Pennsylmania

Mark Smith
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Entertaining and informing listeners with stories of people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hosted by Mark Smith.

  1. Aug 18

    Death In Yellow Part 2 (Ep19)

    In 1793, the capital city of Philadelphia was struck by a terrible yellow fever epidemic, one that caused President George Washington and Congress to flee the City, which ultimately lost 10% of its population to the disease. In our last episode, we met three notable Philadelphians of the Early American period. Most famous among them was Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, physician to America’s founding fathers, and one of, if not the most prominent physician at the time. He was a professor at America’s first medical school, on staff at America’s first hospital, and a practicing physician in a large clinical practice. The two other men, the Reverends Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, were formerly enslaved African Americans born in Delaware. They were free men, prominent preachers, and founders of the Free African Society, a mutual aid organization for free-born and emancipated Blacks. The lives of the three men intersected around the cause of abolition, but they would intertwine further at one of the most critical points in the history of the newly independent United States. This episode will cover the outbreak of the epidemic and how each of the three men responded to the crisis. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:51] – The Great Walkout [04:32] – August 1793: Yellow Fever appears [06:14] – The Mayor swings into action as the fever erupts [15:19] – Exodus from the City, and those who remained [19:41] – Different doctors, different approaches to treatment [22:40] – The Reverends Jones and Allen offer help to the citizens [28:30] – 100 Philadelphians dying every day [29:23] – Matthew Carey’s account of the epidemic – instant history [34:23] – Carey slanders the Black Good Samaritans [36:37] – Jones and Allen defend the Black community [44:47] – The end of the epidemic [46:17] – Rush, Jones and Allen after the epidemic [50:57] – Books to read [51:53] – A preview: Renaming Allens Lane Books to read: Sources for this episode include • Rush: Revolution, Madness and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried, Crown Publishing, 2018 • The pamphlet A Short Account of the Malignant Fever Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia by Matthew Carey, 1793. • The pamphlet A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown upon then in some late Publications by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, 1794. Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com • Visit the newly opened Pennsylvania Hospital Museum. For more information, click here for the Museum’s website: https://pahmuseum.pennmedicine.org/ Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

  2. Aug 4

    Death In Yellow Part 1 (Ep18)

    It was perhaps the greatest calamity of the newly constituted United States, and it struck the capital city. In 1793, an epidemic of yellow fever decimated Philadelphia, and caused President George Washington and Congress to flee the virus. By the end of the outbreak, about 10% of the city’s population had died of the disease. Three important people stayed in the City to fight the disease: Dr. Benjamin Rush, a founding father later known as America’s Hippocrates; and African American preachers Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, both former slaves from Delaware. This episode explains who these three men were, and why they were among those who stayed to help. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:41] – Birth and upbringing of Benjamin Rush [05:06] – Medicine and medical training in America in the mid-to-late 1700s [07:46] – Yellow fever explained [12:16] – Aspiring Dr. Rush studies abroad [15:15] – Returning to Philadelphia, Rush begins his career [21:47] – Rush and the Continental Congress [29:40] – The Army gains a surgeon general in Rush [33:58] – Rush’s growing frustration with the Army, in more ways than one [39:10] – Return to private practice [41:17] – Rush’s focus on treating the mentally ill [45:57] – Reverend Absalom Jones – his origin story [48:13] – Reverend Richard Allen – his origin story Books to read: Some sources that were consulted to write this episode include • Rush: Revolution, Madness and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried, Crown Publishing, 2018 • The pamphlet A Short Account of the Malignant Fever Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia by Matthew Carey, 1793. • The pamphlet A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown upon then in some late Publications by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, 1794. Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

  3. Jul 21

    The Pittsburgh Lineup Card (Ep17)

