Historical Controversies: Recent Episodes
Chris Calton
In Historical Controversies, Mises Institute scholar Chris Calton debunks the history you may have learned in school. Armed with facts, theory, and a Rothbardian appreciation for historical narrative, Calton enlightens and entertains in a podcast that has something to offer all audiences. See the podcast's updated Corrections and Qualifications page. See also Chris Calton's Bibliographic Essays (PDF): Season 1, History of the War on Drugs (Mises.org/EC1Bib) and Season 2: Antebellum United States (Mises.org/EC2Bib). Listeners can support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 54After Grant’s army moved on from Pittsburg Landing, the horrors of the battle remained for the people living there. Focusing primarily on the story of nine-year-old Elsie Duncan, Chris recounts the terrible years that followed the Battle of Shiloh for the civilians left in its wake.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 54 After Grant’s army moved on from Pittsburg Landing, the horrors of the battle remained for the people living there. Focusing primarily on the story of nine-year-old Elsie Duncan, Chris recounts the terrible years that followed the Battle of Shiloh for the civilians left in its wake.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
This episode features a talk Chris Calton gave to Auburn’s Young Americans for Liberty on April 20, as part of the Reclamation of Liberties event.
In the talk, Chris offers an overview of the history of the governmental efforts to stigmatize marijuana in order to justify criminalization and draconian enforcement policies. He traces the changing narrative and strategies for propaganda to illustrate the evolution of propaganda over time, providing insight into how the government and media work together to shape public perception.
You can find the other two talks, given by Dr. Mark Thornton and Tho Bishop here.
You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 53 "Professor CJ" of the Dangerous History Podcast joins Chris Calton to tell the story of Shiloh from the perspective of two soldiers, from their own personal memoirs of the battle. One story follows the experiences of Henry Morton Stanley, a twenty-one-year-old Confederate. The other story involves the sixteen-year-old John Cockerill, a Union drummer boy. These two eloquently written memoirs illustrate the true history of the Civil War better than any account of officer deaths or battlefield tactics.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 52 The second day of battle brought fresh Union soldiers to the battlefield. They could hardly comprehend the destruction they witnessed from the day before. The bloodshed resumed until the overwhelmed Confederates were forced to retreat to Corinth. This episode also tells the oft-neglected story of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in which William Tecumseh Sherman and Nathan Bedford Forrest met each other in battle.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 51 As the Union line fell back, they condensed at the bottom of a ravine. As the thousands of soldiers in each army crowded in to fight in the narrowest portion of the battlefield, the area earned the nickname “The Hornet’s Nest.” Before the day was done, thousands of men would fall, including the highest ranking officer to lose his life during the entire war.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 50 At the beginning of the Battle of Shiloh, the Confederacy caught the Union by surprise. However, one Union Colonel suspected that an attack was coming, and he formed his men into a defensive line that bought the rest of the Union troops time to join the fight. Instead of a quick Confederate victory, both armies faced a bloody battle of attrition.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 49 Following the victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, Grant’s commanding officer still wanted to remove him from command. During this time, he formed a strong friendship with William Tecumseh Sherman. As the Union army was amassing troops at Pittsburg Landing, the Confederate forces in the West were concentrating at Corinth. The Confederates decided that they should take the initiative in the coming battle.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 48 While Confederates were facing disaster at Leetown, General Van Dorn and his Confederates at Elkhorn Tavern were fighting the Union forces with more success. But after pushing the Union forces back on the first day of fighting, they found out that they would not be reinforced by General Ben McCulloch’s 7,000 man division. This two-day battle is often overshadowed by other battles that were fought shortly before and after it, but at the time it took place, the Battle of Pea Ridge was the bloodiest battle the war had yet seen.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 47 The Battle of Pea Ridge was fought on two fronts, one at Leetown, and the other at Elkhorn Tavern. The combat at Leetown was led by Ben McCulloch, who commanded a force that greatly outnumbered the Union opponents. But due to a series of unfortunate disasters, the Confederate assault would fall apart, demonstrating what is likely the greatest example of a breakdown in leadership during the entire war.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 46 After Grant pushes the Confederates back to Fort Donelson, the southern leaders had to decide whether to attempt escape or surrender. Ultimately, the surrender was carried out in a way that created scandal for the Confederate leaders who did manage to escape, and it gave Grant the opening to earn his nickname in the North: “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 45 The Battle of Fort Donelson would take place over several days. Waged from two fronts, the land and the river, the battle would seem to be turning in favor of the Confederates. While Ulysses S. Grant was off the battlefield consulting with the naval commander, Captain Foote, the Confederates would push the Union back, opening the door for escape.