This episode explores the historical inception, adjustment, and attempted overturning of the 14th Amendment. Seeking to inform our listener on the constitution they own, “We the People”, this podcast takes a chronological and educational approach to history. The podcast is broken into three major themes. The first is the events leading up to the drafting, finalization, and passing of the amendment. The second section explores the early social, legislative, and judicial challenges to the amendment as society adjusted to and fought back against its protections. The third segment takes the reader into a time much more familiar, the present. Here, we explore President Trump's Executive Order 14160, Protecting the Value and Meaning of American Citizenship, his rhetoric, and question the ability to make this unilateral action at all in the courts. The Executive order represents executive overreach of Article V of the constitution, which lays out a multi-branch amendment process. Come along as we follow the historical roots that are vital to interpreting the present’s foundation. Without educating ourselves, we risk being bystanders to major foundational change. The 14th amendment is ours, and we must protect it.

This episode grows through history, and it impacts society because of the War on Drugs in the United States, which is a federal campaign that was launched in the 1970s, and Reagan made it stronger. The War on Drugs was promoted as one national effort for curbing drug abuse, plus trafficking. It depended a lot on making something a crime and use of force instead of care and stopping it from happening. This policy put in place required minimum sentencing across the board, which took away a judge's ability to decide and punish severely, especially for drug crimes. The crack versus part is a key thing for this episode here. Black communities more commonly used crack cocaine, thus resulting in greatly longer prison terms because of powder cocaine sentencing disparity for white users as well as powder cocaine. Drug policy has contributed to racial disparities within policing and the expansion of mass incarceration at the close of the 20th century, as this disparity highlights. The episode will discuss the specific role of all federal agencies like the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and also legislation such as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Also, the broader consequences which arise when addiction is viewed as a criminal issue instead of a public health crisis will be explained. Complete communities felt an impact, many who used drugs faced stigma, and the national view of justice and recovery saw a change at that time. Listeners will better understand just how the War on Drugs made less clear the line that punishment and prevention had created, starting inquiries about just what the legacy and morality are for America’s most enduring domestic policies.

For this podcast, I will be talking about the Second and Third big waves of American immigration, which took place during and after the Civil War, around 1860-1910. I will be looking at the waves of immigration from the perspective and the experience of the immigrants, which I believe is often overlooked. The immigrant groups I will be focusing on are Italian immigrants, asian immigrants, and Mexican immigrants. The Second and Third big waves of immigration into the United States set the precedent for the future of the United States immigration system. Generally, the United States has been referred to throughout history as a melting pot. This concept alludes to the blending together of various cultures and ethnicities to create a better union. However, I will be diving into whether or not the experience of immigrants really made the United States feel like a melting pot of cultures. The need for this information will be filled using a variety of primary and secondary sources. The primary sources that will be used are quotes that are embedded in secondary sources such as as quotes being used from Beth-Lew Williams and Jeffrey Marcos Garcilazo. The secondary sources used are a variety of journal articles, books, and textbooks. The primary sources swill be used to show the first-hand experience of immigrants in the United States during this time. Secondary sources will be used to share general information about the time as well as to give specific numbers and statistics surrounding immigration. With this information, I hope to debunk how many think of immigration to the United States as a simple and glorified process.

I studied the Reagan administration and era in the United States. Ronald Reagan was the fortieth president of the United States, he was in office from 1981 to 1989. The legacy of the Regan administration was controversial, complicated and polarizing. Ronald Reagan is remembered by some as the man who restored national pride, fueled economic growth, and helped bring an end to the Cold War. To others, his presidency marked the rise of inequality, the erosion of social programs, and furthering the divide between the left and the right in America. Reagan’s presidency left a lasting impact and legacy on the United States. Reagan’s economic policies, which came to be known as “Reaganomics” were credited by some with accelerating growth and lowering inflation. However, some argued that his economic policies only nominally helped Americans while ultimately raising the national deficit. His cultural ideas, largely influenced by figures like Jerry Falwell, perpetuated concepts that are still core to the Republican party today. The next important facet of the Reagan administration was the Law and Order movement of the 1980s which coincided with the War on Drugs. These policies were pervasive at the time, Reagan spent billions of dollars in federal funds through a rigorous crackdown that aimed to reduce drug use, but also led to a dramatic rise in incarcerations and created long term challenges for marginalized communities.

