POPULARITY
This week we return to one of the first HATM Podcasts about one of the first films we ever did on the Historians At The Movies watch party: Lincoln. Joining us are two of the most dynamic historians working today: Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Megan Kate Nelson. We get into Lincoln's presidency, the role of his cabinet, as well as somehow ranking the hottest presidents. This one is a ride. About our guests:Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is a presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, and Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. She regularly writes for public audiences in the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark, Time Magazine, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post.Dr. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast. She is also the 2024-2025 Rogers Distinguished Fellow in 19th-Century American History at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. While she is there, she will be finishing her new book, “The Westerners: The Creation of America's Most Iconic Region.” She is the author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Scribner, 2020), which was a Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History. Her most recent book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America was published by Scribner on March 1, 2022, the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Act, which created the first national park in the world. Saving Yellowstone has won the 2023 Spur Award for Historical Nonfiction, and is one of Smithsonian Magazine‘s Top Ten Books in History for 2022.
This week Megan Kate Nelson and Kate Carpenter drop in to talk about Kevin Costner's new American epic, Horizon. Our reviews (and our drinks) are mixed but this is such a fun episode as we talk not only about where Horizon succeeds and fails but also about what Costner's career has to say about The West in general. This one is fun.About our guests:Megan Kate Nelson is a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast.And starting in September, she will be the 2024-2025 Rogers Distinguished Fellow in 19th-Century American History at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. While she is there, she will be finishing her new book, “The Westerners: The Creation of America's Most Iconic Region.” She is the author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Scribner, 2020), which was a Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History.Her most recent book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America was published by Scribner on March 1, 2022, the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Act, which created the first national park in the world. Saving Yellowstone has won the 2023 Spur Award for Historical Nonfiction, and is one of Smithsonian Magazine‘s Top Ten Books in History for 2022. She is an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture, and have written articles about these topics for The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, The Atlantic, Slate, and Smithsonian Magazine.Kate Carpenter is a PhD candidate in History of Science at Princeton University whose research focuses on the intersection of environmental history and history of science. Her dissertation is a social and scientific history of storm chasing in the United States since the 1950s. It draws on archival sources, scientific publications, photographs and videos created by storm chasers, popular culture, and oral histories to examine how both professional meteorologists and weather enthusiasts created a community that became central both to our understanding of severe storms and to the cultural identity of the Great Plains.Kate holds a 2023-2024 Charlotte Elizabeth Proctor Honorific Fellowship from Princeton University. From 2022-2023, her work was supported by the Graduate Fellowship in the History of Science from the American Meteorological Society, and in 2021-2022 she held the Taylor-Wei Dissertation Research Fellowship in the History of Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma History of Science. She has also been awarded travel fellowships including the Andrew W. Mellon Travel Fellowship from the University of Oklahoma, the Summer Dissertation Grant from the Princeton American Studies program, and two awards with outstanding merit from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Women's Council Graduate Assistance Fund.
Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Saving Yellowstone by Megan Kate Nelson, we are discussing the movie How the West Was Won. Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this epic western adventure. We'll be looking into the themes of western expansion, the treatment of Indigenous people in real life and Hollywood, and how nature and the land threw up road blocks all along the way. Follow us on Twitter (@peculiarBC), Facebook (facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub), Instagram (@thepeculiarbookclub), and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/c/PeculiarBookClub)!
Each year nearly four million people visit #Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, bestselling author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this #American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a #national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a #Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Ulysses S. Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. MUSIC: The zany CORD RAVENSWOOD (Our Peculiar in the Field) joins us for a nice little song about YELLOWSTONE Episode was recorded live on June 22nd, 2023. To join future broadcasts check out our Book Club schedule at https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/. Follow us on Twitter (@peculiarBC), Facebook (facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub), Instagram (@thepeculiarbookclub), and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/c/PeculiarBookClub)!
