Posts Tagged ‘History’
When Did the US Civil War End?
Professor Michael Vorenberg addresses one of the most perplexing questions in US history. Did the Civil War end on April 9, at Appomattox, as conventional wisdom holds, where Lee surrendered to Grant in Wilmer McLean’s parlor? Or was it ten weeks afterward, in Galveston, where a federal commander proclaimed Juneteenth the end of slavery? Or…
Read MoreThe Irish Slaves Myth: 2025 Encore
All of you know the depth of my love/hate relationship with the internet. On the one hand, I love the internet and the crazy history stories that fly around it via email and blog posts. They provide grist for the Buzzkill Institute mill, and, of course, keep us floated financially, as well as emotionally. And…
Read More“Dear Miss Perkins”: Frances Perkins and Refugees from Nazi Germany
Frances Perkins was one of the most important Americans in the 20th century. She helped hundreds of people flee Nazi Germany and come to the United States when she was Secretary of Labor in the Franklin Roosevelt administration. As Hitler rose to power, thousands of German-Jewish refugees and their loved ones reached out to the…
Read MoreAuld Lang Syne: That Grand Old Song
It’s that time of year, Buzzkillers, when we ring out the old and ring in the new. This is the end of another year of busting myths and taking names. We couldn’t be more pleased with the way the old show has developed, and we couldn’t be more stoked about the new things we’ve got…
Read More“It’s a Wonderful Life” Myths and Urban Legends: a Professor Buzzkill Classic!
Imagine being tortured by wartime memories. Explosions, death, mutilated bodies (some of them friends of yours), all the screaming. Now, imagine them coming from a very confined and dangerous place. I’ve always thought that being in a warplane or submarine would add the extra stress of being trapped, and not even being able to contemplate…
Read MoreHow Churchill Waged War
How exactly did Winston Churchill go about directing and managing first the Battle of Britain and then Britain’s part in the wider war? Did he act like a CEO or more like a Chairman of the Board when dealing with the British government? Allen Packwood, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre at the University…
Read MoreThe Weeping Frenchman: the Emotion of National Loss
In the wake of Trump’s victory, many of his opponents posted images of disbelief, shock, and betrayal on social media. The people who are posting these kinds of images are obviously in despair over what will happen to the United States in the next four years and possibly longer than that. One of those images…
Read More“Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory” – Why the Battle Hymn of the Republic Still Matters
You probably remember that I promised you five shows during our Julia Ward Howe/Battle Hymn of the Republic week. The fifth show was going to be me talking about the Battle Hymn and the many ways it’s endured into the 21st century. I was going to give you examples of how it’s been used in…
Read MoreThe Battle Hymn of the Republic: the Song that Marches On
Harvard Professor John Stauffer joins us to discuss the history of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and its significance and meanings for American culture. He shows that it’s a song that unites and divides the country, and that it has been used by many different groups in American social and political life. It’s a…
Read MoreThe “Glory Hallelujah Suite” with Sparky and Rhonda Rucker
American folk singers, Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, discuss their popular and historically significant “Glory Hallelujah Suite” as part of our Julia Ward Howe/Battle Hymn of the Republic week. Learn about “Say Brothers Will You Meet Us?” “John Brown’s Body,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and the “Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment.”…
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