History That Doesn't Suck

With the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt covered, Greg sits down with Zach and Kelsi to talk favorite stories (especially those that didn’t make it in the episodes) and take in the big picture of this bigger-than-life President. Zach’s settled in. Greg’s owning his botched pronunciation of “Reading, PA.” Kelsi’s landing some jabs. The sarcasm and snark is almost as strong as the history in this one!____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I [will] be obliged to interfere, by force if necessary, if the Germans [take] any action which look[s] like the acquisition of territory in Venezuela.”This is the story of foreign policy (“Big Stick” Diplomacy) in the Theodore Roosevelt White House.TR loves the West African proverb: “Speak softly and carry a big stick: you will go far.” It defines the Cowboy President’s approach to life—particularly to foreign affairs—and as Germany rattles the saber at indebted Venezuela, Monroe Doctrine-supporting Teddy doesn’t hesitate to tell the Kaiser’s diplomats … “softly” … that those are fighting words.But as Teddy expands the Monroe Doctrine with his “Roosevelt Corollary,” questions arise about the US acting as the Western Hemisphere's self-appointed police force. Particularly when the US interferes in Colombian affairs by backing an independence movement on the Panamanian Isthmus. Is this about supporting the oppressed? Or is TR making an imperialist move to make sure the US can build a canal through the American continents?Winning the Nobel Peace Prize, preventing wars, yet showing American strength with the Great White Fleet—and all of this while undertaking one of the most daunting, impossible engineering feats in world history. This is Teddy Roosevelt on the world stage.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Legendary podcaster and composer (but not US Senator) Lindsay Graham is a dear friend of HTDS and an integral part of the podcast's sound. Today, he gets behind the mic with the Prof. to interrogate the oft-repeated adage "those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it."So ... is it true? Centering the conversation around our current HTDS period (Gilded Age and into the Progressive Era) while pulling from various philosophers and thinkers (Hegel, Twain, Churchill, Santayana, and more), Lindsay and Greg dig in.By the way, we're big fans of Lindsay's many podcasts, and Greg has contributed to a few of them as a guest or historical consultant! To check out Lindsay's many narrated history and historical drama podcasts go to https://airship.fm/____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Very well then–I so declare it.”This is the story of the final “C” of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal: conservationism.Teddy loves the outdoors. He loves to challenge himself in the American wilderness. He also fears the nation’s natural resources and various species are disappearing. And TR won’t let that stand. From Florida’s Pelican Island to the Arizona Territory’s extremely large canyon—perhaps “grand,” you might say—and far beyond, TR is out to create bird reserves, national parks, and national monuments that cover some 230 million acres of the United States. But are his actions executive overreach? Or does he not go far enough, as protectionists might argue? From camping with John Muir, to outflanking members of Congress, we’re in for a “rough ride” as we follow Teddy on his crusade for conservationism.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck Rake …”This is the story of another “C” in Teddy’s Square Deal: “consumer protection.”The nation is grappling with new ideas on how involved the Federal Government should be in the lives of US citizens. Earthquake and fire levels San Francisco but no one expects executive action. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is torn on the Constitutionality of New York’s Bakeshop Act and TR’s Chicago meatpacking investigators—sent largely in response to Upton Sinclair’s stomach-turning, based-on-real-events novel The Jungle—have found such deplorable conditions Americans largely welcome a new federal regulatory body called the Food and Drug Administration.But amid protecting consumers, we aren’t without another trust to bust. An investigative reporter named Ida Tarbell is looking into JD Rockefeller’s business practices at Standard Oil. Has John swindled independent oilmen to build his empire? Or was it just good business? Once more, the question will go all the way to the highest court in the land.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“If we have done anything wrong, send your man to my man and they can fix it up.”This is the first story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal: “corporate regulation.”J. Pierpont Morgan hates economic volatility. He’s determined to eliminate that plaguing element from some of his railroad lines by making the competing Union Pacific a friend. He’ll do so by creating a stockholding company called “Northern Securities.” But is this an illegal trust? Or just good business? Teddy and his Attorney General are determined to make the courts figure it out.At the same time, a massive coal strike in Pennsylvania threatens to plunge the nation into a deadly fuel shortage this winter. Protests and riots are sure to come if this isn’t resolved. In an ironic twist, Teddy finds there’s only one man who can help him solve the situation … the very man his administration is taking to court, J.P. Morgan. Can these two powerful New Yorkers push past the lawsuit to solve a national crisis? We shall see.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.”This is the story of (another) presidential assassination and the life of the man it brings to the White House: Theodore Roosevelt.Though a sickly and asthmatic child, “Teedie,” as his family calls the child, works hard to build his physical strength. To take on the bullies who pick on him. Teddy grows up to become a rowing, boxing, and mountaineering athlete with an equally inquisitive mind.Assemblyman. Cowboy. Police Commissioner. Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Vice President! Not to mention devastating losses, deep loves, and war. TR’s life is a full one–a “strenuous” one. But nothing in his 42 years could prepare him for what an assassin’s bullet brings in September 1901.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg, Zach, and Kelsi sit down for a chat about America’s surprisingly compact burst of turn-of-the-century overseas expansion (Age of Imperialism). They talk through an overarching overview of the era; highlight some of the things that, while in previous episodes, might have been less obvious (coaling stations, anyone?); and wax eloquent on historical research while sharing a small behind-the-scenes comedy of errors that went down amid the research for an episode.Hope you enjoy it.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.”This is the story of imperialism and presidential politics: the election of 1900.US President William McKinley is looking for reelection. The economy is strong, the nation is powerful, and it's expanding overseas. For many Americans, that all sounds and looks rather good. But for others, this overseas imperial expansion is a betrayal of American values. With famous names like Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie behind a new Anti-Imperialist League, the Democrats seize on this energy as they nominate William Jennings Bryan to take (again) on Will McKinley in the contest for the White House.But can the charismatic, silver-tongued Silverite–WJB–compete with the Republican’s own dynamic, energetic candidate? No, no, not William McKinley, but his new VP running mate: the veteran Rough Rider and Governor of New York Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ugliest aspects of the Philippine-American War raised questions of legitimate warfare. Specifically, they required the US to think through a military code of conduct from the Civil War: General Order 100, or the “Lieber Code.”But what is the Lieber Code? How did it seek to rein in the worst of war atrocities, and where did it fail to do so in the Philippines? While we’re at it … what even was the status of the “Law of War” at the turn of the century, and how did it compare to the warfare of yesteryear, or help lay the groundwork for the development of the Law of War in the twentieth century?Greg sits down with his UVU colleague–former Department of Defense Senior Policy Advisor-turned-UVU Professor and Director of the Center for National Security Studies Ryan Vogel (yeah, big titles, and basically the real-life “Jack Ryan”) to tackle these questions.____Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices