Unsung History

Latest Episodes:

Street Food and Public Markets in New Orleans Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

New Orleans is known for its unique cuisine that blends and highlights the many cultural roots of the city and its residents. The history of food distribution in New Orleans is just as unique within the American landscape, relying heavily on public food systems, both street vendors and municipally-run public markets. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Ashley Rose Young, a curator and public historian who serves as the American History Curator in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress and is a Smithsonian Research Associate. Her book, Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans has just been published.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “On my way to New Orleans,” composed by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald; this performance was sung by George O’Connor on February 10, 1915, in New York, and is in the public domain and available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is: “French Market, New Orleans, La.,” Detroit Publishing Company, 1910; there are no known restrictions on publication, and the image is accessible via the Library of Congress.

Additional sources:

“New Orleans History 101: A beginner’s guide to understanding the Crescent City,” by Historic New Orleans Collection Visitor Services Staff, January 21, 2022.
“Timeline: New Orleans,” PBS American Experience.
“New Orleans Then and Now: The French Market,” by Ellen Terrell, Library of Congress Blog, July 12, 2018.
“The Native Roots of the French Market,”by Kalie Rhodes, New Orleans Historical: A project by The Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies at the University of New Orleans, February 11, 2021.
“200 Years of Commerce, Community & Culture,” French Market District.
“New Orleans Street Vendors: A long history of African American entrepreneurship,” by Zella Palmer, 64 Parishes, December 1, 2019.

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The Girl Scouts of the USA Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

In 1912, wealthy Savannahian Juliette Gordon Low supposedly called her cousin and exclaimed: “Come right over! I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, for all of America, and for the world.” That something would become the Girl Scouts of the USA, an organization that throughout its history struggled to fulfill its initial promise of inclusion for all girls while trying to maintain an apolitical stance with deference to local councils. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Amy Farrell, the James Hopes Caldwell Memorial Chair and Professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Dickinson College and author of Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “By the campfire,” composed by Percy Wenrich with lyrics by Mabel Elizabeth Girling; the performance by the Sterling Trio on February 18, 1919, in New York, is available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox and is in the public domain. The episode image is “Girl Scouts, circa 1940s,” taken at Camp Long; Item 31422, Ben Evans Recreation Program Collection (Record Series 5801-02), Seattle Municipal Archives; used under CC BY 2.0.

Additional sources:

“Practical Patriotism: Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts, and Americanization,” by Leslie Hahner, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 5(2), 2008, 113–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420801989702.
“New Quarter Honors Juliette Gordon Low, Founder of Girl Scouts,” by By Shannon Browning-Mullis, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, March 20, 2025.
“Early Girl Scouting,” Georgia Historical Society.
“Girl Scouts Through the Years,” Women’s History and Cultural Center.
“100 years of Girl Scouts: part I,” by Adam Frost, Smithsonian Institute, May 30, 2012
“Quick History: Juliette Gordon Low [video],” Northeast Georgia History Center, March 13, 2020.
“Golden Eaglet: The Story of a Girl Scout [video],” Girl Scouts USA, 1919.
“From 18 girls in Savannah to a global movement to make a difference,” Girl Scouts USA.
“Girl Scout Cookie History,” Girl Scouts USA.

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Zoe Anderson Norris Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

Zoe Anderson Norris, known to her friends in the Ragged Edge Klub as the Queen of Bohemia, was born in Kentucky in 1860, moved to Wichita, Kansas, with her first husband, and then to New York City, where she forged a career for herself as a journalist and novelist, eventually launching her own magazine, The East Side. In The East Side and in her journalism, she often focused on the lives of immigrants and the poor. Joining me in this episode is Eve M. Kahn, author of Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Come to the land of Bohemia,” composed by George Evans, with lyrics by Ren Shields; this performance by Hatvey Hindermyer was recorded on April 30, 1908, in New York, and is in the public domain and available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is of Zoe Anderson Norris from 1909, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Additional Sources:

“To Fight for the Poor With My Pen: Zoe Anderson Norris, Queen of Bohemia,” Grolier Club Online Exhibitions.
“Zoe Anderson Norris,” by W.J. Lampton, New York Times, February 27, 1914.
“Zoe A. Norris,” Kentucky in American Letters, 1784-1912,” by John Wilson Townsend, Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch Press, 1913.