The Space Race was a time of exploration and unique expansion to history it had never seen before. Satellites and Rockets being thrusted into orbit marked the beginning of a new era for history in the U.S. during a hostile standstill with Russia that was the Cold War. With war afoot and many people living in constant fear of communist espionage and nuclear attacks, the Space Race seemed like an exciting escape from all the madness that ensued in daily life. Though, the Space Race was not all it seemed; it had a sneaky element of competition in there. Many historians judge space exploration by the success and timing of US and Soviet missions, where the U.S. hailed superior over the latter. Through my historical podcast, Tanner and I will be examining how the Cold War led to the development of competition for the Space Race and how ballistic missile technology led to the development of rocket science that made the space race possible. Then, we look at the missions of the Space Race, and the back-and-forth competition between US space missions and Soviet space missions. This would lead to a series of ways the U.S. would strive for peace, strength, and diplomacy at home and abroad after the Cold War.

Amidst the action of World War II in the year 1942, the American Homefront saw the creation of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and centered around non-violent forms of protest, this student-led activist group proved to be one of the most influential voices in the Civil Rights movement. Scholars have found the Congress of Racial Equality to be at the forefront of many notorious Civil Rights protests ranging from its conception in 1942 all the way to the 1968 Civil Rights Act. While CORE undoubtedly possessed a strong foothold in this movement, its role is often overshadowed by bigger names and other organizations, and the true impact of its operations can be seen extending outward even after the Civil Rights movement was concluded. The Congress of Racial Equality seemed to have its hand in several of the most notable Civil Rights protests, and its foundational principle of nonviolent resistance is even seen being exercised in more current examples of protest. The American Yawp discusses the Freedom Summer in Mississippi movement of 1964, and Dr. Maginn’s lecture cites the successful Chicago restaurant sit-ins of 1942. Apart from the immediate problem of segregation, an article authored by Marvin Rich describes CORE’s efforts to improve African American living conditions, voting registration, and workforce discrimination. Finally, a book written by Brian Purnell touches on the long-lasting effects of CORE’s principles, describing the success of the peaceful protest so commonly utilized by the Congress of Racial Equality.

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in Oakland, California in October 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, represented a moment in the struggle for racial justice in the United States. The Party was committed to ending systemic oppression and police brutality and took a radical approach to realizing its mission by employing armed self-defense in a period when the overwhelming majority of Civil Rights protests were peaceful. The revolutionary purpose behind this seeming militarization of purpose was an effort to protect African American communities, exposing the need for radical local and national change to reduce systemic inequalities and injustices. Fred Hampton, Eldridge Cleaver, you and P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and others offered strong direction in defining the Party’s ideology and actions. Beyond self-defense, the Party organized other initiatives, mostly focused on addressing poverty, health, and education issues. One of the greatest social achievements by the Party was its Free Breakfast for Children Program, which fed thousands of underserved children and reminded people of the link between hunger and institutional neglect. The Party also sponsored free health clinics and offered educational support to reinforce their intent to support under-resourced communities. The Black Panther Party also had a powerful cultural impact. The Black Panther Party was a person of color-led organization. The Black Panther Party prioritized declaring their existence through culturally defined initiatives that underscored ongoing struggles against racism and oppression. The group developed both aesthetic and cultural forms in some of their programs, especially meal programs.

What’s up guys! Welcome back to another episode of Student Podcasting History. I’m your host, Brayden, and today we’re diving into one of the most complex and controversial conflicts in modern American history—the Vietnam War, fought between 1955 and 1975. According to Joseph Locke and Ben Wright in The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, “American involvement in the Vietnam War began during the post-war period of decolonization... the U.S. feared expansion of communism influence and pledged to confront any revolutions aligned against Western capitalism” (Locke and Wright, 2019, 328). Using this as our starting point, we’re going to break down how the war was fought—not just politically, but on the ground—through helicopters, chemical warfare, and guerrilla tactics.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, after slavery. He had lighter skin than most African Americans did at the time. W.E.B. didn’t have to work for his education. He received his B.A. at Fisk University and later went on to receive his PhD from Harvard University. After receiving his PhD he taught at several universities. He also wrote multiple works on the history of Black life in the U.S. He wrote these works from a historical and sociological aspect. He first attained international acclaim through his participation in the First Pan-African Conference in 1990. In 1903, Du Bois published a book titled “The Souls of Black Folk”, which highlights “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” Throughout the book he explains what it’s like to be a person of color living in a duality, “The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife - this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self” (Dubois). He introduces the ideas of life behind the racial veil and the concept of “double-consciousness.” This is the experience of seeing oneself through the perspective of others, which have become essential to discussions on race in America. “The Soul of Black Folk” evaluates the progress of Black Americans, the challenges they face, and the potential for further advancement as the country moved into the twentieth century.

