Enjoy our recent episodes at HbN Podcast.

 News: During her New Hampshire primary campaign, Ms. Haley had difficulty explaining the cause of the Civil War. Specifically, she didn't seem able to say the "S" word - slavery! 

History Behind News: Did you know, that the South actually contemplated emancipating its enslaved population? Had that happened, do you think that Northerners would have continued fighting and dying in that bloody war against the Confederacy? 

And did you know that the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to all slave states? What this meant is that those slave states that had not seceded, such as Maryland, could continue to hold slaves throughout the Civil War (and until the 13th Amendment), while they joined other Union states in the war against the Confederacy!

In this episode, I ask my guest the following questions: 

• Was slavery the immediate cause of the Civil War, or the underlying cause of the Civil War? 
• Were there irreconcilable economic divisions between the North and the South that could have caused the War? 
• In the months immediately before the Civil War, was the country experiencing an economic crisis or at least a banking crisis? 
• Was there anything about how the federal government was run in the final days of Buchanan’s presidency that would cause a civil war? How about in the early days of Lincoln’s presidency? 
• What does it mean that the Civil War started in two acts? 
• Did the North go to war to end slavery?
• What were the Black laws passed in Northern states during the Civil War? 
• Did the South envision war? 
• Did any Southern states oppose the War? 
• How did poor, white Southerners react to the War?   
• Are we now at an age in which politicians can no longer discuss history? 

HbN Guest: Mr. Roger Lowenstein

About Our Guest:   

Mr. Lowenstein reported for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade. He is a historian and has written several books, including New York Times bestsellers, about different important personalities and periods in the history of our country.

He is the author of Ways and Means, Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War, which we discuss in this episode. 

To learn more about Mr. Lowenstein, please visit his homepage.  

 News: U.S. Supreme Court temporarily sided with the federal government against Texas 

History Behind News: Did you know, that until after the Civil War, the US government did very little to regulate immigration? As some historians tell us, this may be because federal regulation of immigration was seen as just too darn close to federal regulation of slavery. And that's why matters of immigration were more or less handled by states, and not the federal government. 

And did you know, that the word immigration does not appear in our constitution at all? In fact, for a nation of immigrants, our constitution says very little about immigration. 

• What is Federalism? How fundamental is Federalism to our system of government? Is Federalism laid out in the Constitution? 
• Does the Constitution include provisions about immigration? 
• Does the Constitution reserve immigration, explicitly or implicitly, for the federal government? Or does it leave some room for state participation? 
• What is “Immigration Federalism”? 
• States' participation in immigration from 1789 to the 1870s
• States' participation in immigration after the 1870s
• How did the roles of state and local governments become such a hot topic in the opening years of the 21st Century?  
• Has there been a shift in state and local government immigration activities since 2012? 
• What if the federal government abdicates its responsibility to control our borders and abrogates its responsible supervision and implementation of our immigration policies? What should states do then? 
• Is it fair that one state may disproportionally suffer the consequences of a national immigration policy?

HbN Guest: Prof. Deep Gulasekaram 

About Our Guest:   

Prof. Gulasekaram is a legal scholar at Colorado Law, University of Colorado, Boulder, where his research focuses on the constitutional rights of noncitizens and federalism concerns in immigration law.

He is the co-author of the following books:   

The New Immigration Federalism; and 

Immigration & Citizenship: Process and Policy. 

To learn more about Prof. Gulasekaram, please visit his academic homepage. 

 News: the 2023 movie "Napoleon" received terrible reviews from the French. 

History Behind News: Did you know, that Napoleon was born only a year after his homeland Corsica, was conquered by France? And that at the time of his birth, his father was fighting with the Corsican army against the French? And get this: when Napoleon moved to France around the age of 10, this future Emperor of the French could not yet speak French.

• Was Napoleon truly French? 
• How did Napoleon rise to power? It is such an unlikely story!
• Why did you turn down offers to write a Napoleon? 
• How did Napoleon change France? 
• Was public power considered property in France? 
• How precedented or unprecedented were the Napoleonic Wars? 
• What's Napoleon's legacy? 
• Why did the French criticize this movie so harshly? 
• Did Mr. Joaquin Phoenix adequately portray the real Napoleon? 
• If you wanted our audience to remember just one point about Napoleon, what would it be? 

