The Whyos were New York's most notorious gang after the Civil War, organizing their criminal activities and terrorizing law-abiding citizens of the Gilded Age. In this presentation, Greg Young and Tom Meyers explore they lived, how they broke the law, and who they were—from Googie Corcoran to Dandy Johnny.
The Whyos were New York's most notorious gang after the Civil War, organizing their criminal activities and terrorizing law-abiding citizens of the Gilded Age. In this presentation, Greg Young and Tom Meyers explore they lived, how they broke the law, and who they were—from Googie Corcoran to Dandy Johnny.
West Virginia native Catherine Moore looks at how the state of West Virginia got its name.
Financial panics have occurred regularly throughout American history. In this podcast, economic historian Michael Bernstein argues that one can't have the boom without the bust. Then historian Scott Nelson outlines the eerie similarities between 1873 and 2008, and explains how Christian fundamentalism is rooted in financial collapse.
From the Bowery Boys website:
"We're going back to school with one of New York's oldest continually operating institutions—Columbia University. Or should we say, King's College, the pre-Revolution New York school that spawned religious controversy and a few Founding Fathers to boot. Listen in as we chart its locations throughout the city—from the vicinity of Trinity Church to midtown Manhattan. And finally to its permanent home on the 'Academic Acropolis' in Morningside Heights."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"You cannot understand New York without understanding its most corrupt politician—William 'Boss' Tweed, a larger than life personality with lofty ambitions to steal millions of dollars from the city. With the help of his 'Tweed Ring', the former chair-maker had complete control over the city—what was being built, how much it would cost and who was being paid. How do you bring down a corrupt government when it seems almost everybody's in on it? We reveal the downfall of the Tweed ring and the end to one of the biggest political scandals in New York history. It begins with a sleigh ride. ALSO: Find out how Tammany Hall, the dominant political machine of the 19th century, got its start—as a rather innocent social club that required men to dress up and pretend they're Indians."
From the BackStory website:
"Historian Anne Blue Wills tells the story of Sarah Josepha Hale, a New England magazine editor who campaigned tirelessly to put Thanksgiving on our national calendar."
Drew Gilpin Faust, author of This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, discusses the impact of the Civil War's massive death toll on American perceptions of death and dying.
Greg Young and Tom Meyers follow the 19th-century creation and development of Brooklyn's Prospect Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who had previously designed Central Park.
From the BackStory website:
"Historian Cindy Aron discusses the origins of the modern American vacation. She explains why traveling to the beach didn't used to be appealing, and why Americans have often preferred 'self improvement' vacations to lazing around in a hammock."