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Marguerite Cartwright Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Marguerite Phillips Dorsey Cartwright, born May 17, 1910, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a journalist, sociologist, educator, and actress, who served as a correspondent for the United Nations, attended and wrote about both the Bandung Conference and the All-African People's Conference, and was appointed to the Provisional Council of the University of Nigeria, where she became one of five trustees. Joining me in this episode to discuss both Marguerite Cartwright and Black women’s leadership in the fight for human rights is Dr. Keisha N. Blain, Professor of History and Africana Studies at Brown University and author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode audio is “Down South blues,” written by Fletcher Henderson, Alberta Hunter, and Ethel Waters, and performed by The Virginians, in New York City, on September 25, 1923; the audio is available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox and is in the public domain. The episode image is “Portrait of Marguerite Cartwright wearing a dashiki, undated,” by John Schiff; the photograph is courtesy Leo Baeck Institute and is used under fair use guidelines.

Additional Sources:

“Marguerite Cartwright and African-American Internationalism [video],” Society of Southwest Archivists, August 13, 2021.
“M. P. CARTWRIGHT,” The New York Times, May 9, 1986, Section D, Page 22.
“Introducing Marguerite Cartwright,” Amistad Research Center.
“Cartwright, Marguerite, 1910-1986,” Biographical Note, Marguerite Cartwright papers, Amistad Research Center.
“Bandung Conference (Asian-African Conference), 1955,” Office of the Historian, United States Department of State.
“AAPC Background,” Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

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Black Women's Anti-Rape Activism Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

The feminist anti-rape movement began in the late 1960s at the height of women’s liberation. As rape crisis centers relied on federal grants aimed at prosecution of those committing sexual violence, feminists worried about the conservatizing influence of those funds, and Black women in particular were not well-served by the developing model. Black women activists found their own methods to combat rape and to care for survivors. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Caitlin Reed Wiesner, Assistant Professor of History at Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and author of Between the Street and the State: Black Women's Anti-Rape Activism Amid the War on Crime.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Emotional Piano Music,” by Mikhail Smusev, used under the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is “Black Women Matter,” taken on September 30, 2017, at the March for Racial Justice by Miki Jourdan; the image is available on Flickr and is available for use, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Additional Sources:

“Feminism: The Second Wave,” National Women’s History Museum, June 18, 2020.
“How Ronald Reagan Tried to Shrink Government Spending,” by Christopher Klein, History.com, Published: November 21, 2024, and Last Updated: May 28, 2025.
“A brief history of the Victims of Crime Act,” by Blair Ames, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, October 11. 2024.
“The 2022 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization,” Congress.gov.
“What are Rape Crisis Centers and how have they changed over the years?” National Sexual Violence Resource Center, September 15, 2021.
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

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Ideological Exclusion & Deportation Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

The First Amendment to the US Constitution says that Congress cannot make law abridging the freedom of speech, but by as early at 1798, Congress was restricting immigration to the country on the basis of the ideological beliefs of the people who wanted to immigrate. While the reasons for restrictions have changed over time, as has the mechanism by which they’re enforced, the basic principle continues to today. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Julia Rose Kraut, legal historian and author of Threat of Dissent: A History of Ideological Exclusion and Deportation in the United States.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode music is “The Mask of Anarchy 1 (Strings)” by Victory Day from Pixabay in accordance with the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is "The Anarchist riot in Chicago: a dynamite bomb exploding among the police," by Thure de Thulstrup and published in the May 15th, 1886, Harper's Weekly 30 (1534): 312-313; image is in the Public Domain and is available via Wikimedia Commons.

