American History Hotline

"War is 99 parts diarrhea and one part glory." Walt Whitman had a point when he wrote this. Diseases like dysentery, typhus, and malaria were responsible for 2/3 of the deaths in the Civil War. So, how did illness kill more soldiers on the battlefield than cannons and bayonets? It helps to look at the living conditions and atrocious medical practices in field hospitals during the deadliest war in...

Sir Mix-a-Lot can't lie about liking big butts. And George Washington can't lie about cutting down cherry trees. Or can he? According to Washington biographer Alexis Coe, this is "the greatest fan fiction ever told" (the tree thing! Mix-a-Lot truly loves big butts).  It turns out America's first president is a lightning rod for myths and misinformation. So, we're putting in our wooden teeth (or ar...

It's Lincoln's party and he'll cry if he wants to. We trace the evolution of America's major political parties to understand how they've changed since Honest Abe was the Republican standard-bearer. And if he were running for election in 2028, which party would he belong to? GUEST:  Julian Zelizer, New York Times  best-selling author and Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton Universi...

The Roaring Twenties was a period of tremendous financial growth in America — punctuated by a stock market crash and the highest poverty and unemployment the nation has ever seen. The question is, can this happen again?  Looking back, we explore what was happening in the country during the boom years that led to the bust years.    GUEST:  Gabriel Mathy, associate professor of economics at American...

How does the U.S. Constitution protect our country from being taken over by a power-hungry dictator? You may not like the answer. President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen, explains how much of our federal government is based on political norms and precedents that are vulnerable to the whims of the masses. Still, our Constitution has weathered some of the most serious po...

American history is full of folklore and tall tales, so it's hard to believe that Founders Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th, 1826 — exactly 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence. But it's all true! Historian Lindsay Chervinsky tells the stories of these patriotic deaths, including Adams' belief that "Jefferson still lives." Interestingly enough, James Madison...

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