The History of the Americans Podcast
@jackhenneman.bsky.social
Podcast telling the history of the lands now encompassed by the United States, from pre-Columbian times, without (intentional) presentism.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
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Books Our Listeners Might Enjoy - The History of the Americans Podcast
Longstanding listener Bruce Hawkins wrote to suggest that I put together a single page with the books I have used for The History of the Americans Podcast. Some of these make great presents for the hi...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
A listener suggested I put together a blog post with the books I have used to write The History of the Americans Podcast scripts. I have so done, and will update as needs.
I hope you find useful!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/books-our-li...
I hope you find useful!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/books-our-li...
For those of you who follow college football, I wrote up a note on the history of Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze pig that goes to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game each year.
It's actually a really nice story from 91 years ago.
jackhenneman.substack.com/p/iowa-minne...
It's actually a really nice story from 91 years ago.
jackhenneman.substack.com/p/iowa-minne...
Iowa, Minnesota, and Floyd of Rosedale
A story of reconciliation
jackhenneman.substack.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
For those of you who follow college football, I wrote up a note on the history of Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze pig that goes to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game each year.
It's actually a really nice story from 91 years ago.
jackhenneman.substack.com/p/iowa-minne...
It's actually a really nice story from 91 years ago.
jackhenneman.substack.com/p/iowa-minne...
There's a new episode up, "Bacon’s Rebellion 2: The Susquehannocks Strike Back." Folks, I'm not gonna lie. It gets ugly. And we learn a lot about Sir William Berkeley, even today Virginia's longest-serving governor!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/bacons-rebel...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/bacons-rebel...
Bacon’s Rebellion 2: The Susquehannocks Strike Back - The History of the Americans Podcast
The Susquehannocks, having successfully escaped from their beseiged fort on Piscataway Creek in Maryland, fled through the Virginia Piedmont to set up winter quarters on the James and Roanoke Rivers. ...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:58 AM
There's a new episode up, "Bacon’s Rebellion 2: The Susquehannocks Strike Back." Folks, I'm not gonna lie. It gets ugly. And we learn a lot about Sir William Berkeley, even today Virginia's longest-serving governor!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/bacons-rebel...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/bacons-rebel...
The best part is the "new brain-surgery" headline in the right two columns.
September 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The best part is the "new brain-surgery" headline in the right two columns.
There is a new episode up for weekend listening pleasure, "Augustine Herrman's Map," the story of the Czech entrepreneur who would become one of the wealthiest men in 17th century America. Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/augustine-he...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/augustine-he...
Augustine Herrman's Map - The History of the Americans Podcast
I got the idea for this episode talking to a bartender in Prague. The place was empty, and the fellow was garrulous and quickly said he loved American history, which naturally prompted me to suggest a...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
August 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
There is a new episode up for weekend listening pleasure, "Augustine Herrman's Map," the story of the Czech entrepreneur who would become one of the wealthiest men in 17th century America. Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/augustine-he...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/augustine-he...
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 8: The Defeat of the Algonquians." We see the "ghost of Hadley," and the killing of Metacom. Along the way, we meet the first American ranger, the father of our special forces. Or maybe not...
Like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
King Philip's War 8: The Defeat of the Algonquians - The History of the Americans Podcast
Maps of New England during King Philip’s War In May 1676 the tide of King Philip's War had turned against the Algonquians of southern New England, but the New English settlers didn't know it yet. They...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
July 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 8: The Defeat of the Algonquians." We see the "ghost of Hadley," and the killing of Metacom. Along the way, we meet the first American ranger, the father of our special forces. Or maybe not...
Like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
#OTD in 1493, the Nuremberg Chronicle was published. It contained the “events most worthy of notice from the beginning of the world to the calamity of our time.” Reflecting the desperation of Europe, the type had been set before news of Niña's return.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-admiral-...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-admiral-...
The Admiral of the Ocean Sea Part 1 - The History of the Americans Podcast
This episode is a remastered and slightly revised version of the first of five on Christopher Columbus, the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea." The episode discusses why Columbus should figure in to The Histo...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
July 12, 2025 at 2:34 PM
#OTD in 1493, the Nuremberg Chronicle was published. It contained the “events most worthy of notice from the beginning of the world to the calamity of our time.” Reflecting the desperation of Europe, the type had been set before news of Niña's return.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-admiral-...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-admiral-...
