Best Alex Mattke Podcasts (2025)

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3.12: Benjamin Banneker: Unsung Renaissance Man of America’s Crucial Years 27:42

5M ago27:42

27:42

Send us a text It was a decision that came about during a dinner party…allegedly. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson invited Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, along with Congressman James Madison, to his quarters in New York City for an evening of food, drink, and conversation, the end result of which was the decision to place the nati…

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3.11: Sally and James Hemings, and Shifting Dymanics of American Slavery 31:10

6M ago31:10

31:10

Send us a text Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello was his home, his castle, and in a way, his personal fiefdom: he had legal control over the happenings at this place, over the lives of its inhabitants. This included the hundreds of individuals who were held in bondage during Jefferson’s lifetime, although one particular family name stands out as being …

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3.10: Charles Willson Peale and William Hill Brown: the Curator and the Novelist of America’s Crucial Years 31:01

6M ago31:01

31:01

Send us a text “Culture.” It’s a word that means something different depending on who you ask; to some, it means an element that is “popular” and can serve as a common frame of reference for a large group of people. To others, “culture” refers to how an individual lives their life based on a specific belief system that is similar to a larger group.…

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3.9: Mercy Otis Warren and Patrick Henry: Anti-Federalist Antagonists of Constitutional Ratification 27:53

6M ago27:53

27:53

Send us a text It’s tough to say what most history classrooms emphasize when they cover Constitutional ratification, but our focus will be on its opponents...those individuals who heard about, and often read the results, of what happened in Philadelphia in summer 1787 and were displeased with what they saw. Keep in mind that the document that emerg…

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3.8: Roger Sherman and George Mason: Self-Educated Sages of the Constitutional Convention 26:22

6M ago26:22

26:22

Send us a text The first formal meeting to reassess the Articles of Confederation was held in Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786, at about the same time as Shays’ Rebellion. Only five states bothered to send any delegates, and there was really only one thing that was accomplished: they decided to try again the following May in Philadelphia. That…

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3.7: The Farmer and the Fighter: Daniel Shays, Benjamin Lincoln, and the Importance of Shays' Rebellion 26:21

7M ago26:21

26:21

Send us a text What became known as “Shays' Rebellion” was put down by force, but it opened the eyes of many to the reality that the current government was not working, and it has been used as an anecdote for why the Articles of Confederation were such an inadequate government. Our task will be to unmask the man behind the protest, as well as the g…

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3.6: Contrasting Tales of Settlement: Blue Jacket and Rufus Putnam in the Northwest Territory 30:42

7M ago30:42

30:42

Send us a text We’ll focus on the American Midwest with this episode: specifically, the areas affected by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These fertile lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River were considered ripe for American settlement…unless you and your kin were already living there and had done so for generations. In th…

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3.5: Alexander McGillivray and the U.S.-Creek Treaty of 1790 28:40

7M ago28:40

28:40

Send us a text The Peace of Paris would certainly anger and frustrate the many nations who held the lands that were supposedly now in American possession, and one of the most prominent was the Creek. The Creek stand out due to the efforts of their de facto leader, Alexander McGillivray, to negotiate a treaty with the young U.S. government, and his …

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3.4: Franciscan Father-President: Fray Junipero Serra and Alta California 27:15

7M ago27:15

27:15

Send us a text Its 1769, and Spain is renewing their efforts to colonize what they called “Alta California” on the Pacific Coast. Leading the push was Fray Junipero Serra, a Franciscan whose efforts to spread the Catholic faith would earn him the title “Apostle of California.” His actions would also lead to a re-examination of the role of Europeans…

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3.3: John Jay, and the failure of American Foreign Policy 26:31

7M ago26:31

26:31

Send us a text John Jay was a member of both Continental Congresses, served as ambassador to Spain during the later years of the American Revolution, helped negotiate the Peace of Paris that ended that war, authored a series of essays that became collectively known as The Federalist Papers, was appointed the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme …

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3.2: The First Financier: Robert Morris and the Bank of North America 25:46

8M ago25:46

25:46

Send us a text He was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, so by extension, the United States of America. Foreign-born to unwed parents, he had the reputation of being a financial wizard who understood commerce, markets, and how to maximize profit. Victory at Yorktown would not have occurred were it not for the efforts of this man, who was Su…

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3.1: John Dickinson, Architect of the Articles of Confederation 26:15

8M ago26:15

26:15

Send us a text It's 1783, and military mutinies are intermittently breaking out across the United States. This, and other, issues stem from problems with the first official “national” government of the United States: the Articles of Confederation, of which today's key figure wrote the first draft. He served as foil for John Adams during the fight t…

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2.12: King George III, Enlightened Monarch of the American Revolution 28:15

