Lectures in History

Professor Thomas Balcerski talked about the culture of Congress in the Antebellum Era. He described how members of Congress in the early 1800s bonded across party lines through tobacco use, social clubs, and living together in boarding houses. However, he said these friendships and alliances disintegrated as the Civil War approached, revealing the sectional divisions in national politics at the time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Minnesota professor Erika Lee talks about Asian immigration to the West coast from 1830 to 1930, including the role of San Francisco Bay’s Angel Island in the 20th century. She compared the Angel Island and Ellis Island experiences, describing how Asian immigrants in California had more extensive background checks and longer holding times than European immigrants in New York. This class was from a course called “American Immigration History.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Jack Rakove talked about some of the issues debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, such as the number of representatives for each state and the method of presidential elections. He described the arguments put forth by James Madison and how delegates tried to reach compromises despite competing State interests. This class was from a course called “The Constitution: A Brief History.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Martha Jones talked about the mid-19th century court case of Celia, a female slave who killed her master after repeated sexual assaults. Topics included what options Celia may have had, and the involvement of her fellow slaves and her master’s white neighbors in her court case. This episode may contain content that is sensitive to some listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of California, Davis Professor Alan Taylor spoke on alcohol use in the early American republic. By 1830, annual alcohol consumption in America reached four gallons per person, the most in the history of the nation before or since. Professor Taylor talked about why Americans drank so much, the consequences of so much drinking, and how it spawned the temperance movement in the 1830s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Davidson College professor Sally McMillen talked about the polio epidemic in the United States in the early to mid-20th century. Fear of contracting polio grew following a series of outbreaks, including one in 1916 that started in Brooklyn, New York, and eventually killed more than 6,000 people. She also spoke about the efforts of President Franklin Roosevelt to help find a cure, in part by starting the March of Dimes organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Michael Kazin taught a class about culture and society in the 1920s. He spoke about Prohibition and the exploits of the gangster Al Capone, who eventually went to prison on tax evasion charges, the motion picture industry and the new production codes that sought to reduce sexuality in films, and the 1925 State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes trial, in which a high school teacher faced charges of unlawfully teaching evolution in a state-funded school.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum and author or editor of 20 books - talked about the roots and development of the modern conservative movement, as well as the role of women’s issues in conservative politics. Phyllis Schlafly was a guest lecturer at The Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina, in a course called “The Conservative Intellectual Tradition in America,” taught by Professor Mallory Factor.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Columbia University history professor Eric Foner examines the rise of socialism in America in the early 20th century. He talks about the Socialist Party in New York City and Milwaukee, and looks at the Socialist Party of America presidential campaigns of Eugene Debs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American History Professor Quintard Taylor looks at the Civil Rights Movement from the 1940s through the 1960s. Professor Taylor focuses on the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Brown v. Board of Education and the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.This two-hour class took place at the University of Washington in Seattle.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices