A New York Minute In History WAMC
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A New York Minute In History is a podcast about the history of New York and the unique tales of New Yorkers. It is hosted by State Historian Devin Lander, Saratoga County Historian Lauren Roberts and Don Wildman. Jesse King and Jim Levulis of WAMC produce the podcast.
A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and Archivist Media.
Support for the project comes from The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Humanities New York Action Grant.
Find us on social media! Twitter: @NYHistoryMinute
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Lady Acland’s Voyage: A First-Hand Account of the Battles of Saratoga | A New York Minute in History
This episode tells the story of Lady Christian Henrietta Caroline “Harriet” Acland, aristocratic wife of Major John Dyke Acland, who commanded the British 20th Regiment of Foot during the Burgoyne campaign of 1777. When Major Acland was wounded and taken prisoner, Lady Harriet risked her own life and freedom to nurse him back to health. She would go on to publish her diary of her time travelling and living with the British Army during the American Revolution.
Marker of Focus: Lady Acland, Village of Schuylerville, Saratoga County.
Interviewees: Sean Kelleher, Town of Saratoga Historian and Anne Clothier, Assistant Saratoga County Historian
Further Reading:
Lady Harriet Acland, The Acland Journal: Lady Harriet Acland and the American War, 1993.
Holly A. Mayer, Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution, 1999.
Richard M. Ketchum, Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War, 1999.
Teaching Resources:
PBS Learning Media: Women in the American Revolution Interactive Lesson
Museum of the American Revolution: A Woman’s War
National Park Service: The Battles of Saratoga: Student Reading Activity
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Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in Hi -
Ronek Park: Postwar Non-discriminatory Housing on Long Island | A New York Minute in History
This episode tells the story of Ronek Park, a non-discriminatory housing development built in 1950 in the village of North Amityville. Unlike the many housing developments created in the post-WWII U.S. that followed the practice of redlining and did not allow African American or Jewish people to buy homes, Ronek Park specifically marketed itself as allowing anyone to purchase a home regardless of race or creed.
Marker of Focus: Ronek Park, Village of North Amityville, Suffolk County, Long Island
Interviewees: Mary Cascone, Town of Babylon Historian and Eugene Burnett, Ronek Park resident and former Town of Babylon Police Department Sergeant.
Further Reading:
Dolores Hayden, Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820-2000, 2004.
Kenneth T. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States, 1985.
Gene Slater, Freedom to Discriminate: How Realtors Conspired to Segregate Housing and Divide America, 2021.
Teaching Resources:
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Neighborhood Redlining and Home Ownership Lesson.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Understanding Redlining.
National Geographic: Mapmaker: Redlining in the United States.
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Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian -
Chinatown Community History | A New York Minute in History
May is Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month and in celebration this episode highlights the community history of Manhattan’s Chinatown, one of the oldest and largest Chinese and Chinese American communities in the United States. The episode tells the story of how during a time of change in the late 1970s the Chinatown community moved to preserve and archive its own history, which had long been ignored and marginalized by the dominant cultural institutions of the area.
Featured image: Chinatown, Manhattan. Image: NYC Tourism.com
Marker of Focus: Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District, Manhattan.
Guests: Dr. John Kuo Wei (Jack) Tchen, Director, Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University Newark and Ashley Hopkins- Benton, Senior Historian and Curator at the New York State Museum.
A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.
Further Reading and Resources:
New York Before Chinatown: Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776-1882 by John Kuo Wei Tchen (2001).
Back to the Basics: Who Is Researching and Interpreting for Whom? by John Kuo Wei Tchen, The Journal of American History (1994).
New York Chinatown History Project by John Kuo Wei Tchen (1987).
Museum of Chinese in America
Welcome to Chinatown
Teaching Resources:
Museum of Chinese in America: Learn
New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library: Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion
Library of Congress: Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month Resources for Teachers
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Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State hi -
Grace Leach Hudowalski | A New York Minute in History
In celebration of Women’s History Month, this episode tells the story of Grace Leach Hudowalski, the first woman to summit all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. Besides being an accomplished mountain climber, Grace was also the first president of the Adirondack 46ers Club as well as its historian for over 50 years. As historian, Grace answered thousands of letters from club members telling her of their exploits as they reached each of the 46 summits. An accomplished writer, Grace promoted the Adirondacks through her work as a tourism writer for New York State and through her many articles for the Adirondack Mountain Club Magazine.
