As the rest of Washington looks forward to the next four years, BackStory is looking back — at the last 224 years of presidential transitions. On today’s show, the History Guys focus in on several of the most high-stakes presidential inaugurations, and ask what these moments tell us about the social and political forces at [...]

We look at the narratives surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation and try to unpack its legacy. How can we best understand emancipation - as a moral imperative, a military necessity, a political strategy, or all of the above?

We look at the narratives surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation and try to unpack its legacy. How can we best understand emancipation - as a moral imperative, a military necessity, a political strategy, or all of the above?

We're devoting this episode of BackStory to maps - asking how the ways in which Americans have mapped geography illustrate the ways in which Americans have understood themselves socially.

As America launches a 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.

Join the History Guys as they explore the forces and motivations behind Americans' willingness to take up arms against one another.