Delivered on Sunday, June 11, 2023 by Dr. Megan Kate Nelson at the 2023 CWI Summer Conference at Gettysburg College. From Megan's website: "Hi there! I'm Megan Kate Nelson, a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast. I am the author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Scribner, 2020), which was a Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History. My new book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America was published by Scribner on March 1, 2022, the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Act, which created the first national park in the world. Saving Yellowstone has won the 2023 Spur Award for Historical Nonfiction, and is one of Smithsonian Magazine‘s Top Ten Books in History for 2022. I am an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture, and have written articles about these topics for The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, The Atlantic, Slate, and Smithsonian Magazine. A fellow of the Society of American Historians, I am also a regular guest on radio shows and TV documentaries about western history and popular culture. Before leaving academia to write full-time in 2014, I taught U.S. history and American Studies at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. I earned my BA in History and Literature from Harvard University and my PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa." If you like these glimpses into all of the awesome history-related events and programs in Gettysburg, please consider becoming a Patron so that we can continue to do so. Go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg
Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, and Smithsonian Magazine. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of Saving Yellowstone, , Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Megan speaks with Radio Free Galisteo's John Shannon about her book The Three-Cornered War :The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History) which concerns key civil war battles fought in New Mexico within an hour of our village - Galisteo. Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3Yr9NjYGet it Locally at Collected Works: https://shop.collectedworksbookstore.com/book/9781501152559Support the showFollow Radio Free Galisteo on Instagram at: @radiofreegalisteo. We're on twitter here: https://twitter.com/FreeGalisteo or @FreeGalisteo. We're now on BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/radiofreegalisteo.bsky.social Support the show by going to https://www.RadioFreeGalisteo.com and clicking on our Red DONATE button to select a method of financial encouragement - Patreon, Paypal, Stripe or just Buy Us a Coffee!
Before the world knew the wonders of Yellowstone., it seemed otherworldly when people tried to describe it. We'll talk about how Yellowstone, America's first national park, represents a contradiction in government policy after the Civil War. Then, heading into the New Year's weekend, we get a taste of the "spirit-free" or "mocktail" movement.
Before the world knew the wonders of Yellowstone., it seemed otherworldly when people tried to describe it. We'll talk about how Yellowstone, America's first national park, represents a contradiction in government policy after the Civil War. Then, heading into the New Year's weekend, we get a taste of the "spirit-free" or "mocktail" movement.
Roads are crowded, housing is tight. Demographer Elizabeth Garner says don't blame population growth. Then, homelessness is increasingly visible in Douglas County. And, the latest on Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Plus, shifting to electric appliances can challenge folks on a tight budget. Finally, the tale – and the toll – of Yellowstone exploration.
The land had been cultivated and lived on for millennia when geologist Ferdinand Hayden came upon the astounding Yellowstone "wilderness." It wasn't long before the federal government declared it a national park, to be preserved in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Ostensibly. How did Yellowstone go from being an important home, hunting ground, thoroughfare and meeting place to being a park? This episode was reported and produced by our friends at the wonderful podcast Civics 101. Featuring: Megan Kate Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone, Mark David Spence, author of Dispossessing the Wilderness and Alexandra E. Stern, historian of Native peoples and Reconstruction are our guides to this rocky start. LINKSFor more about the history of national parks and state-backed conservation, we've got episodes! We've also delved into the history of Yellowstone, with a focus on the original conservation strategy behind it and many other parks, a strategy pejoratively called “fortress conservation.”“Himalayan Land Grab” tells the story of what happened when park developers applied the same “fortress conservation” strategy in northern India.“Thin Green Line” is an exploration of the role of conservation law enforcement through the reality TV show North Woods Law.We've also featured “The Problem with America's National Parks,” an episode of the podcast The Experiment (no longer being produced) which asked: why not simply give the national parks back to Native Americans? CREDITSHosted by Hannah McCarthy and Nick CapodiceProduced by Hannah McCarthy with help from Nick CapodiceSenior Producer: Christina PhillipsExecutive Producer: Rebecca LavoieCivics 101 staff includes Jacqui Fulton.Outside/In team: Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt.Music: Walt Adams, Silver Maple, Arthur Benson, Alexandra Woodward and Rocky Marciano.