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 44 By taking Fort Henry, Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Hull Foote gained access to the Tennessee River. This waterway gave them access to the Confederate heartland, and by taking the Fort, they were able to probe deep into Alabama. This earned the Union a bounty of new supplies, and also struck a tremendous psychological blow against the Confederates in the Deep South who believed that they were, up to that point, secure from Yankee invasion.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 43 As Lincoln grew impatient with his generals, he sent an order demanding action. In the West, Ulysses S. Grant was eager to comply, while other Union generals dithered and delayed offensive operations. Confederate forces were building forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers – Forts Henry and Donelson – and they believed that the Union attack would focus on the Mississippi. But coming into 1862, the Union officers had realized that it was this pair of rivers running through Kentucky and Tennessee that would serve as the gateway to the Confederacy.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 42 On March 9th, 1862 — the day after the ironclad Merrimack destroyed two Union warships — the Confederate navy would meet its match in battle against the USS Monitor. Both sides would claim victory in the battle, but the true legacy would be the transformation of naval warfare across the globe.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 41 John Ericsson’s design for the Monitor was only a skeleton when he was awarded the contract to have it built. In a race to match the feared Merrimack, Ericsson had to quickly construct a working, combat-ready iron ship that would receive its first test in combat. If the ship proved a failure, Ericsson would be forced by the US government to pay back every penny invested in the experimental ship – which most people expected to sink like a rock. This episode details the incredible process of constructing this technological marvel.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 40 The Union’s response to the Confederate ironclad was an iron warship of its own. Unlike the Merrimack, the USS Monitor was a tremendous technological innovation, nearly single-handedly designed by a Swedish engineer named John Ericsson. This episode details his incredible life and the many failures that would culminate in the successful Monitor that would make him famous.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 39 On March 8, 1862, the ironclad Merrimack — renamed the CSS Virginia — was tested in battle against three of the Union’s most powerful wooden ships. The outcome of the battle would usher in a new age of naval warfare, in which wooden ships would be rendered entirely obsolete.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 38 To combat the superior size of the United States Navy, the Confederacy believed that its best strategy was to build a technologically superior — if much smaller — Navy. The cornerstone of this strategy was to recover the USS Merrimack and plate it with iron, making it the first ironclad warship in North America.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 37 Early in 1862, General Ambrose Burnside conquered the North Carolina coast, providing an important — but often overlooked — strategic victory for the Union.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 36 In this mini-episode, Chris Calton briefly reviews the important themes and takeaways from the first year of the war.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 35 In this episode, Chris Calton details how technological innovations changed the course of naval warfare. By taking advantage of this new technology, the Union Navy was able to easily capture Hatteras Inlet and Port Royal Sound, which would prove strategically important in the establishment of their blockade.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 34 At the outset of the war, Winfield Scott came up with his “Anaconda Plan” to blockade the entire southern coast. This looked to be easier said than done, as the Union had a very small navy. The Confederates, by contrast, had no navy at all. This episode details the ways that both countries tried to overcome these problems in order to fight a war on the waters.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 33 With many of the Civilized Indians wishing to remain neutral in the Civil War, a Muscogee leader named Opothle Yahola led a group of thousands of fugitives to Kansas. As they fled, Confederate soldiers, along with their Native American allies, gave chase, fighting a series of battles known as the Trail of Blood on Ice.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 32 After being forced to move west during the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee Nation was bitterly divided into two factions. Although they remained officially unified, the factionalism remained through the Civil War and reemerged as a division between the Cherokee who favored the Union, or at least neutrality, and those who wanted to ally with the Confederacy. Similar to the border states, the decision to join the Confederacy was controversial, and many Native Americans refused to fall in line, demonstrating that the alliance with the Confederacy was not as simple as many historians make it seem.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC. Subscribe today at Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or via RSS.
