Four More Years: Presidential Inaugurations
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 [...]
Thenceforward and Forever Free [Rebroadcast]
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?
Coming Home: A History of War Veterans [rebroadcast]
How have war veterans been treated in the aftermath of America’s past wars? How much depends on the politics of the war? Are vets only as popular as the wars they’ve fought in?
Thenceforward and Forever Free
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?
Conventional Wisdom: A History of American Political Conventions
American political conventions haven’t always been so predictable. Before becoming scripted for television, conventions were often where pressing issues of the day got hashed out and careers were made or ruined. In this hour of BackStory we venture into the back rooms, the chaotic halls, and the streets where these dramas unfolded.
Monumental Disagreements
This is a country awash in monuments. They are the centerpieces of traffic circles, street corners and, of course, the National Mall. We have erected them to Rosie the Riveter and Confederate generals. Yet our ambivalence towards these monuments is as old as our enthusiasm for them. Case in point: The Washington Monument. Ever wonder [...]
Coming Home: A History of War Veterans
How have war veterans been treated in the aftermath of America’s past wars? How much depends on the politics of the war? Are vets only as popular as the wars they’ve fought in?
“Questions Remain” — Transcript
This is the transcript of “Civil War 150th: Questions Remain,” broadcast in April of 2011. You can listen to the entire show here. Tape: From VFH Radio in Charlottesville, Virginia, this is “BackStory.” Peter Onuf: From weapons of mass destruction to the U.S.S. Maine, each of America’s wars has been accompanied by its own [...]
Civil War 150th: Questions Remain
After 150 years of national conversation–and tens of thousands of books–why does the Civil War still fascinate? Share your stories, questions, and comments here!
“Why They Fought” – Features and Highlights
The following interviews are included in the BackStory episode “Civil War 150th: Why They Fought,” produced in March of 2011. You can listen to the entire episode here. Gary Gallagher: Why Northerners Fought — University of Virginia historian Gary Gallagher argues that while Northern leaders’ opposition to slavery brought on the Civil War, it wasn’t [...]
