War has played a key role in the history of the United States from the nation’s founding right down to the present. Wars made the U. S. independent, kept it together, increased its size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America’s wars is essential for understanding American history. In the Key Battles of American History, host James Early discusses American history through the lens of the most important battles of America’s wars. James is an Adjunct Professor of History at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX. He has published one book and two scholarly articles. He is also the cohost (with Scott Rank) of the Presidential Fight Club, Key Battles of the Civil War, Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, and Key Battles of World War I podcasts.
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"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."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 HeroHe 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
During the Pacific War, the Japanese took over 130,000 Allied prisoners of war and held them in camps spread all over the Japanese Empire. Nearly all Allied prisoners were deprived of food and medical care, were regularly beaten, and were worked past the point of exhaustion. Nearly 40,000 died, representing about 27% (compared to only 4% in German camps). In this episode, James and Scott tell the tragic story of Allied prisoners of war in Japanese internment camps. They also briefly discuss the much happier story of Navajo Code Talkers, who helped win the war for the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Once again, James and Scott are taking a break from the narrative of key battles to discuss two more important topics. In this episode, we will tell the story of kamikazes, including the origin of the tactic, its expansion into a full-fledged program, and its increasingly devastating effect, most notably at the Battle of Okinawa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As was the case with previous island battles, the American conquest of Okinawa was slow and bloody. In addition to their network of caves and tunnels, the Japanese possessed a strong fortress called Shuri Castle. But if the Americans could overcome the seemingly impregnable Japanese defenses, they could establish a powerful naval and air base from which to stage the seemingly inevitable invasion of the Japanese home islands. Would they succeed? Tune in and find out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After the successful capture of Iwo Jima, the Americans’ next objective was Okinawa, which was only 330 miles from the Japanese home islands. Possessing Okinawa would cut Japan’s supply line from southeast Asia and would provide an excellent staging point for an eventual invasion. As in many previous battles, the Japanese were dug into an extensive network of caves and tunnels. To complicate things further, there were about 400,000 Okinawan civilians on the island. Capturing Okinawa would be the Americans’ greatest challenge to date. Join James and Scott as they discuss the lead up to the invasion and narrate its initial stage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
James is an Adjunct Professor of History at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX. He has published one book and two scholarly articles. He is also the cohost (with Scott Rank) of the Presidential Fight Club, Key Battles of the Civil War, Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, and Key Battles of World War I podcasts.