1y ago28:15

28:15

Send us a text He’s the man responsible for the loss of Britain’s North American colonies, and a cruel, despotic monarch at that…these are both perceptions of King George III, and it’s realistically how many Americans learn about Britain’s king at the time of American independence. But he reigned for 60 years…and the Revolution lasted for 8, so cle…

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2.11: The Officer and the Commoner: Lord Cornwallis and Joseph Plumb Martin at the Battle of Yorktown 31:09

1y ago31:09

31:09

Send us a text It was the last significant battle of the American Revolution, although this couldn’t have been predicted at the time. The Americans, British, and the French felt that 1781 was a "now or never" year for the Revolution, and that something big had to happen. Many forces coalesced to turn the Battle of Yorktown into the decisive battle …

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2.10: Banastre Tarleton and England's "Southern Strategy" 30:33

1y ago30:33

30:33

Send us a text Much of the history of the American Revolution focuses on actions in what was called the “Northern” theater, and to a degree, this makes sense: given the outsized role Massachusetts played in the pre-war years and the early years of combat. Yet while the Southern colonies were not exactly “inactive” during the early years of the war,…

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2.9: Martha Washington, the Oneidas, and the Winter at Valley Forge 29:37

1y ago29:37

29:37

Send us a text Those present at the winter at Valley Forge in 1777-1778 included a veritable “who’s who” of future American political leadership, such as George Washington, Henry Knox, and Alexander Hamilton. Prominent names are usually associated with this critical transition period, and rightfully so…but there were women who accompanied the army …

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2.8: Dueling Bens: Arnold, Franklin, and the Turning Point at Saratoga 30:32

1y ago30:32

30:32

Send us a text One man was all-in for independence dating back to the years before the first shots at Lexington and Concord, while the other held out hope for a moderate solution and was even accused of holding sympathies to the British cause. One is Benjamin Franklin, and the other is Benedict Arnold, and both will play a role in the Battle of Sar…

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2.7: Joseph Brant: Mohawk Loyalist of New York's Frontier 29:34

1y ago29:34

29:34

Send us a text He sided with the British in the American Revolution, and successfully convinced many of his countrymen to do so. The education he received at the hands of Eleazar Wheelock allowed him to understand colonial culture, while his upbringing as a Mohawk immersed him in a way of life little understood by colonial Americans. His unique bac…

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2.6: A Most Radical Writer: Thomas Paine, and the stunning victory at Trenton 29:57

1y ago29:57

29:57

Send us a text He arrived in North American in December 1774 with a fever so devastating that he needed to be carried ashore. This man also carried with him letters of introduction from none other than Dr. Benjamin Franklin, so there must have been something special about this individual. The succeeding years would bear this out, for once Englishma…

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2.5: Revolutionary Power Couple: John and Abigail Adams and the Declaration of Independence 29:32

1y ago29:32

29:32

Send us a text He was a lawyer who would devote his life to public service; she was an independent woman who would devote her life to her family and supporting her husband's political efforts, both in spirit and in practice. Both of them would come to support the principles that were espoused in the Declaration of Independence, and the story of one…

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2.4: Patriot Physician: Dr. Joseph Warren and the Battle of Bunker Hill 28:45

1y ago28:45

28:45

Send us a text He was a local man who became a well-respected physician, treating all members of Boston society, Patriot and Loyalist alike. However, his personal sympathies lay with the growing movement that would push towards full independence from Great Britain. Dr. Joseph Warren would unfortunately not live to see this come to fruition, althoug…

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2.3: Poet of the Revolution: Phillis Wheatly and American Freedom 28:36

1y ago28:36

28:36

Send us a text She arrived in Boston in the 1760's, was purchased by the wealthy Wheatly family, and went on to become a published, not to mention, accomplished, poet. She enjoyed an up-close view of the key events leading up to the American Revolution, commemorated many of these events in memorable prose, and traveled to London to secure a publish…

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2.2: The Guiding Hand: Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party 28:57

1+ y ago28:57

28:57

Send us a text A name most likely associated with a beer company, what role did Samuel Adams really play in fermenting opposition to British policies prior to the American Revolution? His role is usually relegated to the shadows, but he became such an infamous individual that others of his generation were compared to him, and he became Public Enemy…

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2.1: The Prominent Pre-Revolution Loyalist: Thomas Hutchinson and the Stamp Act 34:38

1+ y ago34:38

34:38

Send us a text Now known as the prototypical Loyalist, it wasn't always this way...Thomas Hutchinson was one of the most well-known men in Boston when the French and Indian War ended. He had a successful career as a merchant and a public servant, with a keen eye towards further advancement in the political climate in pre-Revolutionary North America…