Marker of Focus: Grace Leach, Essex County
Guests:
Laurie Rankin, President of the Adirondack 46ers club, and Jane Meader Nye and Tony Solomon, Adirondack 46ers club members and friends of Grace.
A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.
Further Reading:
The Adirondack High Peaks and the Forty-Sixers(1970), edited by Grace Leach Hudowalski.
The Mountains Will Wait for You, (2013), a film about Grace Leach Hudowalski by Fredrick T. Schwoebel and narrated by Johnny Cash.
Hiking the Adirondack 46 High Peaks: A Guide to the Region’s High Peaks(2024), by Johnathan Zaharek.
The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness (1998), by Paul Schneider. -
La Amistad | A New York Minute in History
In honor of Black History Month, this episode tells the story of the 1839 La Amistad Rebellion, in which 53 illegally enslaved Africans rose up against their Spanish captors off the coast of Cuba, took over the ship, and attempted to sail it to freedom. They eventually reached Long Island, where they were arrested by U.S. officials. Aided by New York abolitionists, the Amistad Africans fought various legal battles for over two years before the Supreme Court finally ruled in their favor in what was one of the most important court cases related to slavery before the Civil War.
Marker of Focus: Schooner "Amistad", Suffolk County
Guests:
Dr. Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom and producer of the film Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels, and Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Eastville Community Historical Society.
A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.
Further Reading:
Marcus Rediker, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, 2012.
Howard Jones, Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy, 1997.
Alexs Pate, Amistad,1997.
Teaching Resources:
Consider the Source New York Slavery Resources—New York State Archives Partnership Trust
Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels Educator Resources
Discovering Amistad Teacher Resources
PBS Amistad Lesson Plan
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Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian.
Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. In honor of Black History Month, on this episode, we are heading out to Long Island. The marker of focus is located very close to the shore, near 185 Soundview Drive in Montauk. The title is Schooner “Amistad” and the text reads: In 1839, illegally enslaved Africans subdued captors on ship, came ashore nearby, then jailed in CT. Finally freed by U.S. Supreme Court in 1841. William G Pomeroy Foundation 2022.
The story of -
Confederate Spies at the Canadian Border | A New York Minute in History
On this month's episode, Devin and Lauren uncover a system of Confederate spies, guerillas, and terrorists attempting to wreak havoc on Western New York during the final years of the American Civil War.
Marker of Focus: Escape Prevented, Niagara County
Guests: Anton Schwarzmueller (Project Coordinator) and Jim Ball (Board President) of the Niagara Frontier Chapter-National Railway Historical Society, Lindsey Lauren Visser, Buffalo City Historian
A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.
Featured Image: John Y. Beall, credit: Library of Congress
Further Reading:
Transcript of the Trial of John Y. Beall, Library of Congress
An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War by Aaron Noble, Jennifer Lemak, and Robert Weible.
Teaching Resources:
Consider the Source New York Civil War Resources—New York State Archives Partnership
Trust
An Irrepressible Conflict Online Exhibit—New York State Museum
New York State Military Museum Civil War Resources
New York State Archives Military Records
Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) Credit: The New York State Museum is an approved provider of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Educators can earn CTLE credit (.5 hours) by listening to this episode and completing this survey Please allow up to two weeks to receive confirmation of completion.
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Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian.
Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. On this episode, we're taking you to a marker located at the Amtrak train station at 825 Depot Ave West in the city of Niagara Falls, out in Niagara County. The title of the marker is “Escape Prevented” and the text reads: On December 16 1864, local police officer D.H. Thomas arrested two Confederate spies nearby after their attempt to derail a passenger train south of here. William G. Pomeroy Foundation, 2022.
So we've got Confederate spies attempting to derail a passenger train south of Niagara Falls, it sounds like a pretty interesting story, and one that I had never heard of in context of the Civil War. So let's start by refreshing our memories about what was going on in the country in the 1860s.
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