Show Opener:Is Yellowstone National Park going to Erupt? Will it continue to be a National Park? Well most likely the greatest threats will be coming from from climate change, invasive species, mining outside the park, barriers to connectivity for bison and grizzly bears, and park finance. But there is more to learn about Yellowstone than the current issues and it starts with the history of the park… Show Summary What is happening in Yellowstone National Park? Find out as Ken D Foster interviews famed historian Megan Kate Nelson. Show Benefits: Find Out What is Happening to Yellowstone Park Who is Behind the Founding of Yellowstone Why the Federal Government was Invested in Mapping Yellowstone Broadcast Bio: Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Link: https://lnkd.in/gXQfR-a9 Visit our website: voicesofcourage.us Or Subscribe to our youtube channel: http://tiny.cc/vocyoutube #VOC #voicesofcourage #KenDFoster #MeganKateNelson #DaveCooper #podcast
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Megan Kate Nelson on the western theater of the Civil War and the history of Yellowstone National Park. They discuss the reasoning for fighting in the western theater of the Civil War, location specifics, and various characters involved. They discuss the involvement of various Native American tribes, White Americans forcible removal of Native peoples, and how the Civil War was fought on various stages. They also talk about the difficult history of Yellowstone, President Grant's role in the reconstruction period, and how Yellowstone went from expedition to the first National Park. They discuss how one can have a well-rounded view of National Parks and many other topics. Megan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer. She has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa and has previously taught at Texas Tech University, Harvard University, and Brown University. Her main interest areas are on the Civil War, US West, and has been published in many major publications. She is the author of numerous books including The Three Cornered War of which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and Saving Yellowstone. You can find her here. Twitter: @megankatenelson
To stop our climate-change-driven suicide, Congress must stop allowing oil exports, end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, and promote clean American energy. A simple question for Justice Clarence Thomas: Why are you such a hater? Senior Campaign Specialist for 350 dot org, Clayton Thomas-Muller joins Thom to discuss Witigo: A Battle Against the Winter Spirit. Also are the oceans developing amnesia and what will be the impact of hitting the 1.5C of warming by 2026? Plus, Question of the Day: If Elon Musk lets Trump back on Twitter - How will it affect America? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Megan Kate Nelson is an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture. In fact, she’s such an expert that in 2021 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History for her book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the Wes. Her new book, out this Spring, is called Saving Yellowstone and is about the historical context in which Yellowstone was discovered, preserved, and established as a national park.As her website puts it, it is “a narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation’s history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States.”Recently Megan joined Bibliography to chat about the books she loves, the challenges of writing history, and much more. So if you love books of history, national parks, and adding to your to-be-read list be sure to tap that play button. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe
The land had been cultivated and lived on for millennia when geologist Ferdinand Hayden came upon the astounding Yellowstone "wilderness." It wasn't long before the federal government declared it a national park, to be preserved in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Ostensibly. How did Yellowstone go from being an important home, hunting ground, thoroughfare and meeting place to being a park? Megan Kate Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone, Mark David Spence, author of Dispossessing the Wilderness and Alexandra E. Stern, historian of Native peoples and Reconstruction are our guides to this rocky start.