This episode explores the differences between the League of Nations and the United Nations. Why each organization was founded and the conditions under which they were formed. This episode goes into how the failure of the League to enforce its peacekeeping and disarmament goals would ultimately be its downfall. How the United Nations founders learned from the mistakes of the League and formed a more flexible and powerful global organization that still exists today.

This episode will go into the life and accomplishments of Frances Perkins (1880-1965) who served as the first woman in a U.S presidential cabinet. She was the Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933-1945. Perkins gained an interest for labor and safety regulation from witnessing the Triangle ShirtWaist Factory fire that killed over 100 people. Prior to working for FDR, she served as the Executive Secretary of the Committee on Safety, and worked diligently to prevent another tragedy in the factories. She helped pass 13 of 17 bills that had stricter safety and health laws for a wide array of establishments. Perkins played a very important role in shaping the regulation of labor and safety in America. She was a large contributor to the progress of the New Deal, including her work on the Social Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and other policies supporting worker’s rights. Other sources have focused on Perkins' role in the New Deal, but few people have explored her personal motivations, the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated political workforce, and her lasting impact on labor regulations. Addressing this historical gap through a closer look at Perkins' political plan, will show the differentiated influence she has had as both a woman and a reformer, and her crucial role in shaping labor policies during the Great Depression. This podcast will provide a personal insight to Frances Perkins thoughts and how she navigated the political environment of that time.

In today's Episode of “Students Podcasting History”, we will be discussing all things Korean War. From the rise of air warfare, the spread of communism, and all the way to Special Guest Graham Dail, we will hear about all the major aspects that make the Korean War so interesting, and so influential in conflicts for years to come. We will hear from my grandfather, where he will tell his own personal account of his time in Korea as a member of the US Army. Graham tells his story of his life prior to his deployment in South Korea, and provides some insight even textbooks can’t give us about his time serving our country. From detailed analysis of his time on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), to his opinions on our South Korean allies, Graham makes this episode one you do not want to miss. We will also provide a discussion on the geopolitical implications of this conflict, specifically as it relates to the formation of two drastically different governments in North Korea vs South Korea. On top of that, this episode will dive deeper into the military technology used by the United States, and how the Korean War was paramount in our quick advancement of military strategy and technology. Stay tuned for an awesome, in-depth analysis of the United States’ involvement in the Korean War to hear the lasting implications of this conflict, and where it has led us to today!

What if I told you that during World War II, the U.S. military created a secret unit made up of artists, sound designers, and radio specialists? A unit that used rubber tanks, fake radio chatter, and pre-recorded sounds to trick the Nazis without ever firing a bullet?

The Battle of Midway marked a turning point in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, showcasing carrier warfare, strategic foresight, and American Exceptionalism. Located 1,000 miles northwest of Honolulu, Midway Island was claimed by the U.S. in 1859 and later fortified under Theodore Roosevelt. As Japan sought Pacific dominance, the Japanese Navy recognized Midway’s strategic value in threatening Hawaii. However, U.S. Navy code-breaking efforts played a decisive role by intercepting Japan’s plans. From June 4–7, 1942, carrier warfare dominated as planes launched from ships dictated the battle. Though initial U.S. losses were heavy, reinforcements and tactical planning turned the battle. The Japanese Navy suffered losses, including four carriers and hundreds of planes, while the U.S. held its ground. This victory halted Japanese expansion and boosted American morale, reinforcing the idea of American Exceptionalism—portraying the U.S. as a technologically advanced and morally justified power. The battle’s impact shaped future military conflicts and contributed to the strategic momentum that ended in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today, Midway symbolizes the way intelligence and strategy reshaped the course of WW2

Hello! I am Charlie Robinson, your host, and welcome in this episode of Strategic Freedom in the Cold War. On this podcast, we will discuss why the United States supported decolonization even though most colonized regions were under the influence of allies of the United States. Let us set the stage. Imagine the United States and Soviet Union as two wolves. They hunt together and were friends and help each other take down a pack of prey, Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan. Both wolves want more than the other, so as soon as they defeat their prey they start fighting over the remains. These two former friends form two different wolf packs, Nato and the Warsaw pact respectively, to fight over these remains and the rest of the forest. This is a perfect metaphor for the United States and Soviet Union after the second World War. Both countries used to help each other and were friends but now they want more influence. Now imagine this, The United States is a gardener. Uncle Sam is urging his friends to cut down their old overgrown trees, not just to let new plants grow, but also so that weeds of communism do not take shade underneath their old canopy. This is yet again another great metaphor which explains why the United States Supported decolonization. Uncle Sam reasoned, that if his friend’s old empires weren’t taken down and given help growing into nations of their own then they might side with communism and join his new enemy, the Soviet Union. These two metaphors that we just explored give a brief understanding of why the United States supported decolonization. We will explore why and how The United States’ support for decolonization was driven by a complex interplay of ideological, geopolitical and economic interests, but the United States often prioritized strategic alliances and trade partnerships over the pure promotion of independence or self-determination often supporting authoritarian regimes or colonial powers which aligned with Uncle Sam’s geopolitical objectives