#OTD in 1675, 350 years ago today, first blood is drawn in King Philip's War, when an English “lad” killed an Indian who was sacking a house near Swansea, MA. Metacom had provoked the attack, believing that the side that killed first would lose the war.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
King Philip’s War 2: Lighting the Match - The History of the Americans Podcast
After Massasoit's death in 1660 or 1661, his son Wamsutta became sachem of the Pokonoket community and the leading sachem of the Wampanoag confederation, and early on he followed Algonquian custom and...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
June 23, 2025 at 2:23 PM
#OTD in 1675, 350 years ago today, first blood is drawn in King Philip's War, when an English “lad” killed an Indian who was sacking a house near Swansea, MA. Metacom had provoked the attack, believing that the side that killed first would lose the war.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
#OTD in 1673, the combined Dutch fleet of Cornelis Evertsen - "Kees the Devil" - and Jacob Benckes leaves Puerto Rico after stopping for water and food, destination: The Chesapeake Bay and its tobacco fleet.
The Raid on America was on!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
The Raid on America was on!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Raid on America 2: Kees the Devil Sails - The History of the Americans Podcast
This is the second of three episodes about a daring Dutch raid on the West Indies and the English colonies of North America during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The extended raid, led by Commander Cornel...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
June 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
#OTD in 1673, the combined Dutch fleet of Cornelis Evertsen - "Kees the Devil" - and Jacob Benckes leaves Puerto Rico after stopping for water and food, destination: The Chesapeake Bay and its tobacco fleet.
The Raid on America was on!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
The Raid on America was on!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Reposted by The History of the Americans Podcast
Dr. Nathan Mossell, whose great-grandfather survived the Middle Passage, was a highly accomplished surgeon who founded a hospital in Philadelphia in 1895. archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/pen...
June 20, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Dr. Nathan Mossell, whose great-grandfather survived the Middle Passage, was a highly accomplished surgeon who founded a hospital in Philadelphia in 1895. archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/pen...
#OTD in 1632, the Charter of Maryland is granted to the George Calvert’s eldest son, Cecil, the Second Lord Baltimore, which is why the University of Maryland has such goofy football helmets.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-founding...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-founding...
The Founding of Maryland Part 1: Calvert's Dream - The History of the Americans Podcast
George Calvert had a dream. He had grown up during the most exciting moments of Elizabeth I's reign, a time when England was transforming from a backwater to a legitimate Atlantic power. He wanted to ...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
June 20, 2025 at 12:40 PM
#OTD in 1632, the Charter of Maryland is granted to the George Calvert’s eldest son, Cecil, the Second Lord Baltimore, which is why the University of Maryland has such goofy football helmets.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-founding...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-founding...
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 6: The Awful Winter of 1676." We have the "hungry march," the "Nine Men's Misery," the burning of Providence, and the last real appearance of Roger Williams in our history.
Please share with others!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Please share with others!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
King Philip's War 6: The Awful Winter of 1676 - The History of the Americans Podcast
Maps of New England during King Philip’s War [Attention Boston-area listeners: We will do a meet-up on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 5:30 at a venue TBD. I’ll also post information in a blog post on the...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 6: The Awful Winter of 1676." We have the "hungry march," the "Nine Men's Misery," the burning of Providence, and the last real appearance of Roger Williams in our history.
Please share with others!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Please share with others!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Four hundred years ago *today,* Sarah Rapelje was born at Ft. Orange, today's Albany, NY, the first European baby in New Netherland. She lived 60 years, had 15 children by two marriages, and at least a million people living today are descended from her.
June 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Four hundred years ago *today,* Sarah Rapelje was born at Ft. Orange, today's Albany, NY, the first European baby in New Netherland. She lived 60 years, had 15 children by two marriages, and at least a million people living today are descended from her.
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 5: Enter the Narragansetts."
Schizz has just gotten very, very, real. Among other things, there are "trees of death"!
Please like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Schizz has just gotten very, very, real. Among other things, there are "trees of death"!
Please like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
King Philip's War 5: Enter the Narragansetts - The History of the Americans Podcast
Maps of New England during King Philip’s War [Attention Boston-area listeners: We will do a meet-up on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 5:30 at a venue TBD. I'll also post information in a blog post on the...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
June 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
There's a new episode up, "King Philip’s War 5: Enter the Narragansetts."