Megan Kate Nelson takes us on a journey to Yellowstone, the first national park and a site of iconic western beauty. From the scientific surveys that explored the park's geysers, to the railroad expansion through Native American territory, Dr. Nelson's book paints a vivid portrait of the place. Join us for a conversation about the American environment, economic panics, landscape photography, and how to write narrative history. Essential Reading:Megan Kate Nelson, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (2022).Recommended Reading:Ferdinand V. Hayden, “The Wonders of the West II. More about the Yellowstone,” Scribner's Monthly (February 1872): 388-396. Thomas Moran, The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone (1872). Ernie LaPointe, Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy (2009).M. John Lubetkin, Jay Cooke's Gamble: The Northern Pacific Railroad, The Sioux, and the Panic of 1873 (2006).Heather Cox Richardson, West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War (2007).Mark David Spence, Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks (2000). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Cynthia Farrell's crisp voice suits Megan Kate Nelson's fascinating history of Yellowstone, the world's first national park. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Alan Minskoff discuss Farrell's intelligent narration of this history of the Reconstruction era. It is told through three central figures: the financier Jay Cooke, the geologist Ferdinand Hayes, and the courageous Sitting Bull, who led his Lakota people in resisting the incursions on their lands. Farrell narrates with intelligence, a careful cadence, and an actor's dramatic style. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today's episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Sir Francis Bacon, sometimes known as the father of empiricism, was one of the major political figures of his day. Bacon wrote widely, but it is the Essays for which he is best known. Deftly written and often displaying a cutting wit, they cover a wide range of subjects including death, love, marriage, ambition and atheism. The Essays are read by the celebrated narrator David Timson. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This episode of Big Blend Radio features acclaimed author and historian Dr. Megan Kate Nelson, who discusses her latest book, "SAVING YELLOWSTONE: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America." Each year, nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. SAVING YELLOWSTONE shines a light on the creation of our first national park and the tensions of the era that lead to a weaken of the Native population. More: http://www.megankatenelson.com/ Special thanks to the National Parks Arts Foundation - https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/
This episode of Big Blend Radio features acclaimed author and historian Dr. Megan Kate Nelson, who discusses her latest book, "SAVING YELLOWSTONE: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America." Each year, nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. SAVING YELLOWSTONE shines a light on the creation of our first national park and the tensions of the era that lead to a weaken of the Native population. More: http://www.megankatenelson.com/ Special thanks to the National Parks Arts Foundation - https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/
This episode of Big Blend Radio features acclaimed author and historian Dr. Megan Kate Nelson, who discusses her latest book, "SAVING YELLOWSTONE: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America." Each year, nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. SAVING YELLOWSTONE shines a light on the creation of our first national park and the tensions of the era that lead to a weaken of the Native population. More: http://www.megankatenelson.com/ Special thanks to the National Parks Arts Foundation - https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/
Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. SAVING YELLOWSTONE: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America shines a light on the creation of our first national park, and makes clear how frequently the grandest goals of our country precipitate the suffering and subjugation of many who called this land home, and how our most progressive visions can be warped by the reality of the American project.Megan's Website: http://www.megankatenelson.com/this-strange-country/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/radiofreegalisteo?fan_landing=true)
Megan Kate Nelson, historian and author of Saving Yellowstone, about the exploration of the Yellowstone Basin, its conversion into a National Park, and how this fits into the historical context of the Reconstruction era.
Topic: The Book - Saving Yellowstone: Exploration & Preservation in Reconstruction America Guest: Megan Kate Nelson Host: Steve Bowers Source: WNWS-FM / Blue Suede Forever Length: 12:43
Historically Thinking: Conversations about historical knowledge and how we achieve it
In 1871 an expedition entered the territory now encompassed by Yellowstone National Park. Led by doctor and self-taught geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, it was to be the first scientific expedition into that mysterious place. But it was also, says my guest Megan Kate Nelson, part of a larger struggle over the expansion of federal power during Reconstruction. Hayden would be one of the three men who would strive for control of Yellowstone, and the surrounding territory. The others were Jay Cooke, a Philadelphia investment banker raising capital for the Northern Pacific Railroad; and a Lakota leader known to English speakers as Sitting Bull, who was determined to stop the building of the Northern Pacific. These are some of the protagonists of Nelson's new book Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian, living in Massachusetts. She was previously on the podcast in Episode 23 discussing her book Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War. For Further Investigation An excerpt from Megan's book appears on the website of Smithsonian magazine If you're interested in learning more about the historical discipline of Environmental History, you should listen to this very early conversation with my old friend Brian Leech
