This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, I speak with historian Kevin Levin about his new book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth. The story behind this myth that tens of thousands of free and enslaved black men fought on behalf of the … [Read more...]
Episode 169 The Myth of Black Confederates
Of Plague and Pilgrims: The Grim Story Behind the First Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving approaches, we can expect many newspaper articles and television programs detailing the story behind the holiday’s origins. The accurate ones will explain how the first Thanksgiving in 1621 bore little resemblance to the scenes represented in paintings—e.g., Pilgrims and Native … [Read more...]
The Myth of the Great Blackout of 1965 Baby Boom
The Great Blackout of 1965 While the power outages in the NY-NJ region caused by hurricane Sandy made life difficult for millions, a far larger blackout in November 1965 plunged some 30 million Americans across eight states into darkness. In New York City 800,000 people were trapped during the … [Read more...]