HbN Guest: Dr. Rafe Blaufarb

About Our Guest:   

 Dr. Blaufarb of Florida State University is a professor of history, a Ben Weider Eminent Scholar of Napoleonic Studies and the director of the Institute On Napoleon and the French Revolution -  one of a kind institute in the United States, which we also talk about in this episode.    

He is the author of many books, including the following:   

'

"Napoleon: A Symbol for an Age";   

"The Revolutionary Atlantic: Republican Visions, 1760-1830";    

"The Great Demarcation: The French Revolution and the Invention of Modern Property"; and    

"The French Army, 1750-1820: Careers, Talent, Merit".  

To learn more about Dr. Blaufarb, please visit his academic homepage or the Institute's webpage. 

 News: An election year that follows a historically chaotic year for the US Congress 

History Behind News: Did you know, that the 10 richest men in America are worth more than the bottom 45% of Americans? Based on this, the most important underlying issue in this year's presidential election may likely be economic inequality.

• What stood out for him in the political chaos of 2023? 
• What period of American history resembles our current moment
• Whatever happened to decorum and statesmanship in Congress? 
• What does he mean by the hyper-masculine nature of Trumpism? 
• How does Taylor Swift's music relate to current politics? 
• What is Politainment? 
• What do Europeans think of America's 

HbN Guest:  Dr. David Schultz

About Our Guest:  Dr. Schultz ⁠is a Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Legal Studies at Hamline University. He is also an adjunct professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and at the University of St. Thomas. He is a four-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe and Asia, and the winner of the Leslie A. Whittington National Award for excellence in public affairs teaching.   

Dr. Schultz is the author of more than 200 articles and 45 books on various aspects of American politics, election law, and the media and politics. In this episode, we talk about one of his books: Trumpism: American Politics In The Age of Politainment. 

Listen above. 

 News:   December 25 is here again. It's Christmas. It's when we celebrate Jesus's Birthday. 

History Behind News:  History of Christmas - from Jesus to George Washington to Coca Cola

• Why is Christmas such a grand celebration? 
• What does this tell us about Christianity? 
• Did it take a while for Christmas to take a central role in Christianity? 
• What's the difference between recognition and celebration of Christmas? 
• Did Christmas piggyback on existing Roman pagan traditions? 
• How did Christmas enter America's culture? 
• If not the Puritans, then which immigrant group introduced Christmas to America? 
• Were there any regional differences in the celebration of Christmas? 
• When did U.S. businesses begin to capitalize on Christmas? 
• Would President Grant have witnessed a similar Christmas celebration in Boston and Savannah? 
• Would George Washington recognize our Christmas? How about Andrew Jackson? Abraham Lincoln? Teddy Roosevelt? 
• What happened to Christmas after WWII? 
• Is it a bad thing that non-Christians and/or non-practicing Christians celebrate Christmas?   

HbN Guest:  Dr. Carety Roberts 

About Our Guest: Dr. Roberts is a Professor of History⁠ and Online Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Liberty University. His research interests include early American intellectual and economic history. He has lectured and published widely in the fields of the American Founding, monetary and banking history, American intellectual life, and Southern literature. He has been a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. 

Listen above. 

 News:  18 dead, 13 wounded in Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting. 

History Behind News:  factors & variables in the lives of harmless people that transform them into homicidal and suicidal mass shooters 

• What is it like to meet murderers on death row? 
• What is it like to meet with mass shooters or family or friends of those who did not survive? 
• How are mass shooters and other murderers different? 
• What are the similarities of the lives of mass shooters? 
• What motivates mass shooters to go on their killing rampage?
• Are there any warning signs? 
• What does leakage mean in the context of mass shootings? 
• Are mass shooters suicidal as well as homicidal? 
• Is there data that shows the percentage of mass shooters who are addicted to opioids? How about data on mass shooters who violent video games? 
• Is access to guns the problem? 
• Why is 1966 an important year in the history of mass shooting?
• How do we prevent mass shootings? 

HbN Guest: Dr. Jillian Peterson

Author of: Violence Project – How to Stop the Mass Shooting Epidemic

About Our Guest: Dr. Peterson is a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University, where she is the Executive Director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center. 

Listen above.