Additional Sources:

“Nationality Act of 1790,” Immigration History, The Immigration and Ethnic History Society.
“Alien and Sedition Acts (1798),” The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
“The Alien Enemies Act: The One Alien and Sedition Act Still on the Books,” by Scott Bomboy, National Constitution Center, March 17, 2025.
“The Sedition Act of 1798,” History Art, and Archives, United States House of Representatives.
“Haymarket Affair: Topics in Chronicling America,” Library of Congress.
“May 4, 1886: Haymarket Tragedy,” Zinn Education Project.
“Emma Goldman (1869-1940),” PBS American Experience.

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Genealogy in Early America Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

Both Abigail Adams and Benjamin Franklin took trips in England to trace their family histories, and they weren’t alone among 18th century Americans, many of whom took a keen interest in genealogy and family connections. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Karin Wulf, Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library, and Professor of History at Brown University and author of Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode audio is “Nothing like that in our family,” composed by Seymour Furth with lyrics by William A. Heelan and performed by Billy Murray on April 24, 1906; the audio is in the public domain and is available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is “Sampler,” by Sophia Dyer, 1819; the image is in the public domain and is available via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Additional Sources:

“Crossings- Abigail Was Here (Devonshire),” KathleenBitetti.com.
“Benjamin Franklin to Deborah Franklin, 6 September 1758,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-08-02-0034. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 8, April 1, 1758, through December 31, 1759, ed. Leonard W. Labaree. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1965, pp. 133–146.]
“Genealogical Chart of the Franklin Family, [July 1758],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-08-02-0029. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 8, April 1, 1758, through December 31, 1759, ed. Leonard W. Labaree. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1965, p. 120.]
“Eliot’s Bible,” by Neely Tucker, Library of Congress Blog, August 6, 2024.
“Isaiah Thomas Folio Bible, 1791,” Houston Christian University Dunham Bible Museum.
“How Genealogy Became Almost as Popular as Porn,” by Gregory Rodriguez, Time Magazine, May 30, 2014.
“Why Are Americans Obsessed with Genealogy?” by Libby Copeland, Psychology Today, October 13, 2020.
“Our Story,” Ancestry.com.

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Catholicism in the American Colonies Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

Before American independence and the Bill of Rights promising religious freedom, the American colonies were English territory governed by English religious law that mandated worship according to the Book of Common Prayer. Even Maryland, which had been founded as a place for Catholics to worship freely, was majority Protestant and intolerant of public Catholicism by the time of the Revolution. Nonetheless, Catholics, including wealthy English landowners, Irish servants, and enslaved Africans, continued to live and worship throughout the American colonies, finding ways to keep their beliefs and customs alive. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Susan Juster, W. M. Keck Foundation Director of Research at the Huntington Library and author of A Common Grave: Being Catholic in English America.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Ave Maria,” composed by Charles Gounod and sung by Florence Hayward; the recording was made on January 30, 1905, in Philadelphia and is in the public domain and can be accessed via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is “The Founding of Maryland, 1634,” painted by Emmanuel Leutze in 1860; the painting is in the public domain and is available via Wikimedia Commons.

Additional Sources:

“Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists,” Library of Congress.
“10 facts about U.S. Catholics,” byJustin Nortey, Patricia Tevington, and Gregory A. Smith, Pew Research Center, March 4, 2025.
“Maryland's History,” Maryland Secretary of State.
“The Catholic church in colonial days : the thirteen colonies, the Ottawa and Illinois country, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, 1521-1763,” by John Gilmary Shea, 1886.
“American Catholic History Resources,” The Catholic University of America.
“Catholicism in the Early South,” by Maura Jane Farrelly, Journal of Southern Religion 14 (2012).
“Descendants of Jesuit Slaveholding and Jesuits of the United States Announce Historic Partnership,” Jesuit Conference of Canada and the U.S.