Season 3, Episode 31 In 1861, the Five Civilized Tribes — the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles — would be faced with the decision of staying neutral or choosing a side in the Civil War. To understand their decision, Chris Calton takes a look at the long history of Indians becoming, in the eyes of Americans, "civilized".
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 31st episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 30. After months of growing tension between the United States and Britain, a single event nearly plunged the two countries into war. When a Union naval officer illegally boarded a British mail ship and arrested two Confederate diplomats, many British leaders saw it as a deliberate provocation, engineered by William Seward, to provoke Britain into a war over its Canadian territory. After news of the arrest reached London, tempers were so high that many people, in reflection, believe that the only thing that prevented war was the delayed communication between the two countries that came from a broken telegraph cable.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 30th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 29. Even before taking office, Secretary of State William Seward had a history of making threatening statements toward Britain. After the war began, he continued to make one diplomatic faux pas after another, worrying Britain enough that they started sending troops to Canada in preparation for a possible war with the United States.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 29th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 28. The Union defeat at Ball’s Bluff would prove to be the final straw for the Congressional Republicans, who had been growing increasingly distressed by the Union failures at the outset of the war. Their response was to form a committee tasked with investigating the war—which really meant a political witch hunt determined to find alleged secessionist sympathizers and military scapegoats upon whom the politicians could place the blame for the Union failures.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 28th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 27. After General Stone’s “slight demonstration” erupted into a small-scale battle, communication errors and battlefield mistakes continued to make matters worse for the Union army. The battle would not only end in a Union defeat, but it would also claim the life of one of President Lincoln’s closest personal friends.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 27th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 26. The Battle of Ball’s Bluff was a minor battle with major consequences. In this episode, Chris Calton details all the mistakes that were made leading up to the battle, setting the stage for a Union catastrophe.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 26th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 25. Lincoln believed that Kentucky, one of the four remaining slave states, was crucial to the Union war effort. Although the state was more thoroughly Unionist than other border states, such as Missouri and Maryland, the administration did not want to take any chances, sending the state’s loyalists thousands of guns and carrying out a policy of political arrests to ensure that Kentucky could not be taken over by secessionists. This episode concludes our look at the border states and the Union effort to prevent their secession.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 25th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Point of clarification: Although I didn't technically get this wrong, I believe my wording may have been unintentionally misleading. In a paragraph that is largely about the Northern presence in Kentucky, I say "General Leonidas Polk was occupying two towns in western Kentucky by September 3rd." This is correct, but I did not clarify for those who may not have been aware that Polk was a Confederate General, and that this occupation was a Confederate violation of Kentucky’s neutrality, which was justified by Polk on the grounds that the Union violated Kentucky’s neutrality first. In reviewing the context of my statement, I realize that listeners may likely interpret Polk as a Union officer.