This Podcast will take a deep dive into the ins and outs of how U.S. Prisoners of war were treated by the Japanese v.s. the American Internment Camps that held Japanese Americans. This topic is one of serious depth and hurting, but one that is very interesting. The podcast will cover the housing, food, and overall environment of the average prison camp from the two perspective sides. It will discuss the intricacies of all three topics according to many first hand accounts. Many examinations and books have studied this topic, especially about one side or the other, but not many have compared the two. It will be a very interesting topic to listen and learn about. I will be adding an in depth discussion on the ins and outs of Japanese POW camps v.s. US Internment camps. It will allow the listeners of my podcast to understand just what horrors were committed in each and how they affected the prisoners who were captured. These horrors would cause the mental deterioration and breakdown of many soldiers and cause serious amounts of hatred towards their wartime enemies for years after, and for some, the rest of their lives. It is a topic that relates to today as many feelings are still portrayed today whether through pop culture or passed down through generations. It will be very fascinating to study and research for the podcast.

September 11, 2001 will forever be remembered as one of the greatest disasters on American soil. The terrorist attack that led to the destruction of the World Trade Center as well as the attack on the Pentagon sent shockwaves around the nation as well as the world. 9/11 began an era of worry, war, and change in the United States to attempt to prevent anything like 9/11 from happening again. The US were in the limelight, everyone was wondering how they would respond. Through changes in the government involving foreign policy, national security and immigration, as well as the handling of global and national intelligence, the United States was trying to show that they would come out of this disaster triumphant. While 9/11 had a strong global impact that is still impacting the world today, the domestic impact that 9/11 had on America is astounding and completely changed the culture, infrastructure, and politics of the United States. The issue the United States soon uncovered was that the changes they wanted to make would be challenging. My goal for this podcast will be to combine several different pieces of America’s attempt to conquer to show how the country still feels the impact today. I used articles, chapters of books, primary documents, and video clips to best show the results of 9/11. Through viewing these sources, one can better understand how 9/11 had such a drastic impact on America we know today, and can form their own opinions on the aftermath of 9/11 and how it impacts the American people today.

In this episode of Echoes of Empire, host Beau Burnette explores the Philippine-American War through the lens of American imperialism, unearthing the hypocrisy behind the U.S. claim to be spreading democracy in the early 20th century. The episode examines how the war was justified through racist ideologies like the “White Man’s Burden” and frontier expansion, and reveals how U.S. actions in the Philippines paralleled domestic racial injustices, especially toward Native Americans. With excerpts from primary sources, including Rudyard Kipling’s controversial poem and Mark Twain’s biting satire, The War Prayer, this episode challenges listeners to reckon with the contradictions of American history.

In 1970, Angela Davis was arrested after being accused of participating in a violent attempt to kill a prison guard during George Jackson’s trial. She was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitive list. Her arrest garnered international support, thus, the “Free Angela Davis” movement began. However, during her incarceration and afterward, Davis was demonized by the U.S. government, vilified within academia, and heavily critiqued. Due to her membership in the Communist Party, which she joined in 1968, her alignment with anti-American ideologies placed her on the world stage. While scholarship has explored Davis’s role in the Cold War era, which furthered the Long Civil Rights Movement, her contributions to the prison abolitionist movement in this context have been only marginally examined. This research examines Davis’s role as a Black feminist and communist within a rapidly changing U.S., connected to rising anti-communist sentiments within the United States due to the propaganda of the Cold War. Utilizing personal writings by Davis, interviews with peers, and government records, and critical examinations, this study also explores the lasting impact of her time incarcerated. The movement she helped ignite is far from over, and her work continues today. To fully understand Davis's legacy, this research explores the interconnectedness of her work with the Long Civil Rights Movement’s efforts, illustrating how Davis’ prison abolition work is intricately tied to activism within the US and world.

What happens when your Constitution doesn’t guarantee equality—and your country can’t decide if it should? This episode dives into the powerful and unfinished story of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). First introduced in 1923 and nearly ratified in 1982, the ERA promised to guarantee constitutional equality regardless of sex. Through the voices of feminist icon Gloria Steinem and conservative powerhouse Phyllis Schlafly, we explore the rise of second-wave feminism, the STOP ERA counter-movement, and the cultural battle lines that defined a generation. Their conflicting visions for American womanhood reveal the deeper tensions over law, gender, identity, and power that continue today. As states revisit ratification and activists reignite debate, we ask: what does equality really mean in America?