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1.12: Pontiac and the war against British Imperialism 34:45

1+ y ago34:45

34:45

Send us a text He led his forces against the mighty British military, captured their forts, forced them to surrender...and ultimately lost the war that bears his name. Odawa Chief Pontiac, an Anishinaabeg of the western Great Lakes, fought a war against the British after the latter presumed that the North American theater of the Seven Years' War ha…

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1.11: George Washington, and the start of the French and Indian War 43:10

1+ y ago43:10

43:10

Send us a text As a man given the nickname "First in the Hearts of his Countrymen," among many others, what could we possibly explore about the life of the famous George Washington that hasn't already been written? He led America's Continental Army in the War for Independence against the British, agreed to attend the pivotal Philadelphia Convention…

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1.10: Alice, Ayuba, and Louis: Experiences of American Slavery 36:16

1+ y ago36:16

36:16

Send us a text Slavery has existed for as long as humans have lived in settled society, but it was taken to another level in colonial America, and eventually, the United States. Humans were legally classified as property and treated with intense brutality, while their stories mostly went unrecorded. This episode seeks to shine a light on three indi…

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1.9: Po'Pay: Architect of the Great Southwest Rebellion 34:48

1+ y ago34:48

34:48

Send us a text He lead a full-scale rebellion against Spanish rule in the American Southwest. This rebellion was so successful that it expelled the Spaniards from the region and allowed the Pueblo to return to their traditional ways...for a time. Although the Spanish would return about one decade later, the Great Southwest Rebellion, as history has…

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1.8: Mary Rowlandson, Chronicler of King Philip's War 35:57

1+ y ago35:57

35:57

Send us a text Amidst the deadliest per capita conflict in the colonial era, Mary Rowlandson, wife of a prominent minister, was captured by enemy forces in what history has recorded as King Philip's War. She was moved constantly during her 12-weeks as a prisoner, but her experiences, and strong faith, formed the basis of the book she wrote about he…

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1.7: Chief Canaqueese, Fighter and Orator of the Haudenosaunee 32:34

1+ y ago32:34

32:34

Send us a text Their homelands stood at a crucial chokepoint between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, placing them in a unique position to either negotiate for what they wanted...or take it by force. These options of diplomacy or violence best describes the subject of this episode: Chief Canaqueese, a man of Mohawk and Dutch lineage who enga…

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1.6: Uncas, Mohegan of the Connecticut River Valley 35:03

1+ y ago35:03

35:03

Send us a text Conflict between Indigenous tribes and European settlers is a consistent theme in America's colonial era. Such conflicts often centered around the land: who lived there, who used it, and how it was used. The Pequot War, centered in New England's Connecticut River Valley during the mid-1600's, was no exception. However, like other con…

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1.5: Anne Hutchinson, Rhode Island Rebel 31:22

1+ y ago31:22

31:22

Send us a text Free speech is a hallmark of American life enshrined in the Bill of Rights. However, speaking one's mind wasn't always a viable option in the early Puritan communities that dotted New England in the first half of the 1600's. This possibility diminished even further when a woman was the one doing the speaking, and in most instances, c…

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1.4: Stephen Hopkins, Peacemaker of Plymouth 35:09

1+ y ago35:09

35:09

Send us a text The Mayflower left England in 1620 bound for North America with a passenger list that has been categorized as made up of "Saints" and "Strangers." Some were completing this crossing in an effort to separate themselves from what was, in their minds, was a corrupt Church of England, while others made the journey for reasons that weren'…

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1.3: Jean Nicolet, the Negotiator of New France 29:23

1+ y ago29:23

29:23

Send us a text Jean Nicolet is generally not the first name that comes to mind as a key player with regard to the topic of French colonization of North America; that honor generally belongs to Samuel de Champlain. However, Nicolet lived among numerous Indigenous nations, learned their languages and customs, and travelled with his Huron companions o…

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Episode 1.1: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the Father of Florida 30:16

1+ y ago30:16

30:16

Send us a text The phrase "conquistador" is often associated with men like Cortes and Pizarro...men who conquered the great civilizations south of the Rio Grande. But what about the conquistadors who made a name for themselves in what became the United States? In the first episode of "History: Beyond the Textbook," we explore the man who is credite…

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1.2: Opechancanough, Jamestown's "Pamunkey Prince" 28:44

1+ y ago28:44

28:44

Send us a text John Smith, Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas...Opechancanough? The second episode of "History: Beyond the Textbook" shifts the focus to England's colonial efforts in North America, and Jamestown is certainly familiar ground. However, the experiences of Opechancanough, war chief of the Powhatan Confederacy upon English arrival in 1607, prov…

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