[Note: a version of this piece originally ran in the Huffington Post on April 23, 2016; You can also hear this and related pieces in Episode 010 of my podcast, In The Past Lane] The recent announcement by the United States Treasury Department that Harriet Tubman, escaped slave and abolitionist, … [Read more...]
Tubman on the New $20 Bill – Move Over Jackson
Episode 010 Harriet Tubman on the Twenty & More
This week at the In The Past Lane history podcast, we take up some timely questions: Who was Harriet Tubman and why did the U.S. Treasury Dept. choose her as the first woman to appear on the $20 bill? And why has President Andrew Jackson been demoted to the backside of the bill? Along the way, we’ll … [Read more...]
Episode 009 Taxes and Tax Revolts in US History and More
This week at In The Past Lane, in honor (if that's the right word) of Tax Day, we take a close look at the history of the fraught relationship between Americans and their taxes. This episode features three segments: 1) an interview with historian William Hogeland about his terrific book on one … [Read more...]
The Original Demon Weed: The Great Anti-Cigarette Crusade
InThePastLane by Edward T. O’Donnell In recent years voters in many states have approved laws legalizing the recreational marijuana use (and that several other states approved medical marijuana use) has prompted much speculation that marijuana may some day enjoy the legal … [Read more...]
Margaret Sanger and the Struggle for Women’s Rights
InThePastLane by Edward T. O’Donnell Americans have spent a lot of time and energy in recent years arguing about birth control. The debate has centered not on the morality of contraception, but rather, in the wake of the … [Read more...]