In this episode of Students Podcasting History I went over the leaders in WWII from the countries of Germany and the United States of America. Through this episode I looked over Franklin D. Roosevelt American government and The Nazi Adolf Hitler Fascist government and how they led, how they came to power and many other aspects of their leadership. Along with that I talked about some other opinions coming out of these countries. Then I went on to talk about how they compare although they were against each other. Overall there is a lot to be covered in this topic and quite the interesting one as well.

The great depression was extremely transformative - Government policy - Social Security act - Civilian Conservation Corps - Banking Act of 1933 - Impact on banks and business - Unemployment - Decline of production and trade - Closing of banks - Impact on communities - Poverty - Government assistance programs - Migration

I plan to talk about the exclusion of the immigrant population from 1880-1920 and then comparing that to current legislation. In that earlier time period there was a large movement of Chinese immigrants to the United States, claiming to be economically corrupting American society. However, the immigrant population was also crucial to the economic and industrialization of cities. This led to the introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, discussing the exclusion of Chinese immigrants in conjunction with the recent signing of an Executive Order 14165 by Donald Trump to effectively end all immigration of the U.S. southern border. I hope to broaden the understanding of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the General Immigration Act of 1891, along with the role of immigrants in America through primary source analysis, such as “Mary Tape Protest Chinese Segregation” and "Why The Chinese Should Be Excluded". The primary sources highlight how immigrants have historically faced ostracism rather than being given resources to rebuild the new country. I hope to prove the importance of immigrant populations and their contribution to society uplifting the culture and growth of America.

This episode of Students Podcasting History explores the Gilded Age—a time of big business, bigger wealth, and even bigger problems hiding beneath the surface. It covers the rise of industrial tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, using his 1889 essay The Gospel of Wealth to show how the rich justified their success and shaped public opinion. Lecture notes from Dr. Andrew Maginn’s Industrialization and the Duality of the Gilded Age (Jan 28, 2025) help explain how ideas like Social Darwinism and paternalism were used to defend inequality. Visual sources, like the 1883 political cartoon The Protectors of Our Industry from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, highlight how the media often portrayed wealthy businessmen as heroic, while workers were pushed into the background. In contrast, Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives (1890) and his photo Bandits’ Roost (1888) reveal the reality of life in crowded, dangerous tenements. The episode also breaks down major labor conflicts like the Homestead Strike and the Haymarket Affair, showing how workers’ efforts to fight for better conditions were often met with violence and blamed on immigrants or radicals. Hosted by Mimi Smith, this episode makes the case that the Gilded Age wasn’t just about progress—it was about power, poverty, and the roots of issues we still deal with today.

In this episode of Echoes of History, we explore the incredible legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first Black military aviators. From their roots at the Tuskegee Institute to the skies over Europe during World War II, these men overcame racial barriers and reshaped the military forever. We examine the contradictions they faced through the lens of the Double V Campaign, victory abroad and at home, and highlight their role in inspiring later civil rights milestones, including President Truman’s desegregation of the U.S. military. Drawing on primary sources like speeches from A. Philip Randolph and historical reflections from Alain Locke and the Pan-African movement, we uncover a powerful narrative of courage, discipline, and legacy. Whether you’re a student of history or just curious about how forgotten heroes changed America, this episode offers a powerful perspective. Host Biography: Host: I am a student studying history and have always been interested in the Tuskegee Airmen. I have always enjoyed my history classes growing up, and I think the main reason was that I enjoyed learning about things that went on before I was born.

Starting in the 1930s, the Civil Rights Movement lasted through the 1960s. Many different activists fought for their equality in diverse ways so that their voices to be heard, but the most influential movement was the verdict of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This Supreme Court case in 1954 was pivotal in the history of Civil Rights as it exposed the truth behind the double consciousness effect after psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted the doll test in the 1940s. After finding the psychological impact on children of the “separate but equal” clause unconstitutional, the verdict of Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned. This podcast will reevaluate the historical discovery found by the Clark family and how the double consciousness effect applies to the entire African-American population. The doll experiment revealed that black children between the ages of three and seven preferred a white doll, which was associated with positive attributes, over the other two races, while the black doll was associated with negative characteristics. The Clarks preferred “prejudice, discrimination, and segregation [in America] created a feeling of inferiority among African-American children and damaged their self-esteem” (“The Significance of The Doll Test,” NAACP Legal Defense Fund, November 9, 2023). By picking the white doll, this study verifies the ideas of double consciousness that W.E.B. DuBois first coined in 1903. He identifies the practice as “looking at oneself through the eyes of others” (Dr. Andrew Maginn, “Civil Rights,” History 202B: US History 2, (Civil Rights lecture, Sewanee: University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 24, 2025). While viewing their skin tone through the lens of prejudiced America, the children chose the white doll, falling victim to the racism they have experienced in their short lives.