Season 3, Episode 24. When Virginia decided to join the South, many Unionists in the western portion of the state were opposed to the move. The Lincoln administration wanted them to select representatives for “Restored Virginia,” maintaining the pretense that they were representing all of Virginia for the Union. But the Unionist political leaders were already imagining a secession of their own.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 24th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 23. As the fear of spies and traitors spread through the North, political arrests became commonplace, even in states as far north as Maine. Anybody expressing any anti-war sentiment would be assumed to be a traitor and a secessionist, and arrests were carried out according to a guilty-until-proven-innocent policy. Martial Law was not confined to the slave states.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 23rd episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 22. With former Republican presidential contender John C. Frémont now in charge of the Department of the West, the policies of Martial Law would be extended to the entire state of Missouri. Included in Frémont’s declaration of Martial Law is the first emancipation proclamation of the war — a proclamation that would not sit well with President Lincoln, who was worried about the effect such a dictate might have on Kentucky.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 22nd episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 21. After an early morning victory, the Battle of Wilson’s Creek concentrates on a hill that would later be named Bloody Hill. Despite the advantages won by a successful surprise attack, the Union army would find itself on the defensive, and the battle would end with the first general officer killed in the Union army.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 21st episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 20. The second large scale battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Wilson’s Creek would prove to be one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, in proportion to the number of men participating. Lyon initiates the battle in an aggressive early morning ambush, hoping to cripple the larger Confederate forces before ordering the Union retreat to safer territories.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 20th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 19. As the Union forces pursue the Missouri secessionists to the southwest corner of the state, they fight a number of small skirmishes that serve as preludes to the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 19th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 18. After the “Walnut Street Massacre” in St. Louis, more people shift their support to the Confederacy. In response, Nathaniel Lyon declares war on the state of Missouri, and wages the first small, but significant, battle of the state in Booneville.
Season 3, Episode 17. Nathaniel Lyon, a notoriously harsh officer in the US army, is sent to St. Louis to ensure Missouri’s place in the Union. His policies have the effect of alienating much of the population of the city, which is predominantly Unionist, leading to the formation of a secessionist resistance group at Camp Jackson.
To celebrate the one year anniversary episode of Historical Controversies, host Chris Calton broadcast a live Question-and-Answer session in the Mises Studio on August 6, 2018.
Season 3, Episode 16. The Union defeat at Bull Run changed the perspective on the war for everybody in the North. The confidence in a decisive war that would be won with a single battle was shattered. Northern presses spread fabricated stories of rebel barbarity, and Union politicians look for people to blame. In the South, there were no celebrations for the costly victory. The aftermath of Bull Run produced the first signs of the harsh reality of the bloody war that was only beginning.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 16th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 15. With new Confederate troops arriving throughout the afternoon, McDowell takes one last stand at Chinn Ridge, only to have fresh Confederate arrivals from the Army of the Shenandoah drive back his last brigade. As the Army of the Potomac retreats, the Confederates pursue them, taking several prisoners, including one Republican Congressman who was among the civilian spectators who’d come expecting an easy Union victory.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 15th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 14. Leading the stand on Henry Hill was Thomas Jackson, where he would earn his nickname “Stonewall.” To drive Jackson off the hill, McDowell orders a Napoleon-esque artillery charge, resulting in the bloodiest fighting of the day, as the newly-rifled weaponry renders the artillery charge ineffective, and both armies fight for control of the canons. The tide begins to turn for the Confederates.
Season 3, Episode 13. The morning hours of the First Battle of Bull Run concentrated on Matthews Hill, where the outflanked Confederates tried desperately to hold their ground, only to be driven back by the superior numbers of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. With Matthews Hill occupied by the Union by the afternoon, the battle looked won, but the Confederate forces were taking a new position on Henry Hill, where they would rally in the afternoon.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the 13th episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 12. Three days before the major battle, regiments from the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under the command of Irvin McDowell, and the Army of the Potomac, under Pierre Beauregard, face off on the southeastern point of the Manassas battle site, resulting in a minor Confederate victory. For most soldiers, this skirmish offered them the first glimpse at what real combat was like, having had no formal training to prepare them.
