American History Hit

Shays’ Rebellion has long been taught as a dangerous uprising, one that risked shaking the newly founded United States of America. But by tracing the events from mounting grievances to the march on th...

What was it like to live on Alcatraz? And was it possible to escape? In this episode, Don speaks to a historian with the unique experience of growing up there. Jolene Babyak's father worked on Alcatra...

Driven from the United States, the Mormons journeyed West to build a new society in the desert- one that would challenge the political, economic, and moral norms of the nation they had left behind. Bu...

Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States. It's the windy city, the railroad capital, and home of countless film and tv hits. But when was it founded? Who were the first people livi...

In 1831, a rebellion erupted in Virginia that sent shockwaves across the United States, and challenged the brutal system of slavery in a way that white slave-owners had long feared. Led by an enslaved...

Their name is synonymous with power, influence ... and tragedy. And with so much of the latter, many have taken to speculating - are the Kennedy family cursed? To find out more, Don is joined by Profe...

The Trail of Tears is one of the darkest chapters in American history: the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to territories west of the Missis...

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, best known as the Shakers, emerged in the UK in the 18th Century. So how is it that the three remaining Shakers are based in the US? How d...

We've all heard of the Texas Rangers: an undoubted icon of the American West. In this week’s instalment of our Frontier series, we’ll be exploring the history of lawmen famed for riding across a viole...

This is the largest battle, by number of combatants, of the entire Civil War. But why? What was the federal objective at Fredericksburg? And how did it all go so wrong for Burnside and his troops? Don...