American History

podcast link Imagine it’s April 1849, you are a tailor from upstate New York, but after a five week journey, you and your cousin arrived in St. Louis just yesterday. It’s a stop on your way to the gold fields of California, and hopefully to riches. While your cousin is buying some supplies you’ll need at a nearby store, you watch the crowds bustling around you, there are more people here than you have seen in your life. All of them would be miners like you. ...

podcast link Imagine it’s January 1848, you are a construction worker building a timber mill in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Large pine trees surround you on all sides. It’s a bright winter day but cold. You can smell fried sausages nearby, as the cook prepares lunch. Your team is digging a canal to divert water from a local river to power this new mill and it’s nearly complete. ...