    On September 1, 1971, something unusual happened at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game that night – between the Pittsburgh Pirates and their home-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies – started at 8:05pm when Dock Ellis, the Pirates’ pitcher, strode to the mound. From where he stood, he could have looked from the outfield to the infield to the catcher and noticed that every one of his starting teammates was Black or Latino, including superstars Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Twenty-four years after Jackie Robinson first took to the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Major League Baseball began racially integrating, the Pirates were the first team who fielded a starting roster consisting of players who would have been kept from playing in the MLB based on their skin color. Oddly enough, the historic nature of the lineup was scarcely noticed at the time. But as time went on, it became clear that it was a pretty big deal. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:33] – Why were Black players, in effect, banned from baseball? [05:26] – Jackie Robinson debuts [07:13] – Quotas to limit players of color on a team [10:01] – Introducing Roberto Clemente [13:40] – Branch Rickey moves from the Dodgers to the Pirates [20:50] – The 1960 World Series [25:43] – Baseball and the Pirates in the 1960s [29:12] – Introducing Dock Ellis [31:34] – Baseball and the Pirates in 1971 [36:23] – Pittsburgh in 1971 [39:05] – The game – September 1, 1971 [52:52] – The 1971 World Series [54:35] – The economics of baseball in the 1970s [1:00:22] – Books and films that inspired this episode Total run time: 1:03:11 Sources that inspired this episode: • The book Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, by David Maraniss, Simon & Schuster, 2006 • The book The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, by Bruce Markusen, Westholme Publishing, 2006 • The documentary Clemente, directed by David Altrogge, 2024 • The film No No – A Dockumentary, directed and produced by Jeffrey Radice, 2014 Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

  4. Jul 7

    The Live Aid Concert (Ep16)

    On Monday, June 10, 1985, at press conferences in London and New York City, it was announced that in just one month’s time there would be a 17-hour, two-stadium, bicontinental benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia, to be called Live Aid. It was organized by Irish musician Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats and would feature a “global jukebox” of over 40 of the top stars and groups in British and American music, from Mick Jagger, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and Queen, David Bowie and Phil Collins, to The Cars, Hall & Oates, Eric Clapton, Sting, Dire Straits, and Duran Duran. Not only were the suddenness and scale of the event a shock, but the choice of American venue was as well. The American Live Aid concert was to be held in JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia – a space that could hold 100,000 people. Live Aid became the most famous and most watched concert in history, and half of it happened in Pennsylvania. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [03:26] – The BBC broadcasts a program on a famine in Ethiopia [05:08] – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” written and recorded in London [07:00] – “We are the World” written and recorded in Hollywood [10:48] – Why Philadelphia was picked as the host for the Live Aid Concert [13:39] – The challenge getting American performers, black and white [20:56] – The day before the concert [23:42] – Saturday, July 13th, concert day [28:01] – The full line-up of performers at JFK Stadium [36:02] – Immediate aftermath of the concert [38:39] – Legacy of Live Aid Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by signing up at our website www.pennsylmania.com • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com • Watch the broadcast of Live Aid, available on DVD and in clips on YouTube, and/or one of many subsequent documentaries about the concert. Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

  5. Jun 23

    Hess's of Allentown (Ep15)

    This is the story of the Pennsylvania department store that for several decades was more well known and more glamorous than the city in which it was located – Hess’s of Allentown. The brothers Hess founded their dry goods store in Center City Allentown in 1897. By 1929, it had grown to become a large department store at the same location. By this time, both Hess brothers had died, leaving Max Hess, Jr., their 18-year-old heir. Max, Jr, would turn out to be one of the most innovative and successful American merchandisers of the 20th century, making Hess’s a luxe shopping destination that, at one point, had the highest per capita sales volume of any department store in America. The store was famous for its models, European couture, in-store restaurant, annual events like the flower show, television programming, the hundreds of fashion shows they organized and exported, and their canny way of securing publicity. In the 1970s and 80s, after Max Hess, Jr, had sold Hess’s lone department store and died in 1968, Hess’s became an iconic department store chain, growing rapidly to the point that, in 1990, there were 76 Hess’s stores overall, 27 of which were in Pennsylvania. This growth occurred during a time when the City of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley were suffering an intense period of economic decline due to de-industrialization and factory closures. A retail recession in the 90s led to an abrupt collapse of the department store chain and, by 1995, no Hess’s remained. This episode ends with a list of surviving department store buildings in major cities of the Commonwealth.