Hi everybody and welcome to: U.S. history unveiled, where myself, Molly Haskell, will be your podcast host for today. On today’s episode we’ll be exploring a piece of history not too far from Sewanee. In fact, I’ll be talking about Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, which was one of the first internment camps of WW2 in the U.S. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt revised the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, granting himself the authority to detain or deport individuals from “enemy nations.” These nations included Italy, Japan, and Germany. As a result, many individuals of Italian, Japanese, and German descent were stripped of their identities and forced into internment camps. Originally, Camp Forrest housed approximately 800 “alien civilians,” primarily of Japanese descent. By 1943, its focus shifted to detaining German and Italian POWs. These prisoners often worked on local farms and performed manual labor left behind by Americans who had gone to fight overseas. By 1945, Tullahoma’s population had surged from 4,500 to nearly 75,000, largely due to the influx of POWs. Despite its significance, Camp Forrest has received little attention in historical scholarship. This episode addresses that gap by examining the U.S. home front during World War II—specifically, what was happening on American soil. Drawing on resources from the Sewanee archives, including newspaper articles and secondary sources, this research focuses on one of the earliest internment camps in the country, located not far from where we are today. A key primary source in this project is a 1984 New York Times article that discusses POWs who worked for Abbo Martin, the founder of Abbo’s Alley. By exploring how the camp was operated and how the prisoners were treated, we gain a more nuanced understanding of this chapter in American history—one that is often overlooked but deeply relevant.

Welcome to Students Podcasting History! In Episode 3, we’re diving into 1950s and 1960s Mississippi to explore some key moments in the Civil Rights Movement. From the heartbreaking story of 14-year-old Emmett Till to James Meredith's determination to integrate Ole Miss, and the bravery of protesters at the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, we’ll look at how these individuals helped spark a nationwide fight against segregation. We’ll also explore the lasting impact of these events and ask some big questions about justice and equality today. Join us as we share the stories of those who stood strong against hate and pushed America to face its own flaws.

This Podcast will discuss the contributions of African American women during and after World War II. During 1942-1945, The United States was entrenched in WW2. 16.4 million men, 12% of the population at the time, were conscripted into the armed forces and shipped to Europe. A vast majority of able-bodied men were unable to work because of this. At first white women were asked to fill in for these jobs, then black men were allowed to work in factories. Finally, black women were hired close to the end of the war. Most black women saw this progress as a much-needed win for women of color. This was the first time black women had been allowed to work somewhere other than domestic or agricultural spheres. However, this progress did not last, after the war a lot of the black women working in military factories were fired. There was a lot of progress during World War Two in terms of civil rights and women’s rights, but black women were often neglected and left behind by their own movements. Most women’s organizations were all-white and barred black women from entering and a lot of black organizations were male-dominated and focused on the struggles of black men. This podcast will discuss World War II, the Civil Rights Era, and black women’s roles during that time.

In my historical podcast, I will explore the Second Red Scare in America during the 1950s and 1960s, examining it through the dual lens of McCarthyism and its critics. By analyzing voices like Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience,” which condemned the divisive tactics and political "witch hunts" of the era, I aim to shed light on the broader political and social impact of this moment in history. This topic holds particular relevance today, as it reflects the escalating political polarization and widespread erosion of trust in modern American society. My contribution to the conversation comes from a balanced analysis of both the supporters and opponents of McCarthyism, moving beyond a one-sided narrative. Through the examination of primary sources such as Joseph McCarthy’s “Enemies From Within” speech, in which he framed the Cold War as a battle between atheistic Communism and Christian democracy, and Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” broadcasts, where he famously warned against confusing dissent with disloyalty, I aim to show how McCarthyism was fueled by a combination of legitimate fears and opportunistic political maneuvering. Ultimately, this podcast will argue that McCarthyism marked a uniquely destructive chapter in American politics, one whose legacy still shapes how Americans define patriotism, dissent, and what it means to be “un-American.”

