In March 1791 Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton shocked the western frontier when he proposed a domestic excise tax on whiskey to balance America's national debt. As the months passed however the people of Western Pennsylvania grew restless with the inadequacy of the government's response and they soon turned to more violent means of political expression. Take a journey through Western Pennsylvania, following the routes of both the rebels and the U.S. Army to place this important event into ...
Jun 05, 2023•57 min
Given the news media's focus on national issues and debates, voters might be expected to make decisions about state and local candidates based on their views of the national parties and presidential candidates. The editors and contributors of this book examine the 2020 elections in six Pennsylvania districts to explore the level of nationalization in campaigns for Congress and state legislature. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
May 22, 2023•58 min
The sniper killings of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, policemen William Davis and Richard Posey shocked the American public in November 1972 and garnered national coverage on the major news networks at the time. Fifty years later, this book, the first to cover the slayings, details the cold-blooded ambush of the two small-town law enforcement officers by a member of the murderous Johnston gang. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
May 01, 2023•56 min
A memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City - an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground. Neil King Jr.'s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession as he was determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Apr 24, 2023•57 min
In October 1948, a seemingly average fog descended on the tiny mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania. With a population of fewer than fifteen thousand, the town's main industry was steel and zinc mills—mills that continually emitted pollutants into the air. The six-day smog event left twenty-one people dead and thousands sick. Even after the fog lifted, hundreds more died or were left with lingering health problems. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Apr 10, 2023•58 min
George Washington and his Continental Army braving the frigid winter at Valley Forge form an iconic image in the popular history of the American Revolution. Exploring the inner workings of the Continental Army through the prism of its encampments, this book is the first to show how camp construction and administration played a crucial role in Patriot strategy during the war. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Apr 03, 2023•59 min
During the memorable summer of 1941, no sports story loomed larger than Joe Louis versus Billy Conn, the hard-hitting heavyweight champion, Detroit's "Brown Bomber," battling the stylish and cocky "Pittsburgh Kid." Considered one of the greatest matches in boxing history, the fight saw the underdog Conn well ahead on points until Louis knocked him out in the 13th round. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Mar 13, 2023•58 min
The Delaware River defenses played a crucial role for the Americans in Philadelphia during the American War of Independence in 1777. Maintaining the integrity of the river defenses involved an attritional campaign waged by an intrepid group of defenders which brought together the efforts of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy and the Pennsylvania State Navy. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Mar 06, 2023•57 min
The remarkable and inspiring story of William Still, an unknown abolitionist who dedicated his life to managing a critical section of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia. Learn the full range of Still's life and accomplishments. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com
Feb 27, 2023•59 min
Although Philadelphia's Black community lived in a free city in a free state, they faced constant threats to their personal safety and freedom. The political and physical conflicts that arose over fugitive slave removals and the kidnappings of free Black people forced Philadelphians to confront the politics of slavery. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Feb 21, 2023•57 min
Until the 1970s, if you suffered a medical crisis, your chances of survival were minimal. But that all changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh, a group of Black men who became America's first paramedics. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com
Feb 07, 2023•56 min
In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com...
Jan 30, 2023•57 min
Most Civil War battles occurred along major roads, railroads, and waterways; the armies needed to move men and equipment, and they needed water for men and horses. And yet this perspective hasn't been fully explored when it comes to Gettysburg, until now. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com
Dec 14, 2022•59 min
Gen. Robert E. Lee began moving part of his Army of Northern Virginia from the Old Dominion toward Pennsylvania on June 3, 1863. Lee believed his army needed to win a major victory on Northern soil if the South was to have a chance at winning the war. Transferring the fighting out of war-torn Virginia would allow the state time to heal while he supplied his army from untapped farms and stores in Maryland and the Keystone State. Lee had also convinced Pres. Jefferson Davis that his offensive woul...
Nov 29, 2022•58 min
River Boots is a career synopsis, a training manual, a history book and one conservation officer's slightly twisted view of a quarter century in the business. It is a sometimes "belly laughing" look at a profession that can turn deadly serious in a second and can leave tears running down your face from laughter a few minutes later. The 253 stories in River Boots were written for fishermen, hunters, boaters, conservation officers and their deputies, all law enforcement officers and anyone that ha...
Nov 07, 2022•57 min
Illicit commerce was key to the survival of the mid-Atlantic colonies from the Golden Age of Piracy to the battles of the American Revolution. Out of this exciting time came beloved villains like Captain William Kidd and Black Sam Bellamy, as well as inspiring locals like Captain Shelley and James Forten. From the shores of New York to the oceans of the East Indies, from Delaware Bay to the islands of the West Indies, author Jamie L.H. Goodall illuminates the height of piratical depredations in ...
Oct 31, 2022•57 min
The City of McKeesport in southwestern Pennsylvania once had a population of more than fifty thousand people and a newspaper that dated back to the nineteenth century. Technology has caused massive disruption to American journalism, throwing thousands of reporters out of work, closing newsrooms, and leaving vast areas with few traditional news sources—including McKeesport. With the loss of their local paper in 2015, residents now struggle to make sense of what goes on in their community and to s...
