Episode 56 – The US Supreme Court from Taney to Plessy v Ferguson

CC from Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to part two of our three-part series on the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. In this episode we discuss the Taney court (1836-1864) through the Fuller court (1888-1910). We break down two of the most landmark decisions of these courts with a discussion of Dred Scott vs. Sandford (1857) and Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896). Join us for a discussion of judicial overreach, precursors to Civil War, and the codification of racial segregation in the Jim Crow era.

Episode 55 – The US Supreme Court – Jay to Marshall

John Marshall by Henry Inman via Wikimedia Commons

The justices that sit on the US Supreme Court may be nine of the most powerful unelected officials in the world. Join us for the first of a multi-part deep dive into the story of the US Supreme. We’ll cover that origins of the court as well as critical people and cases that fundamentally shaped the contemporary legal, political, economic, and social landscape of America.

This week we discuss the origin of the court and the tenures of John Jay, the first Chief Justice, and John Marshall, arguably the most importandt Chief Justice in the history of the court.

Episode 32 – The Rise of Abolitionism – Black History from 1776 to 1860

Douglass argued against John Brown’s plan to attack the arsenal at Harpers Ferry – Jacob Lawrence, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/559102.

Join us for Part 2 of our series for Black History Month. We discuss the nation’s founding documents and the ways slavery was and was not addressed in each. We also discuss early abolitionists like Sojourner Truth and her connections to the Second Great Awakening, a period of religious revivalism, and William Lloyd Garrison. We also discuss the oppositional approaches towards ending slavery adopted by Nat Turner and Frederick Douglass. Finally, we discuss the unlikely friendship of Douglass and John Brown, the man hanged for his attack on the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry.

Episode 24 – The Third Amendment

Soldier of the 29th regiment (1742) Wikimedia Commons

After a fairly lengthy hiatus, our series on Constitutional Amendments is back! While the Third Amendment may seem irrelevant to the 21st century, join us as we discuss how it could potentially be used in the future. We also cover different ways to interpret the Constitution.

Episode 16 – Reconstruction

Hiram Revels, Senator from Mississippi

We’re back! This week we return and we’re trying something a bit different. We are aiming at broader topics. Our goal is to make the podcast useful for parents who now find themselves in charge of their children’s education at home. Don’t get us wrong, we’ll continue to have the same level of historical discussion and debate you’ve grown used to, but we’ll wrap it all in larger chronological chunks.

This episode cover Reconstruction, the period from 1865-1877, we talk about constitutional amendments, the Freemen’s Bureau, the rise of the KKK, the introduction of Black Codes, and the labor situation in the South following the Civil War.

Episode 13 – Prohibition

Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol DN-0072930, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. 1921.

This week on An Incomplete History Hilary and Geoff discuss the implementation and long-term effects of the 18th Amendment, that’s prohibition, on the United States. Where did the idea for a nation-wide ban on alcohol come from? What did advocates hope to accomplish? Can we really blame prohibition for a rise in organized crime? And how does the 18th Amendment, nullified decades ago, still affect your life today? Join us this week to find out.