Season 3, Episode 11. Leading up to the First Battle of Bull Run, Joseph E. Johnston takes command of the Army of the Shenandoah, and Robert Patterson counters with the Army of Pennsylvania. Patterson’s objective is to prevent Johnston from joining Pierre Beauregard at Manassas Junction. But, misled by poor intel, Patterson fails to attack Johnston’s smaller army, allowing Johnston to start moving his troops to reinforce Beauregard’s Army of the Potomac.
Season 3, Episode 10. Because of the close proximity to Washington DC and Richmond, Virginia, much of the Civil War would take place in eastern Virginia—between the two capitals. Virginia’s favorite son, Robert E. Lee, would be offered command of the Union army only days before resigning his U.S. army commission and accepting a position in the Confederate army. The war in Virginia began with a few minor skirmishes following the Union occupation of Alexandria and Arlington.
Season 3, Episode 9. After the Pratt Street Riot, President Lincoln and General Scott take more drastic measures to secure the state of Maryland for the Union. Placing most of the state under Martial Law, Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus and allows his officers to arrest civilians. One such arrest led to Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to issue his statement on Lincoln’s suspension of the writ in the opinion Ex Parte Merryman.
Correction and Clarification: A listener who is a lecturer for the Maynooth University Department of Law sent me an article he wrote that offers relevant legal qualification for my admittedly unqualified explanation of Ex Parte Merrymen. Rather than further misrepresenting the legal particularities of the incident, I’ll refer to his paper:
Tillman, Seth Barrett, "Ex Parte Merryman: Myth, History, and Scholarship" (November 7, 2015). 224 Military Law Review 481 (2016). Available at SSRN.
Additionally, I referred to the arrest warrant Lincoln allegedly issued for Chief Justice Taney. One of the supporting documents for this claim has been called into question for its credibility, so the arrest warrant remains a matter of historical conjecture, and the position I took in the episode is more firm than the position I now hold on the matter.
Season 3, Episode 8. Only days after Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers, troops began moving to Washington DC, having to pass through Baltimore—a city full of secessionists. Seeing the movement of troops from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts as nothing less than a foreign invasion, Baltimore citizens resisted the movement of the troops, leading to the first blood spilled in combat during the Civil War. Following the riots, the secessionists took over Baltimore, and the city effectively seceded—cutting itself off from the North and vowing that no more Union soldiers be allowed to pass through their city.
You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 7. After Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the “Southern Rebellion,” the Upper South states reconsidered their decision to remain in the Union. As many people saw Lincoln’s call for troops as a usurpation of Executive authority, four more states — Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee — saw themselves as being forced to choose sides. With neutrality no longer an option, they joined the Confederacy.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the seventh episode in the third season of Historical Controversies. You may support this podcast financially at Mises.org/SupportHC.
Season 3, Episode 6. The official beginning of the Civil War came on April 12th, when the Confederacy commenced their attack on Fort Sumter. In this episode, Chris Calton gives the immediate context of the battle, and tells the incredible story of one of the most significant episodes in the history of the United States.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the sixth episode in the third season of Historical Controversies.
Season 3, Episode 5. With Lincoln in office and the Confederate government formally in place, the decision about how to handle Fort Sumter changed hands. Even before taking office, Lincoln had resolved to maintain the Fort, or retake it in the event that Buchanan had the fort evacuated. Once in office, the new president was faced with military leaders and a cabinet that were almost unanimously in favor of evacuating the fort. Lincoln decided to ignore their advice. In this episode, Chris Calton analyzes Lincoln’s momentous—and historically controversial—decision.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the fifth episode in the third season of Historical Controversies.
Season 3, Episode 4. Once more Deep South states joined South Carolina in seceding from the Union, the South was faced with the need to quickly form their own national government. This meant the drafting of a constitution, the election of a president, the appointment of a legislature, and the establishment of an administrative framework. With war on the horizon, they had to act quickly, all while hostilities continued to heat up off the coast of Charleston.
