BackStory

1/4/2013 - Join the Discussion | (3 Comments)

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?

9/28/2012 - Join the Discussion | (10 Comments)

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?

9/21/2012 - Join the Discussion | (5 Comments)

In this hour of BackStory we trace the trajectory of that change and examine the shifting role of the state when it comes to 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?

6/15/2012 - Join the Discussion | (12 Comments)

The War of 1812 may be the war we forgot, but that does not mean it’s without an important role in shaping the country. On the occasion of its bicentennial, we ask: What were we fighting for? What did we win, what did we lose, and why should we care?

6/1/2011 - Join the Discussion | (12 Comments)

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.

4/26/2011 - Join the Discussion | (3 Comments)

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 [...]

4/14/2011 - Join the Discussion | (5 Comments)

This is the transcript of “Civil War 150th: Why They Fought,” broadcast in April of 2011. You can listen to the entire show here.   Tape: From VFH Radio in Charlottesville, Virginia, this is “BackStory.”  [music] Peter Onuf: Liberty and union.  Liberty and union.  That was the refrain across the American North as Civil War [...]

4/6/2011 - Join the Discussion | (2 Comments)

The following are extended versions of interviews included in the BackStory episode “Civil War 150th: The Road to Civil War,” produced in March of 2011. You can listen to the entire episode here. Reporter Thomas Pierce recounts the story of Abraham Lincoln’s long train journey to the White House from his home in Springfield, IL. [...]

4/6/2011 - Join the Discussion | (1 Comments)

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 [...]

3/31/2011 - Join the Discussion | (13 Comments)

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