Schizz has just gotten very, very, real. Among other things, there are "trees of death"!
Please like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
Schizz has just gotten very, very, real. Among other things, there are "trees of death"!
Please like and share!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/king-philips...
#OTD in 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold set sail from Falmouth with 20 aspiring colonists and 12 sailors on a small bark named Concord, destination "northern Virginia." Gosnold would name "Martha's Vineyard," among other places, but fail as a colonist.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-popham-s...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-popham-s...
The Popham/Sagadahoc Colony and Other Adventures on the Coast of New England 1602-08 Part 1 - The History of the Americans Podcast
The English established a colony on the coast near today’s Phippsburg, Maine in 1607, only a couple of months after the founding of Jamestown. It would survive just over a year. The Popham or Sagadah...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
March 26, 2025 at 3:07 PM
#OTD in 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold set sail from Falmouth with 20 aspiring colonists and 12 sailors on a small bark named Concord, destination "northern Virginia." Gosnold would name "Martha's Vineyard," among other places, but fail as a colonist.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-popham-s...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-popham-s...
For this date in 1642, the proceedings of the Maryland General Assembly show that among the freemen in attendance, and thereby permitted to vote, was Mathias de Sousa, a free Black man and trader.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
Three Lost Voices From Early Maryland - The History of the Americans Podcast
This episode tells the story of three "lost voices" from early Maryland, surprising people who remind us of the complexity of the 17th century Atlantic world. Mathias de Sousa was of African descent, ...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
March 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
For this date in 1642, the proceedings of the Maryland General Assembly show that among the freemen in attendance, and thereby permitted to vote, was Mathias de Sousa, a free Black man and trader.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
I'm enjoying "House of David" notwithstanding all the presentism and such, but did they really need to put stirrups on the horses ~800 years before they were invented?
I understand poetic license, but I don't see the poetic purpose in gratuitous stirrups. It hurt my feelings.
I understand poetic license, but I don't see the poetic purpose in gratuitous stirrups. It hurt my feelings.
March 11, 2025 at 3:20 AM
I'm enjoying "House of David" notwithstanding all the presentism and such, but did they really need to put stirrups on the horses ~800 years before they were invented?
I understand poetic license, but I don't see the poetic purpose in gratuitous stirrups. It hurt my feelings.
I understand poetic license, but I don't see the poetic purpose in gratuitous stirrups. It hurt my feelings.
#OTD in 1670, the reconstituted fleet for the Carolinas, after storms and other mishaps now consisting of the "Carolina," the "Three Brothers," and an unnamed Bermudan sloop, leave Bermuda for Port Royal, South Carolina.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-first-en...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-first-en...
The First English Settlement of South Carolina - The History of the Americans Podcast
The first English settlers in today's South Carolina departed England in August, 1669, but would not actually get to the coast of Carolina until April and May the next year. Along the way they would l...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
February 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
#OTD in 1670, the reconstituted fleet for the Carolinas, after storms and other mishaps now consisting of the "Carolina," the "Three Brothers," and an unnamed Bermudan sloop, leave Bermuda for Port Royal, South Carolina.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-first-en...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-first-en...
There's a new episode up, "Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette Explore the 'Mesippi'”!
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/louis-jollie...
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/louis-jollie...
Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette Explore the "Mesippi" - The History of the Americans Podcast
In the summer of 1673, two now famous Frenchmen and five others who are all but nameless traveled by canoe from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac to central Arkansas on the we...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
February 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
There's a new episode up, "Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette Explore the 'Mesippi'”!
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/louis-jollie...
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/louis-jollie...
#OTD in 1648, Margaret Brent, appears at the Maryland Assembly and demands two votes, one for her as a landholder and a second in her capacity as Lord Baltimore’s legal representative. Her request was respectfully denied.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
Three Lost Voices From Early Maryland - The History of the Americans Podcast
This episode tells the story of three "lost voices" from early Maryland, surprising people who remind us of the complexity of the 17th century Atlantic world. Mathias de Sousa was of African descent, ...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
January 21, 2025 at 12:46 PM
#OTD in 1648, Margaret Brent, appears at the Maryland Assembly and demands two votes, one for her as a landholder and a second in her capacity as Lord Baltimore’s legal representative. Her request was respectfully denied.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/three-lost-v...
