Key Battles of American History - Key Battles of American History

Latest Episodes:

Bonus Episode - US Presidents in WW2 (Part 1) Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, James begins a two-part series about United States presidents who served in World War 2. In Part One, James tells the amazing story of John F. Kennedy’s service in the Pacific. James also discusses the wartime service of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

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Bonus Episode - Parthenon Round Table Who Do You Kill Jan 01, 2022

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Bonus Episode - Marine Raiders Dec 29, 2021

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In this episode, James tells the fascinating history of America’s first Special Forces unit: the Marine Raiders. Formed in 1942, the Raiders played a key role in several Pacific Theater battles, including Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Bougainville. In 1944, the Raider battalions were disbanded, and their members were reassigned to regular Marine units. Why, you ask? Listen and find out!

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The Legacy of World War II Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

The Second World War deeply and permanently changed the world. In this final episode of the series, James and Scott discuss just a few of the many changes wrought by the war. After discussing casualties of the Pacific War, we discuss the rise and fall of empires, the ushering in of the Cold War and the Nuclear Age, and changes specific to the United States. James and Scott thank you for listening to the series, and we hope you enjoyed it.

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Epilogue, Part Two Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

In this second installment of the “story after the story” miniseries, James and Scott discuss the postwar careers of key US Army Air Force and Marine leaders, as well as Japanese political leaders. Persons mentioned in the episode include Generals Curtis LeMay and Holland Smith, Col. Chesty Puller, and Major Cleland E. Early, plus Japanese Emperor Hirohito, Prime Ministers Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Kuniaki Koiso, and Kantaro Suzuki; Admirals Soemu Toyoda, Jisaburo Ozawa and Takeo Kurita; General Yoshijiro Umezu; Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura; and Commander Minoru Genda.

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Bonus Episode - Interview with Jared Frederick Dec 11, 2021

Show notes

"In this episode, James chats with author, history professor, and host of the Reel History YouTube Channel Jared Frederick. James and Jared discuss Jared's background, how he got into doing a YouTube channel, and the current state of history YouTubing and podcasting."

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Epilogue, Part One Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

This is the first part of a two-episode series in which James and Scott discuss the “story after the story” of the top Japanese and American political and military leaders. In this episode, we discuss the postwar careers of President Truman, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson. We also talk about US Admirals Husband Kimmel, William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, William Halsey, and (Scott’s favorite admiral) Raymond Spruance, as well as US Army Generals Walter Short, George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, and Jonathan Wainwright.

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Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the End of the War Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

Between December 1942 and July 1945, a team of scientists, working in secret facilities in various parts of the U. S., researched, built, and tested the world’s first atomic bomb. Japan’s failure to surrender, together with the possibility of hundreds of thousands of casualties, motivated President Truman to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Despite the bomb’s destruction of the city, including the immediate deaths of up to 80,000 people, Japan’s leaders still refused to surrender. Three days later, an American bomber dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, leveling that city and killing nearly as many people as had perished at Hiroshima. Soon after, the Emperor led Japan to surrender. In this episode, James and Scott discuss the Manhattan Project, the dropping of the two atomic bombs, the Japanese surrender, and the end of the Second World War.

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Plug for This American President Nov 28, 2021

Show notes

This is an excerpt from an episode of This American President, a great history podcast that is the newest member of the Parthenon Podcast Network. You can find it at www.spreaker.com/show/this-american-president or wherever you listen to podcasts.
George Washington: The First American Action Hero
He might look like an old man on the one-dollar bill, but George Washington was once a bona fide action hero. This episode explores our first president’s legendary exploits during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.

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The Beginning of the End Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

By the summer of 1945, it was clear that Japan was defeated. Historian Craig Symonds writes that Japan was “stripped of her conquests, bombed incessantly from the air by American B-29s, her imports cut to a trickle by American submarines, her navy destroyed, and her industries idle for lack of raw materials and oil. Her allies were gone, too…Japan was alone, starving, all but defenseless, a passive target, absorbing punishment and unable to strike back.” In addition, Allied leaders issued the Potsdam Declaration, which warned Japan of “prompt and utter destruction” if they did not surrender. Despite all this, Japan’s leaders vowed to fight to the death. In this episode, James and Scott discuss Allied efforts to persuade Japan to surrender, along with Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands.

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