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Madeleine Pollard, Jane Tucker, and the Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Congressman Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

In August of 1893, Madeleine Pollard sued Congressman William C.P. Breckinridge of Kentucky for breach of promise, claiming that he had promised to marry her but then had married another woman. By the time of the trial, Pollard and the much-older Breckinridge had been involved in an affair for nearly a decade. Breckinridge’s legal team attempted to paint Pollard as an “adventuress,” going so far as to hire an undercover detective – Jane Tucker – to get dirt on Pollard, but it was Breckinridge’s reputation that suffered as a result of the revelations in the trial, especially with the women of Kentucky. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Elizabeth DeWolfe, Professor of History at the University of New England in Maine and author of Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Wait until you see my Madeline,” composed by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Lew Brown and performed by Billy Jones; the audio was recorded in Camden, New Jersey, on May 4, 1921 and is in the public domain and available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is a photo of Madeleine Pollard, by C.M. Bell, produced between 1873 and ca. 1916; the image is available via the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, and there are no known restrictions on publication.

Additional Sources:

“The Celebrated Trial, Madeline Pollard vs. Breckinridge, The Most Noted Breach of Promise Suit in the History of Court Records,” American Printing and Binding Company, 1894, via the Internet Archive.
“The Court Case That Inspired the Gilded Age’s #MeToo Moment,” by Annie Diamond, Smithsonian Magazine, November 2018.
“Sex, politics and broken promises grabbed headlines in Lexington in 1893,” by Liz Carey, The Lexington Herald-Leader, April 23, 2025.
"“Not Ruined, but Hindered”: Rethinking Scandal, Re-examining Transatlantic Sources, and Recovering Madeleine Pollard," by Elizabeth DeWolfe, in Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers, vol. 31 no. 2, 2014, p. 300-310.
“BRECKINRIDGE, William Campbell Preston,” United States House of Representatives History, Art, and Archives.
“W.C.P. BRECKINRIDGE DEAD.; Ex-Congressman's Public Career Ended After the Pollard Suit,” The New York Times, November 20, 1904.

Related Episode:

Sophonisba Breckinridge

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The Enslaved Mariners on the Crews of Brazilian Slave Ships Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

On the slave ships that sailed between Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, and the West Coast of Africa from the 16th through the 19th Centuries, the crews included not just white sailors but also Black mariners, including a significant number of crewmen who were themselves enslaved. These enslaved mariners were not just a source of inexpensive labor but were also valued for their geographic, linguistic, and cultural skills, and they, in turn, could use the opportunity of labor on slave ships as a means of social mobility and eventually legal emancipation, or sometimes the chance for flight. Joining me in this episode to discuss these mariners is Dr. Mary E. Hicks, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Chicago and author of Captive Cosmopolitans: Black Mariners and the World of South Atlantic Slavery.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Bahia Sunrise,” used under the Envato Market License - Music Standard License. The episode image is “Night Chase of the Brigantine Slaver Windward by HM Steam-Sloop Alecto,” Illustration for The Illustrated London News, by Frederick James Smyth, May 1, 1858; the image is in the public domain and is available via Wikimedia Commons.

Additional sources:

“A Brief History of Brazil,” by José Fonseca, The New York Times 2006.
“A Chronology of Brazilian History,” The Atlantic,” February 1956.
“2.3 The African Slave Trade and Slave Life,” Brazil: Five Centuries of Change, Brown University Center for Digital Scholarship.
“4.2 Slavery and Abolition in the 19th Century,” Brazil: Five Centuries of Change, Brown University Center for Digital Scholarship.
“The Contraband Slave Trade to Brazil, 1831-1845,” by Robert Conrad, Hispanic American Historical Review 1 November 1969; 49 (4): 617–638.
“‘We need to tell people everything’: Portugal grapples with legacy of colonial past,” by Sam Jones, Gonçalo Fonseca, and Philip Oltermann, The Guardian, October 5, 2020.

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