Season 3, Episode 3. With disunion looming, conservative Republicans and southern unionists sought a compromise that would keep the Union together. John Crittenden proposed a compromise that was too conciliatory for many Republicans, but out of these compromise plans came a proposal for what nearly became the Thirteenth Amendment, which would have protected slavery in the states where it already existed. Abraham Lincoln endorsed the Amendment, and worked behind the scenes to find a compromise that could prevent disunion without rupturing the Republican Party.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the third episode in the third season of Historical Controversies.
Season 3, Episode 2. For almost a month, South Carolina was the only state to have formally seceded from the Union. Off the coast of Charleston, the Union still had a garrison stationed in Sullivan Island’s Fort Moultrie, which became a matter of foreign policy between the United States and what was essentially the “nation” of South Carolina.
Season 3, Episode 1. In this episode, Chris Calton introduces the third season of Historical Controversies. He gives an overview of Ludwig von Mises’s views on the study of history and how it applies to the division between secession and war in 1861. He also tackles the question of whether or not the American Civil War was an actual “civil war”.
Chris Calton recounts the controversial history of the Civil War. This is the first episode in the third season of Historical Controversies.
Season 2, Episode 24. Throughout the 1850s, tensions over slavery continued to divide the Northern and Southern states. Finally, after the election of Abraham Lincoln — who didn’t win a single southern state — seven of the fifteen slave states broke away from the Union, hoping the other eight slave states would join them.
Chris Calton gives a revisionist look at the antebellum period leading up to the Civil War. This is the 24th and final episode in the second season of Historical Controversies.
Season 2, Episode 23. After John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, the South was on edge. The Republican Party, in their eyes, was proof of the overwhelming presence of violent abolitionists in the North. The result was a North-South split in the Democrat Party, threats of secession if a Republican won, and a four-way presidential race.
Season 2, Episode 22. After losing several men, John Brown’s cause was hopeless. With Robert E. Lee and a company of United States marines showing up to end the attack, John Brown resolved that he would be better off as a martyr than a liberator. This episode is part 3 of 3 on John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry.
Season 2, Episode 21. After more than a year of planning, John Brown conducted his raid on Harpers Ferry. With only eighteen men, John Brown terrorized the Virginia town for three days, holding citizens as hostage inside the federal armory and waiting for slaves to flock to join his cause. This episode is part 2 of 3 on John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry.
Season 2, Episode 20. After being radicalized in Kansas, John Brown wanted to start a war against slavery. His plan involved secret conspirators, a provisional government, a spy, and a traitor. This episode is part 1 of 3 on John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry.
Correction: I say that John Brown claimed to be nine years old at the time of his witnessing the beating of a slave child, but John Brown actually claimed to be twelve.
Season 2, Episode 19. As William Walker struggles to maintain his control of Nicaragua, the Latin American Allies working with Cornelius Vanderbilt are finally able to dethrone the self-appointed “President of Nicaragua,” finally ending the American endeavor at conquering Nicaragua and the surrounding countries. This episode is Part 6 of 6 in the story of William Walker’s attempt at establishing his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Clarification: I claim that the Sharps rifle had a range of "twenty football fields". A listener pointed out that Wikipedia lists an effective firing range of only 500 yards, and a maximum range of 1,000 yards. In Tycoon’s War, Stephen Dando-Collins writes, "The Hondurans thought they were out of range, but the Sharps rifle had a range of two thousand yards." Neither Wikipedia nor Dando-Collins offer a citation for their range estimates, so I don’t know which one is correct, but I was referencing Dando-Collins for my claim.
