows to get a sense of what we’re all about. Or, you can read what others have pitched in the past here, here, here, and here. To find out how we use your input, check out this post. Basically, we’re looking for topics we can trace over the entire course of American history, rather than single episodes or chapters from history. So….

The Civil Rights Era = Bad Topic
The History of Activism = Good Topic
The Gold Rush = Bad Topic
Boom & Bust in American History = Good Topic

To suggest a topic, either “Join the Discussion” below OR send an email to backstory@virginia.edu.

In a special podcast produced in collaboration with the History Channel, the History Guys will trace the history of women in the workplace. From the farms of colonial America to the factories of World War II, how have war, boom & bust, and education shaped the changing role of women in the American economy?

Stay tuned to this space for the actual podcast. In the meantime, here are a few interesting stories and resources we’ve found thus far. Take a look:

General and Modern History

• Harvard Business School’s “Women, Enterprise, & Society” collection.
• The Economist hosts a debate on the proposition, “This house believes that women in the developed world have never had it so good.”
• Pew Research Center on the economics of marriage and breadwinners, “New Economics of Marriage: The Rise of Wives.”
• Time Magazine on the changing “State of the American Woman.”
• The Economist with an overview of the state of women in the workplace, “Female Power.”
• New York Times on women and work, “In a First, Women Surpass Men on U.S. Payrolls.”

Rosie

• A brief profile of our guest, Frances Tunnell Carter.
• “Rosie the Riveter” by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb, performed by The Four Vagabonds in the early ’40s.
• Library of Congress webcast presentation about Norman Rockwell’s “Rosie the Riveter” and the “We Can Do It!” posters.  Historian Sheridan Harvey does a great job tracing the historical and artistic roots of these icons.
• Library of Congress archive of WWII Rosie photographs.

19th Century

• Harvard’s “Women Working” collection of original diaries, letters, pamphlets, and photographs.
• Excerpts from the “Handbook to Lowell” for girls working at the famous Lowell mills in the mid 1800′s.
• Harvard Library’s scanned copies of “The Lowell Offering,” a paper produced and written by the women working in Lowell.

18th Century

• Colonial Williamsburg on women and education in 18th century Virginia.

BackStory invites you to propose a topic for our fall season below and let us know why you think it would make for a compelling hour of radio. Which concerns facing Americans today could use historical unpacking by the History Guys? (Or, thinking ahead, what do you predict will be on everyone’s minds when autumn rolls around?) What are the most important questions surrounding your proposed topic?

If you’ve never listened to BackStory, spend some time in our archive of past shows to get a sense of what we’re all about. Or, you can read what others have pitched in the past here and here. To find out how we use your input, check out this post. Basically, we’re looking for topics we can trace over the entire course of American history, rather than single episodes or chapters from history. So….

The Civil Rights Era = Bad Topic
The History of Activism = Good Topic
The Gold Rush = Bad Topic
Boom & Bust in American History = Good Topic

To suggest a topic, either “Join the Discussion” below OR send an email to backstory@virginia.edu.

If you’ve never listened to BackStory, spend some time in our archive of past shows to get a sense of what we’re all about. Or, you can read what others have pitched in the past here and here. Basically, we’re looking for topics we can trace over the entire course of American history, rather than single episodes or chapters from history. So….

The Civil Rights Era = Bad Topic
The History of Activism = Good Topic
The Gold Rush = Bad Topic
Boom & Bust in American History = Good Topic

To suggest a topic, either “Join the Discussion” below OR send an email to backstory@virginia.edu.

Many thanks to all you responsible citizens of BackStory who voted for your favorite show idea! Behind the scenes, teams of archaic statisticians and historical engineers have been carefully tabulating the results. So what ARE the results, you ask? Three awesome new shows! (Well, make that two awesome new shows and one radical show-to-be…) Be sure and check out The More Things Change: Presidential Transitions and From Whales To Wind: A History of Energy in our archive. And help us out by weighing in on The Extraordinary Ordinary: Populism in America, a future show that grew out of your Anti-Intellectualism idea below.

Voting has closed for now, but you can still make suggestions for future shows at our Pitch A Show page. Fire away!

***

You spoke and we listened!  Based on feedback from you the BackStory listening audience, we’ve compiled the following list of possible show topics for the next season of BackStory.  Vote once (and only once) for your favorite topic.  Whichever topic comes out on top will be worked into the next season. Vote Now!

[page_polls]

From Whales to Wind: Fueling America
Fourthtower wrote “I’d love to see something in the history of energy. Edison and Rockefeller versus Tesla, coal and steam power, the building of the great dams for water, etc…that might educate on how we got where we are now, what other paths we could have taken and why we didn’t.”

Man’s Best Friend: Americans and Their Animals
Lauren wrote “The relationship of Americans and animals (people claim today that the emotional investment in pets, acted out in economics, is unlike anything previously).”

Ping Pong Relations: China & the U.S.
Rebecca wrote “How about something on relationship between China and US and shifting views of China. . . RR, exclusion, open door, missionaries, Pearl Buck, WWII and the good Asians, cold war, Nixon, adoption of Chinese children by US families, human rights questions, global warming, Olympics, etc.”

Read My Lips: Presidential Expectations vs. Presidential Realities
Matt wrote: “How about this for a topical show: How do presidencies past relate to the promises made on the campaign trail?”

Location, Location, Location!: Boom & Bust of American Cities
Meredith wrote: “I would be interested in a program on the topic “birth of a city, or location, location, location” — although the topic of Gold Rush is bad for your purposes, the Gold Rush fostered the birth of cities like San Francisco. Natural resources in different parts of the country as well as financial and human resources along with circumstances spawned tremendously fast growth in certain areas. Why?  Financial institutions and ports also could be examined as to how certain communities thrive and some don’t.”

Ordinary Guys: (Anti-)Intellectualism in American History
Jon wrote: “When did it become so uncool to be smart in America? When did being supremely educated become a red flag of “elitism” rather than, oh, I don’t know, something that might make you aptly qualified to lead?  Has this always been the case?”