American History 2/2

Notes from the Frontier author's new novel coming soon!

For sound, please click the note icon in the bottom right of the video.

Special thanks to Oscar-Winning Dances with Wolves co-composer Peter Buffett for use of his spectacular music from 500 Nations.

Clash of the [Fake] Titans

One of the greatest hoaxes in American history arose from a religious argument at a kitchen table on a farm in the middle of Iowa.

The Dark Secrets of Jamestown

Recent archeological digs that started twenty years ago at Jamestown have revealed shocking facts about life at Jamestown.

America's Earliest Cities were Native American & Spanish

As I dug further, I found that the TWELVE oldest cities in what is now the United States were Native American and Spanish.

Vanishing Americans

Edward Curtis was a famous American photographer and ethnologist who focused his work on the tribes of the American frontier.

Fireworks, The Explosive Celebration of America's Birthday

Fireworks are synonymous with American patriotism. But the origins of fireworks are decidedly global.

Uncle Sam: Birth of An Icon

Most Americans know Uncle Sam as a tall, upstanding, elderly man, stern-faced, gritty, with a white beard and mutton chops.

Freak Shows of the 1800s

Although "freak" shows began to show up as entertainment in the mid-1500s in England, they reached their apex of popularity in the US.

Manifest Destiny

If you remember any of your history lessons from high school, you might remember the words, "Manifest Destiny,"

Outhouses

The little wooden outhouse has been an architectural fixture of America since the 1700s, when it began to replace chamber pots.

The Native American Military Tradition

Native American contributions to the U.S military have long been heralded.

Kate Shelley

In 1881, a 17-year-old Irish immigrant girl named Kate Shelley risked her own life to save the lives of 200 souls on a midnight train.

Pioneer Cemeteries

Today, all of us know of pioneer graveyards. They are lonely plots overgrown on random roadsides, with crumbling gravestones.