  6. Jun 9

    Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 3 (Ep14)

    This is the concluding episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. It begins with financial and monetary crises having hit both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly. The Continental Congress has created the new role of Superintendent of Finance, and named Robert Morris to the position. Morris and his aides made several major reforms. They solved the army’s supply problems through private contracts with private vendors, created the Bank of North America, and pressured the states to fulfill their financial obligations to the Continental Congress. Morris and his aides ensured critical financing for the decisive military victory over the British at Yorktown, and navigated the collapse of the Continental dollar. But the Continental Congress was hamstrung in its efforts because it did not have the power to tax. This led to an over-reliance on the French and other foreign governments for the funding of the war effort, and led to the states and Congress stiffing their creditors, most shamefully the unpaid soldiers of the Continental Army. The demobilization of the army led to a touchy flashpoint in early America – one that could have led to violence and civil war. Congress was threatened by a mob of soldiers, and the Pennsylvania government did nothing to stop them. Congress left Philadelphia. The overall political dysfunction could have upended the whole experiment with federal government in America, but it led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the new constitution that took effect in 1789.

  7. May 26

    The Johnstown Flood (Ep13)

    On May 31, 1889, after torrential rains worse than any in recorded history, the South Fork Dam on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains broke, and 20 million tons of water poured downstream. Towns in its wake were leveled: South Fork, Mineral Point, Woodvale, East Conemaugh and, most notably, Johnstown. Prior to the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, it was the deadliest man-made disaster in U.S. history. 2,209 people were killed. Johnstown and several neighboring towns were destroyed. This episode addresses the questions of why it happened and what happened afterward.

  8. May 12

    Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 2 (Ep12)

    This is the second episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. In the first episode, we asked, “Who paid for all this stuff and how did it get to where it was needed?” We described how the Continental Congress funded the war at the start, and did so well enough to permit the military and diplomatic successes of 1777 and 1778. We introduced Philadelphia financier and merchant Robert Morris, one of the richest men in America, who played a key role in both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly in the administration of the war’s supply efforts. But, two years into the war, the wheels started to fall off financially, and Robert Morris’ help was even more urgently needed. This episode covers the period from the second half of 1788 to the Spring of 1781, during which time the Continental dollar and the Pennsylvania currency both depreciated. Congress faced mounting deficits, the populace was hurting from monetary inflation, the soldiers were unpaid, and unrest erupted. This episode ends at a point in 1781 when financial and monetary crises hit both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly. The Continental Congress responded by creating the new role of Superintendent of Finance and named Robert Morris to that position. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [01:45] – Recapping the description of the Continental dollar from the last episode [04:46] – Introducing Pelatiah Webster [08:23] – The creation of the committee on “ways and means” [10:10] – Congress makes the Continental dollar legal tender [21:08] – The Continental dollar ceases to function as a medium of exchange [25:14] – Political turmoil in the Continental Congress after the Occupation [28:04] – Political turmoil in the Pennsylvania Assembly post-occupation [29:42] – Monetary inflation post-occupation [33:54] – The Fort Wilson Riot [40:16] – Spain joins the war against Great Britain [44:59] – The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny [47:17] – Congress creates the position of Superintendent of Finance [51:58] – Robert Morris formally accepts the position of Superintendent of Finance Books to read: · The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution was Financed with Paper Money. by Farley Grubb (University of Chicago Press, 2023) · Robert Morris: Financier of the Revolution, by Charles Rappleye (Simon & Schuster, 2010) Calls to action: · Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod · Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com · Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at producer@pennsylmania.com Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

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About

Entertaining and informing listeners with stories of people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hosted by Mark Smith.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Smith
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Pennsylmania
  • Show Website
    Pennsylmania

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