Season 2, Episode 18. After thwarting a conspiracy with by his Nicaraguan allies who turned against him, William Walker sets up a new government and installs himself as the President. While embroiled in a war, he issues decrees that he hopes will encourage American volunteers, including opening the country to slavery. This episode is Part 5 of 6 in the story of William Walker’s attempt at establishing his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Season 2, Episode 17. William Walker and his American filibusters find themselves in the middle of an even greater conflict in Latin America as the countries of Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala form an alliance with Walker’s opposition in Nicaragua to defeat him. This episode is Part 4 of 6 in the story of William Walker’s attempt at establishing his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Season 2, Episode 16. After ending the Nicaraguan civil war, William Walker sets up the provisional government for his new "Republic of Nicaragua". The peace is short-lived as the surrounding Latin American countries join forces—with financial support provided by Cornelius Vanderbilt—to remove William Walker from power. This episode is Part 3 of 6 in the story of William Walker’s attempt at establishing his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Season 2, Episode 15. Despite the bitter defeat in the First Battle of Rivas, William Walker and his small army of American filibusters successfully take control of the Democratico capital of Nicaragua, ending the Nicaraguan civil war. This episode is Part 2 of 6 of the story of William Walker’s attempt to establish his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Season 2, Episode 14. Looking for adventure and glory, William Walker leads a group of Americans into Nicaragua to join the country’s civil war, with the hope of “Americanizing” Latin America. This episode is the Part 1 of 6 of the story of William Walker’s attempt at establishing his own Republic of Nicaragua.
Correction: I refer to John C. Calhoun as the vice-president, but this was well after the time Calhoun was vice-president, and he was a US Senator during the majority of the period referenced. I believe this mistake has been removed from every version except for the YouTube version.
Season 2, Episode 13. After Narciso López’s first attempt at overthrowing Spanish rule in Cuba, he found more support from American southerners and returned for a second try. Although he would fail, the idea of expanding slavery into new territories was now in the minds of a number of southern expansionists.
Correction: I refer to William Crittenden as both the son and nephew of Attorney General John J. Crittenden at different points in the episode. He was the nephew.
Season 2, Episode 12. When Cuban slave owners started to worry that Spain was going to emancipate their slaves, Narciso López thought that the time was ripe to start a revolution to overthrow Spanish rule. American expansionists hoping for the annexation of Cuba volunteered to help López, and many of these expansionists wanted to see Cuba turned into a new slave state.
Season 2, Episode 11. After the Pottawatomie Massacre, Kansas continued to bleed through the summer of 1856. But as the country reacted to the 1856 election and the Dred Scott decision, the territory turned in favor of the Free State settlers and Kansas looked positioned to enter the country as a free state.
Season 2, Episode 10. What is now considered the worst Supreme Court ruling of all time, Dred Scott v. Sandford, was a decision that sought to end the controversy over slavery that had raged since the Compromise of 1850. By ruling that Congress had no legal power to prohibit slavery in the territories, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney poured gasoline on the fire that was dividing the nation.
Season 2, Episode 9. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act drove many northerners to form Anti-Nebraska coalitions that ultimately yielded the Republican Party. The election of 1856 did not yield a Republican presidential victory, but it did produce a party that, through compromise and political maneuvering, was able to emerge as the dominant new party to compete with the bitterly divided Democrats.
Season 2, Episode 8. In response to the Sack of Lawrence and the Caning of Charles Sumner, radical John Brown took matters into his own hands by murdering five pro-slavery settlers. With this, Brown ushered in the wave of violence Kansas would see in the summer of 1856.
Chris Calton gives a revisionist look at the antebellum period leading up to the Civil War. This is the eighth episode in the second season of Historical Controversies.
Season 2, Episode 7. After the fraudulent elections in the Kansas Territory, tensions erupted following the death of a Free State settler. The pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers took up arms in the Wakarusa War and the Sack of Lawrence. In Washington, the Kansas controversy led to the brutal beating of an anti-slavery politician on the floor of the Senate.
Season 2, Episode 6. In this episode, Chris Calton talks about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which only compounded the growing tensions over the slavery question. Following the act, Kansas settlers would face voter fraud, leading to the formation of two competing territorial governments. The fallout led to a small-scale civil war.