Oct 25, 2022•56 min
Citizen-soldier Strong Vincent was many things: Harvard graduate, lawyer, political speaker, descendent of pilgrims and religious refugees, husband, father, brother. But his greatest contribution to history is as the savior of the Federal left on the second day at Gettysburg, when he and his men held Little Round Top against overwhelming Confederate numbers. Forgotten by history in favor of his subordinate, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Vincent has faded into relative obscurity in the decades sin...
Oct 17, 2022•56 min
From the French and Indian War to Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, the city of Erie has a prideful place in the American story, but there also exists a seedy history of crime and murder. In 1905 Detective James "Jimmie" Higgins was mysteriously killed at Central High School and the drawn-out manhunt for his murderer occupied headlines for months. On a cold January night in 1911, a massive explosion rocked the Erie waterfront when criminals bombed the Pennsylvania Railroad Coal Tre...
Oct 11, 2022•49 min
In 1868, Jacob Kaufmann, the nineteen-year-old son of a German farmer, stepped off a ship onto the shores of New York. His brother Isaac soon followed, and together they joined an immigrant community of German Jews selling sewing items to the coal miners and mill workers of western Pennsylvania. After opening merchant tailor shops in Pittsburgh's North and South sides, the Kaufmann brothers caught the wave of a new type of merchandising—the department store—and launched what would become their r...
Oct 04, 2022•56 min
Union general John Reynolds was one of the most beloved and respected military leaders of the Civil War, yet beyond the battlefield, the captivating true story of his secret romance with Catherine "Kate" Mary Hewitt remains etched into his legacy. Clandestinely engaged before John marched off to war, the couple's love remained a secret. Kate made a poignant "last promise," a commitment to enter into a religious life if her beloved were to be killed. Tragically, Reynolds lost his life leading tro...
Oct 04, 2022•56 min
An interview about the writings "The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen" with historian and author Beverly Tomek. Beverly C. Tomek is Associate Professor of History and Associate Provost for Curriculum and Student Achievement at the University of Houston-Victoria.
Oct 04, 2022•37 min
An interview about the essays "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" with historian and author Jane Calvert. In 1767 a series of essays were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser that are known as "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania." They were written by John Dickinson in response to the British parliament's Declaratory Act and the Townshend Acts. Joining us to talk about Dickinson's Letters is Jane Calvert. She is an Associate Professor of History at the Universi...
Oct 04, 2022•57 min
The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the disturbing song "Timothy." Banned by radio stations and called "the worst song ever recorded," its lyrics about cannibalism in a Pennsylvania coal mine eerily parallel the real-life Sheppton disaster. Written by playwright Rupert Holmes, the Billboard hit launched the career of The Buoys. They went on to perform at the legendary Whisky a Go Go, Stone Balloon, and the Satsop River Festival which they kicked off in front of 150,000 fans. The Buoys to...
Jun 27, 2022•51 min
In 1973, Western music was banned in the People's Republic of China. But in a remarkable breakthrough cultural exchange, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted a tour of closed-off China, becoming the first American orchestra to visit the communist nation. Jennifer Lin's "Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Historic Journey to China" provides a fabulous photo-rich oral history of this boundary-breaking series of concerts the orchestra performed under famed conductor Eug...
Jun 21, 2022•56 min
When Connecticut Yankees began to settle the Wyoming Valley in the 1760s, both the local Pennsylvanians and the powerful native Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) strenuously objected. The Connecticut Colony and William Penn had been granted the same land by King Charles II of England, resulting in the instigation of the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. In 1788, during ongoing conflict, a band of young Yankee ruffians abducted Pennsylvania official Timothy Pickering, holding him hostage for nineteen days. Some kidn...
Jun 14, 2022•44 min
Over the years, many top historians have cited Major General Robert E. Rodes as the best division commander in Robert E. Lee's vaunted army. Despite those accolades, Rodes faltered badly at Gettysburg, which stands as the only major blemish on his otherwise sterling record. Although his subordinates were guilty of significant blunders, Rodes shared the blame for the disjointed attack that led to the destruction of Alfred Iverson's brigade on the first day of the battle. His lack of initiative on...
Jun 07, 2022•56 min
Chester County was home to a diverse patchwork of religious communities, antislavery activists and free Black populations, all working to end the blight of slavery during the Civil War era. Kennett Square was known as the "hotbed of abolitionism," with more Underground Railroad stations than anywhere else in the nation. Reverend John Miller Dickey and the Hinsonville community under the leadership of James Ralston Amos and Thomas Henry Amos founded the Ashmun Institute, later renamed Lincoln Uni...
Jun 01, 2022•57 min
The Eastern Professional Basketball League (1946-78) was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the northeast and featuring the best players who just couldn't make the NBA—many because of unofficial quotas on Black players, some because of scandals, and others because they weren't quite good enough in the years when the NBA had less than 100 players. In "Boxed out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League," Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein tell the...
May 23, 2022•56 min
In "Philadelphia's Germans: From Colonial Settlers to Enemy Aliens," Richard N. Juliani examines the social, cultural, and political life, along with the ethnic consciousness, of Philadelphia's Germans, from their participation in the founding of the colony of Pennsylvania to the entry of the United States into World War I. This book focuses on their paradoxical transformation from loyal citizens, who made great contributions as they became increasingly Americanized, to a people viewed as a fore...
May 09, 2022•57 min