Beginning as early as the 1870’s, women have struggled for equal rights as men, or even similar rights. Advocates for all kinds of equality began to emerge in the twentieth century, specifically the 1960’s and 70’s. As attention has slowly been brought to discrimination against women, the societal gap has gradually begun to close. Women even today still fight for freedom and equality. Women now have gained much more legal standing on the grounds of equality and opportunity. Even while women have come much closer to equality, the historical community still somewhat fails to understand the extent to which women are underappreciated. This podcast highlights the work that has been done in the twentieth century by both women and the government to try and promote the equality of women all across the United States. Using speech clips, newspaper articles, as well as book sources, this research emphasizes the bravery of some widely influential women in the twentieth century who spearheaded a lot of change that has been made. The research done in this podcast refers a lot to topics discussed in the course because of its emphasis on equality, and its ties to civil rights both in timeline and in nature.

Following the start of the Great Depression, the United States elected a new president in Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s plan to help the economy and end the great depression was called his “New Deal” policies. This time in America spanned from 1933 to 1938. Over time many have argued if the New Deal was actually successful or not. However, what historians can not debate is if it was impactful. The main arguments against Roosevelt’s new deal policies is the amount of control that it gave to the presidency. The main argument for Roosevelt’s new deal policies is how Roosevelt was able to relatively rebuild the US economy. While studying history, it is important to not look at historical events through modern day eyes, however it is evident that Roosevelt was incredibly impactful on not just the rebuilding of the US economy in 1933, but how we operate today. President Roosevelt’s policies were popular at the time, however over time historians have gone back and said that the level of power that the president had during this time set the wrong precedent. Overall, I hope to prove the long lasting impact that Roosevelt’s policies had.

This podcast explores affirmative action within the broader field of civil rights, legal philosophy, and American historical discourse. For decades, scholars and legal thinkers have debated whether affirmative action achieves its goal of creating a more equal society or simply replaces one form of discrimination with another. A foundational critique comes from Alan H. Goldman, who in his 1976 essay "Affirmative Action" questioned the consistency and practical effectiveness of such policies. Goldman argued that while the intent of affirmative action was morally sound, its execution often conflicted with its stated goals, making the policy vulnerable to legal and philosophical scrutiny. His and others' concerns laid the groundwork for much of the debate that followed. This podcast builds on that ongoing debate by examining the historical origins, philosophical critiques, and recent Supreme Court rulings that have reshaped affirmative action in the 21st century. Using a range of research methods—including class lectures and notes from Sewanee, academic sources accessed through JSTOR, materials from the university library, and media analysis such as KQED’s Above the Noise YouTube series—I take a balanced and insightful approach to the topic of affirmative action. By weaving together historical context, primary source analysis, and contemporary reactions, this episode aims to offer a clearer understanding of how affirmative action has performed and what some believe its rollback says about America today.

Since the Roman Empire, humanity has looked to Rome as a model for empire-building. Later empires have aspired to attain Rome’s success. Today the United States is one of, if not the world’s preeminent superpower. Michael Mann, a sociology professor at UCLA stated, “America's closest comparison is ancient Rome”(Preston, 403). The United States has become the inheritor of Rome’s legacy through imperialism. This podcast will cover different periods of United States imperialism. These periods are Westward Expansion/Native American Removal, the Theodore Roosevelt presidency and modern United States Imperialism (from the Cold War to the Iraq War). United States imperialism began in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries where the United States started emerging as an empire through acquiring parts of other empires and conquering Native American lands. During the early twentieth century Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine marked a great shift towards the United States becoming an imperial global power. After World War II the United States engaged in a brutal dogfight consisting of proxy wars in the Cold War with the USSR. The United States eventually came out on top as the sole superpower on the planet. Ever since winning the Cold War, United States imperialism has largely been focused in the Middle East with events like the Iraq War. Behind these imperial actions there must be a source of motivation, that motivation is “global accumulation of capital” (Zwanenberg, 36). The historical podcast will argue that American Imperialism has occurred due to a desire for capital accumulation.

Much of American history is wrapped up in the idea of people, and specifically women's rights. It was only 105 years ago that women gained the right to vote in this country, and still, specifically with the overturn of Roe v Wade in 2022, women are losing their rights all the same. One of the most prominent and once more debated achievements in women's rights was the creation of Title XI that allowed women full and equal participation, especially in areas like collegiate sports. But to begin to debate this, it is necessary to understand it and why it was created, which leads to larger questions like how were women even integrated into college? This is much more complicated than one day a college let a woman in, it was a long and hard process that started with societal changes like the creation of the new woman and the fact that, even when women were allowed into college, they still faced incredible discrimination. To furthermore be able to understand this, it is helpful to look at real life examples, like Sewanee: The University of the South. This college, when it came to women attending, and later participating in sports, was not radical or revolutionary, as women were not treated kindly and the actions of others made it obvious that they were not wanted there or in sports. Still, women like Sandra “Sandy” Sanderlin Baird, decided to attend and be among the first women to go to college at Sewanee and participate in sports there. Although things were initially rough, these women paved a way for female athletes now at Sewanee, a college where women outnumber men, aligning with the national statistic of women being in college.

