American History Tellers

In the summer of 1863, an unscrupulous businessman named Thomas Durant gained control of the Union Pacific Railroad, the company chartered by Congress to build the transcontinental railroad westward f...

In early 1866, Central Pacific workers were stalled in California, facing the monumental task of blasting 15 tunnels through solid granite in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thousands of Chinese laborers...

In January 1869, leaders of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the final stretch of construction. For years, the two railroads had been advancing toward each othe...

Chinese laborers did much of the toughest work building the Central Pacific Railroad. That included blasting tunnels through the granite of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to eventually connect to the Uni...

November 18, 1928. Mickey Mouse makes his big screen debut in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.co...

December 16, 1905. Rugby Union’s "Match of the Century" is played between Wales and the undefeated New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for ...

In December 1606, three ships carrying 104 settlers left England and set sail for Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. Six months later, they arrived on a narrow peninsula in the James River and founded Jamesto...

In January 1608, fire blazed through the English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. Nearly every building was reduced to ash. The destruction meant that the colonists would have to brave the winter wi...

In the summer of 1609, a hurricane struck a large English fleet bound for Virginia on a rescue mission. Some of the battered survivors safely landed in Jamestown, but the flagship Sea Venture and the ...

In April 1613, years of bloody warfare culminated in the kidnapping of the paramount chief Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas. The English colonists in Jamestown offered to return her in exchange for stol...