Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season
The History Guys trace the evolution of Christmas in America from a public festival of rowdy excess to a child-centered celebration of church and family.
American as Pumpkin Pie: A History of Thanksgiving
When we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, we think we know what we’re commemorating. But if an actual Pilgrim were to attend your Thanksgiving, chances are he’d be stunned, and a little disgusted, by what transpired there.
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?
American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural
With Halloween in the air, the History Guys set out to explore Americans’ relationship with ghosts, spirits, and witches throughout our nation’s history.
Naughty & Nice: Online Resources
This is a list of resources connected to the BackStory episode, “Naughty & Nice: The History of the Holiday Season,” originally aired in December of 2009. Christmas Two reviews of Stephen Nissenbaum’s book, The Battle for Christmas: (1, 2) Excellent primer on what federal courts have ruled about holiday displays Christmas in Colonial Virginia 1913 [...]
Call of the Week: Dawn from Charlottesville
On each episode of Call of the Week, we feature one of our favorite listener phone calls. This week, our call is from Dawn in Charlottesville, VA.
“American Spirit” – Web Exclusives
19th Century Guy Ed Ayers speaks with Cara Seekings, a spirit medium living in the Spiritualist community Lily Dale, in upstate New York.
“American Spirit” — music listing
This is a listing of the music used in the BackStory episode, “American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural,” broadcast in October of 2010. You can listen to the entire episode here. _________________________________________________________________________ Requiem Mass in D Flat: Introit and Kyrie The Choir of All Saints Gaudeamus: Music for the Feasts of All Saints and [...]
Bibliography for “American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural”
Albanese, Catherine. Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. —–. A Republic of Mind & Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. Andersson, Rani-Henrik. The Lakota Ghost Dance of 1890. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2008. [...]
“American Spirit” — transcript
This is the transcript of “American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural.” You can listen to the entire episode here. _______________________________________________________________________ Peter Onuf: This is “BackStory,” with us, the American History Guys. I’m Peter Onuf, 18th century guy. Ed Ayers: I’m Ed Ayers, 19th century guy. Brian Balogh: And I’m Brian Balogh, 20th century history [...]