Season 2, Episode 5. In this episode, Chris Calton discusses some of the most significant outcomes of the Fugitive Slave Act, such as the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin — the most widely-read novel of the nineteenth century — and the attempted rescue of Anthony Burns.
Season 2, Episode 4. Chris Calton looks at one of the first episodes of armed resistance to the Fugitive Slave Acts. He explains how abolitionist William Parker, a free black man, changed America forever.
Season 2, Episode 3. In this episode, Chris Calton looks at the horrors of fugitive slave laws, the ways government incentivized the kidnapping of free blacks, and the rise of private defense groups to fight off slavers.
Season 2, Episode 2. Following the War with Mexico, the Gold Rush out west leads to the question of Californian statehood and the future of US expansion. In order to balance the tension between free and slave states, Henry Clay offers a compromise.
Season 2, Episode 1. In the first episode of the second season of Historical Controversies, Chris Calton gives a revisionist look at the antebellum period leading up to the Civil War.
Correction: I refer to the “destruction of the first party-system,” when I meant to say “second party-system.” In the episode on the Election of 1856, I give a correct account of the party-system changes.
Season 1, Episode 12. Following the death and torture of a DEA agent, the War on Drugs is taken to even greater heights. In the final episode of the Historical Controversies "War on Drugs" series, Chris Calton explains the legislation and police operations that led to America having the world's largest prison population.
Season 1, Episode 11. During the 1980s, the war on drugs became defined by cocaine and crack. In this episode, Chris Calton explains how the potent mix of politicians and fake news created the myth of the "crack baby", while the CIA became drug runners for the Contras.
Season 1, Episode 10. In spite of declining drug usage, the Reagan Administration placed renewed interest in the War on Drugs. Chris Calton explains how President Reagan eliminated restrictions that prevented the US military from enforcing domestic laws, while also reducing Constitutional safeguards that prevented police from using illegally obtained evidence. The consequences? A rise in drug potency—and danger.
Season 1, Episode 9. In this episode, Chris Calton explores US drug policy between the Nixon and Reagan Administrations. Calton explains how one Christmas party in the 70s undermined the first serious effort to roll back the War on Drugs.
Season 1, Episode 8. In Vietnam, many soldiers found narcotics to be a coping agent against the horrors of war. Narcotics also became an easy scapegoat for a government looking to obfuscate the results of its own actions. In this episode, Chris Calton explains how the US government escalated the War on Drugs at home, while serving as a drug runner in Southeast Asia.
Season 1, Episode 7. In this episode, Chris Calton explains how the Nixon Administration kicked off the modern War on Drugs, featuring no knock raids, fictional crime stats, and the expansion of the American police state.
Season 1, Episode 6. Learn why Chris Calton believes that "of all the drugs we've talked about on this podcast, the history of LSD may be the most difficult to believe."
Season 1, Episode 5. While the phrase "War on Drugs" was coined by the Nixon Administration, it was FDR who earned the first headlines for his "Narcotic War."
In this episode, Chris Calton details the first arrest made for marijuana in the US, the military's earliest attempts to control narcotics distribution, and how the FBI used drug laws to target black Jazz musicians.
Season 1, Episode 4. Chris Calton traces the history of cocaine, showing how it went from common medicine to the target of US military action.
Season 1, Episode 3. Chris Calton looks at the history of opium use around the world. The tale takes us to baby farms in Victorian England, 19th Century China, and even one of the most prominent examples of fake news from the Washington Post.
For further reading, see Opium: A History edited by Martin Booth (St. Martin's Griffin, 1996).
Season 1, Episode 2. How did Americans fall for the government's reefer madness? Chris Calton explains how junk science, overt racism, and myths of bloodthirsty soldiers all played a role in the criminalization of marijuana in America.
Season 1, Episode 1. In the first episode of Historical Controversies, Chris Calton looks at how American society originally viewed drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroine, and he details the origins of prohibition in America.