As promised, for those of you who do not want to listen to political takes all day long, there's a new episode up, Raid on America 3: “All Theyr Cry was for New Yorke!”
It's about a decidedly unpeaceful transfer of power.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
It's about a decidedly unpeaceful transfer of power.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Raid on America 3: “All Theyr Cry was for New Yorke!” - The History of the Americans Podcast
This is the last of a three-episode series on the Dutch "raid on America" in 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Commander Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest of the Admiralty of the Dutch province of ...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
January 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
As promised, for those of you who do not want to listen to political takes all day long, there's a new episode up, Raid on America 3: “All Theyr Cry was for New Yorke!”
It's about a decidedly unpeaceful transfer of power.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
It's about a decidedly unpeaceful transfer of power.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
It's a little irritating that MS Word flags "mightinesses," as in "High Mightinesses," the translation of the honorific used by the Dutch in the 17th century to describe stadtholders, as somehow misspelled.
No, "Mightinesses" is a word, Word.
No, "Mightinesses" is a word, Word.
January 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
It's a little irritating that MS Word flags "mightinesses," as in "High Mightinesses," the translation of the honorific used by the Dutch in the 17th century to describe stadtholders, as somehow misspelled.
No, "Mightinesses" is a word, Word.
No, "Mightinesses" is a word, Word.
#OTD in 1644, Giles Brent, acting gov. while Leonard Calvert is in England, orders the arrest of Richard Ingle, a Protestant trader and master of the ship "Reformation," on a pretext. Ingle takes it poorly, and so begins Maryland's "Plundering Time."
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-plunderi...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-plunderi...
The “Plundering Time” Of Maryland Part 1 - The History of the Americans Podcast
This is the first of two episodes that recounts Maryland's "Plundering Time," when the English Civil War spilled into the Chesapeake. Protestants would rebel against Catholics, and Richard Ingle, a Pr...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
January 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
#OTD in 1644, Giles Brent, acting gov. while Leonard Calvert is in England, orders the arrest of Richard Ingle, a Protestant trader and master of the ship "Reformation," on a pretext. Ingle takes it poorly, and so begins Maryland's "Plundering Time."
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-plunderi...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/the-plunderi...
There's a new episode up, "Raid on America 2: Kees the Devil Sails." Enjoy it, like it, and please repost it!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Raid on America 2: Kees the Devil Sails - The History of the Americans Podcast
This is the second of three episodes about a daring Dutch raid on the West Indies and the English colonies of North America during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The extended raid, led by Commander Cornel...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
January 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM
There's a new episode up, "Raid on America 2: Kees the Devil Sails." Enjoy it, like it, and please repost it!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
#OTD in 1586, Sir Francis Drake attacks and captures Santiago, Hispaniola, the administrative capital of Spain’s empire in the West Indies. The Drake fleet controls the city for a month, and burns down about a third of it before the Spanish pay a ransom.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/drake-burns-...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/drake-burns-...
Drake Burns Down the West Indies and St. Augustine! - The History of the Americans Podcast
We are back in the summer of 1585, and careful listeners could hear the ever louder drums of war between Spain and England. In this episode we tell the story of Drake’s voyage to the West Indies in 15...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
January 1, 2025 at 12:32 PM
#OTD in 1586, Sir Francis Drake attacks and captures Santiago, Hispaniola, the administrative capital of Spain’s empire in the West Indies. The Drake fleet controls the city for a month, and burns down about a third of it before the Spanish pay a ransom.
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/drake-burns-...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/drake-burns-...
There's a new episode up, "Raid on America 1: Overview of the Anglo-Dutch Wars"! There's a lot of action, including the raid on the Medway. IYKYK.
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Raid on America 1: Overview of the Anglo-Dutch Wars - The History of the Americans Podcast
This is the first of two or three episodes - your podcaster hasn't decided yet -- about a daring Dutch raid on the West Indies and the English colonies of North America during the Third Anglo-Dutch Wa...
thehistoryoftheamericans.com
December 31, 2024 at 7:24 PM
There's a new episode up, "Raid on America 1: Overview of the Anglo-Dutch Wars"! There's a lot of action, including the raid on the Medway. IYKYK.
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...
Like and repost and stuff!
thehistoryoftheamericans.com/raid-on-amer...