Jacked History

Russia was in a strange place in the early 1990s. Almost seventy years of the Soviet Union was out the door, and a new stage of democracy was in. Things were tense. But the relationship between new Russian President Boris Yeltsin and US President Bill Clinton saw hope. As long as old Boris could stay off the booze. Which he couldn't. Thanks for watching! Tell your friends!

We know names like John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. But history tends to forget the names of others who have successfully or unsuccessfully attempted to take the lives of US Presidents. In the case of Harry Truman, the 1950 attempt on his life was a wild one that has been buried throughout history. Thanks for watching! Tell your friends! Tell your mother! And tell your dog about the show!

Doctor Mary Edwards Walker: Pioneer, POW, and pants aficionado. To say Mary Walker was an outlier is an understatement. She burst her way into the medical field when very few women were doing so. She made her mark on Civil War battlefields in a time when women were kept away, becoming the only woman in US history to receive a Medal of Honor. And she approached feminism in such a way that other fem...

How did the English become the English? I can tell you one thing, it didn't just happen out of thin air. Multiple invasions from outside cultures were instrumental in making the English who they are today. From Stone Age wanderers to French invaders, and all the Beakers, Celts, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons in between, England was built from thousands of years of history. Thanks for watching! I&#39...

There's a 193-Year-Old tortoise on the British island of Saint Helena, where Napoleon was exiled to in 1815. Shortly after Napoleon's exile, a tortoise was born on the island of Seychelles and brought to Saint Helena at 50 years old in 1882 where he continues to live to this day. He has outlived 7 British monarchs and outlasted 31 of the island's governors. But what is most amazing is...

Massachusetts is a big brand when it comes to the American Revolution. But what if I told you, over a year before the Boston Tea Party, Rhode Islanders were going absolutely nuts on British Navy vessels. And their activities were waaaaaay more violent. Thanks for watching!

"Those damn kids." We've all heard it muttered. We may have even done it ourselves. But if you think kids are wild and out of control now, it has nothing on the children from 100 years ago. And Halloween was their Super Bowl of shenanigans. Trick-or-treat and thanks for watching!

The 1941 invasion of Guam by Japanese forces put a wrench in the United States' 40-year control of the tiny island. In almost three years of Japanese occupation, the Chamorro people lived under brutal conditions. The Marines came back in 1944 to retake Guam, and one of the young Chamorros, 16-year-old Ben Blaz, was there to help them. But it was what Blaz did after the war that truly cemented...

Every red-blooded American has at least heard the name George Custer, and most know that he died in a place called Little Bighorn where himself and 267 of his cavalry troops died to the last man against a numerically superior Sioux-Cheyenne alliance. But what if I told you that Custer wasn't just an influencer, but also a media personality and fashion icon. That part of the story can be an ent...

The American Civil War gave birth to legendary figures on both sides, men who thrust themselves into the deadliest war in American history. Names like Lee, Grant, Sherman, Jackson, and so many others cemented their place in United States lore. But for some, the aftermath of the war was less kind to them. Not because of their performance on the battlefield, but for how they chose to live their live...

Returning war veterans have perplexed society since the beginning of organized warfare. In 1932, American WWI veterans didn't just gather in Washington DC to protest the distribution of their benefits, they straight up built their own city within the district. Mayhem ensued from there. Thank you so much for watching! Please like, share, subscribe, and hit that notification button. Feel free to...

Happy Valentine's Day! Before you take your lover out, watch this episode about Congressman Daniel Sickles and the murder of his wife's lover, his unlikely military career, and his post-war insanity. I can't thank all of you enough for watching and supporting this channel. This wasn't something I expected to do a year ago, and your kind words and comments have meant so much. Please...

The dynamic between England and Ireland is a complicated matter that could be told in hundreds of different ways covering hundreds of years of history. Depending on who you talk to, they're going to have a different opinion on the whole ordeal. But one thing is true, when Englishman Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland in the 17th century, things would never be the same. Thanks for watching! Please...

Having your people topple your dictatorship has to be hard. But it must me extra hard (that's what she said) when they do it to you on Christmas and chase you down like an animal because you spent years treating your people like animals. Come learn about the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and why it wasn't like any other former Soviet state to collapse. Special thanks to  @JtArticle15  and  @...

The Ottomans were one of the largest empires in the history of the world. A powerhouse on the world stage that set the tone for culture and politics we still feel today. But while the Turkish people were the main ethnicity of that empire, there were many others that operated within Ottoman borders. And it was with the help of a lowly British military officer that the Arabs gained their independenc...

1970s America was a changing place. Many old ways of thinking were slowly going out while many new ways were on their way in. But one man was caught in the transition of American social attitudes. Oliver "Billy" Sipple was a wounded Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who decided to go on a walk one day, and it would change his life forever when he made a decision to save the life of President...

It may be common knowledge that the birth of an independent America wouldn't have happened without the help of the French. But did you know a Prussian military officer was instrumental in the success of American colonial forces? Thank you for watching! Please like, subscribe, share, and give your suggestions on future episodes.

Raise Hades, praise Gaius! It's easy to assume that modern athletes (with their big contracts and elevated social standing) are spoiled brats in society. But the fact is the majority of them come from humble backgrounds and earned their way into their positions. That's not just the case in 2025, but it has always been that way. On this episode, we compare the big sports names of today with...

American education is beginning to wake up to the fact that the Norse beat the Spanish to the Americas by almost 500 years. But what if I told you that Polynesians also landed in the Americas shortly after, making them the second non-Native people to do so? Come learn about the legendary seafaring capabilities of the Polynesians. Special thanks to  @HeatherLynnOh  and  @GrillYourAssOff  for helpin...

If you think Abraham Lincoln had it bad, you should meet his son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Arguably one of the most accomplished men in American history, his rise to the top didn't come without a tremendous amount of tragedy. Thank you for watching! Please like, share, and tell your friends about the channel if you want to see more.

The Norse were in Greenland long before Christopher Columbus made his way into the western hemisphere. He’s just the stolen valor of sea exploration. Gather around me, friends, I'm here to tell you why Columbus was the second European to arrive in the Americas by almost 500 years. Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe, and share if you want to see more Jacked History.

Baron von Munchausen was a real 18th century German military officer whose name will forever be linked with lying. But the real Munchausen wasn't as much a liar as he was a great storyteller. And his storytelling is what drew the attention of a con artist who was willing to capitalize off of it and create one of the greatest book and film series of all time. NOTE & CORRECTION: At 6:08 I make r...

It's one of the greatest films ever made. And it had to endure one of the worst movie sets ever. "Apocalypse Now" changed cinema, but it took one man, Francis Ford Coppola, to make it the legendary film we know it as today. He saw it through the worst conditions: disease, drug abuse, natural disaster, ego, theft, and so much more. Learn about the production of this movie and how to season some mea...

The United States has a plethora of intelligence legends. But one of them, who you may have never heard of, had one of the most unconventional approaches to fighting the Soviet Union ever. This is the story Tom Braden's war against Soviet Russia in the form of Modern American Expressionalist Art. And he used some big names to achieve his objective. Thanks for watching!

Eddie Leonski had a smile that stood out in a crowd, and a deep secret inside of him. It all came out in Australia during World War II and tested the American and Australian alliance as they prepared to take the fight to Japan. Not only that, it was instrumental in the creation of the UCMJ. Thanks for watching! Let me know what else you'd like to see.