Frankie Boyer is an award winning talk show host that empowers listeners to live healthy vibrant lives http://www.frankieboyer.comGuests:Douglas Rawan, CEO/ Partner of Drew Mortgage, a direct lender licensed in New England and all of Florida, has been the host of the Drew Mortgage show on 830am WCRN for over 20 years. Douglas is on air giving prospective home buyers information to help make them savvier. With information on starting businesses, improving credit scores, refinancing, solutions on getting out of debt and using real estate to become wealthier, Douglas' mission is to educate his listeners, while clearing up the many misconceptions in the marketplace.https://www.dmrawan.com/https://www.drewmortgage.com/thedrewshow/Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian who has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. http://www.megankatenelson.com/Dr. Shelby Seeberg McCann, Au.D. and Christian Gormsen - World Hearing DayShelby Seeberg McCann Au.D. Doctor of Audiology and Christian Gormsen, President and CEO of Eargo join the program to celebrate World Hearing Day! Eargo seeks to change the way the world thinks about hearing loss by dramatically improving the consumer experience at every step of the hearing care journey. Their hearing loss solution combines sleek proprietary technology, on-demand licensed hearing professionals, and advanced personalized Apps to offer high-quality performance from our virtually invisible hearing aids. https://www.eargo.com/
Matt Crawford speaks with author Dr. Megan Kate Nelson about her book, Saving Yellowstone. Almost four million people visit Yellowstone every year yet the history of how it came into being and the political and social climate of the time are often overlooked. Nelson takes us back to the grand adventure that creating Yellowstone was, while also exploring the dark period of Reconstruction and African American's fight for justice and true equality, while also detailing the exploitation of indigenous peoples and their fight to maintain their land and culture. A multi-faceted and nuanced read that blends exploration, history and social justice. I can't wait till you all read it!
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/native-american-studies
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography
From historian and critically acclaimed author of The Three-Cornered War comes the propulsive and vividly told story of how Yellowstone became the world's first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey's discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world. Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this American moment, illuminating Hayden's survey as a national project meant to give Americans a sense of achievement and unity in the wake of a destructive civil war. Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) follows Hayden and two other protagonists in pursuit of their own agendas: Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader who asserted his peoples' claim to their homelands, and financier Jay Cooke, who wanted to secure his national reputation by building the Northern Pacific Railroad through the Great Northwest. Hayden, Cooke, and Sitting Bull staked their claims to Yellowstone at a critical moment in Reconstruction, when the Grant Administration and the 42nd Congress were testing the reach and the purpose of federal power across the nation. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation's history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. Nelson is the author of Saving Yellowstone, The Three-Cornered War, Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is Chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west
If you've been there, you'll never forget it. If you haven't, you probably want to go. But what makes Yellowstone National Park a destination in the first place? Dr. Megan Kate Nelson explores how one of America's crown jewels, the two million acres that make up the one-of-a-kind place, was preserved for all of us. In her new book, "Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America," she explains how the array of trees, geysers and animals was "discovered" by white men, and how the effort to keep Yellowstone as-is, intersects with Reconstruction-era politics, race and mystery. Contemporary Americans are used to Yellowstone as a hotspot for mystery, and the 1870s were no different. She also describes how Native peoples' were not able to share in the glory that Yellowstone would provide for so many. Spend an hour with us as one of America's most-brilliant nature historians takes us on a journey through the wildnerness, and explains how it's never far from any of us.Dr. Nelson's website is megankatenelson.comShe is on social media at twitter.com/megankatenelsonHer book is available from Simon & Schuster at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Saving-Yellowstone/Megan-Kate-Nelson/9781982141332Support our show at patreon.com/axelbankhistory**A portion of every contribution is given to a charity for children's literacy**"Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at twitter.com/axelbankhistoryinstagram.com/axelbankhistoryfacebook.com/axelbankhistory
For the debut episode of Drafting the Past, host Kate Carpenter talks to Megan Kate Nelson, author of Three-Cornered War (2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist in history) and the forthcoming Saving Yellowstone, about her exit from academia, how she uses fiction for narrative structure inspiration, and why she prefers writing in cafes (unless there's something really juicy happening there).