The political evolution of Communist theory, and its intersections with the Civil Rights Movement, reveals the diverse ways in which the ideas of communism were adapted to address both class struggle and racial oppression. Communism was seen as a threat to mankind, but also a foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. From the NAACP to Malcolm X, many people AND groups adopted and eventually adapted the Communism ideas for their own benefits. When thinking about Communism, it is a theory that really believes in a classless system. When you are a part of a Communist environment, it is referred to as a “dictatorship of the proletariat", basically meaning ruled by one person. Many Americans thought Communism to be a bad influence, hence Joseph McCarthy’s idea of the Red Scare, whereas those of Black Communities turned this theory into something beneficial to their movements. By diving into Race and Radicalism: The NAACP and the Communist Party in Conflict, By Wilson Record, we can read into how the NAACP was criticized for incorporating communist beliefs into their movements. Communism praised the idea of equality, so is it bad that people advocating for Civil Rights believe in this theory? Since there is a good understanding of Communism, we will be looking into leaders, such as Malcolm X, to see what good Communism actually did for those seeking equality. These leaders were criticized by many, Joseph McCarthy being one of them, due to the conflicting past that Communism had brought to America. This podcast will be using information from several sources to better your understanding of how Communism was used within the Civil Rights Movement from a standpoint of Malcolm X and the NAACP.

In a press conference in 1954, President Eisenhower coined the theory "falling domino" as the French were on the verge of losing colonial power in Indochina. The theory emphasizes the dangers of communism spreading across Asia, particularly in Vietnam. It conveys a straightforward metaphor: if one country succumbs to communism, others will follow in a chain reaction. According to this theory, if the US does not intervene to allow the communists to occupy Vietnam, it will cause the rest of Asia to fall into communism, endangering the "free world". The US therefore require assistance from its allies in combating communism in Vietnam. That was the premise used to justify the US's growing involvement in Indochina, which eventually led to direct intervention in the Vietnam War. Because of the historical gap between the public justification for the Vietnam War and the deeper geopolitical motivations, I will discuss in my podcast why I believe the "Falling Domino" theory was subsequently rhetoric to sell US imperial ambitions. Primary sources used in include official statements from presidents showing how the theory was publicized as a defense against communism. Declassified government documents also shed light on the strategic motivations driving US involvement to maintain global power and influence. An excerpt from John Kerry’s speech is played to highlight his authentic perspective as a war veteran.

In this project, I will be exploring the effects that 9/11 had on how the United States handles national security. I will be examining the differences between national security measures both before and after 9/11. On September 11, 2001, four commercial planes were hijacked by terrorists, resulting in the death of nearly 3,000 people. Two planes flew into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. One plane crashed into the Pentagon, and the other was taken down by passengers into a Pennsylvania field. Melody Barnes, executive director of the Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVA is quoted in UVA Today, saying, “The way we think about security – how we move through airports and public spaces, how we secure our public buildings – changed significantly.” The American Yawp offers lots of details on the War on Terror and the effects of 9/11: after the attack, American intelligence agencies identified al-Qaeda as the group responsible, led by Osama bin Laden. They also identified the group as being responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In a YouTube video interview, Pasquale Buzzelli offers his story on how he fell 22 stories from one of the World Trade Towers and survived. It’s stories like these, along with the thousands of other victims that called for such immediate and drastic measures taken to prevent such a national disaster from occuring again. By the end of the podcast, I hope to capture a better understanding of the massive ripple effects of 9/11 and just how influential it was to our national security and our country as a whole.

I plan to analyze Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolent protest during the Civil Rights Movement to demonstrate how his principles continue to shape modern-day peaceful protests. Deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, King’s approach introduced a new form of resistance to American society—one rooted in discipline, dignity, and collective moral action. His use of sit-ins, marches, and other forms of nonviolent direct action reshaped the landscape of activism in the United States. In particular, I will focus on King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” where he outlines four fundamental steps in a nonviolent campaign: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (King, Jr. 1). These principles remain relevant in the strategies of contemporary peaceful movements. Another key figure I plan to explore is James Lawson, a close ally of King and an influential strategist who helped train young activists in the tactics of nonviolence, including those used during sit-ins. To provide broader historical context, I will reference The American Yawp, specifically Chapter 27, which offers insight into the Civil Rights Movement and King’s role compared to other activists of the era. Through this study, I aim to deepen my understanding of King’s vision for peaceful protest and how foundational concepts from the 1960s continue to inform the pursuit of equity and civil rights today.