A New York Minute In History

On the third episode of A New York Minute In History we explore the Empire State’s most ambitious engineering feat…the Erie Canal. Completed in 1825, it transformed New York and the nation by compressing time and distance, providing the fuel for an explosion of commerce, communication and social change. To learn more about the Erie Canal and its impact, check out the New York State Museum's latest exhibit on the waterway. Thanks to Brian Stratton and John Callaghan of the New York State Canal Corporation, Brad Utter of the New York State Museum, Jim Hendler of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as well as authors Carol Sheriff and Jack Kelly for all of their help with this episode. Music used in Episode 3 of A New York Minute In History includes “When The Boys Come Home” composed by Oley Speaks and “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” performed by Edward Meeker and written by Thomas Allen. Check in with A New York Minute In History on Twitter or by emailing anyminuteinhistory@gmail.com. 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 Devin Lander, the New York State Historian, and Don Wildman. Jim Levulis is the producer. A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and Archivist Media.  Support for this program comes from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®, which helps people celebrate their community’s history by providing grants for historic signage. It’s a great time for canals! This year marks the 100th anniversary of the New York State Barge Canal. And we’re in the midst of a multi-year bicentennial celebration for the Erie Canal. Now, with all the excitement, the Pomeroy Foundation has launched a new nationwide signage program to promote cultural tourism and commemorate the history of transportation canals. Markers will be placed at existing or former canal sites all the way across the United States. To apply for a fully funded grant or to learn more about the Foundation’s signage programs, visit: WGPfoundation.org. The project is also sponsored by a Humanities New York Action Grant with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The second episode of A New York Minute In History explores the Women’s Rights Movement from the Seneca Falls Convention in Central New York in 1848 to equality matters being debated today. We explore the Movement’s progress through the lineage of Coline Jenkins, the great-great granddaughter of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Jenkins, a women’s rights activist in her own right, has a family tree that touched nearly every major women’s rights milestone in the 19th century and beyond. WARNING:  A portion of this episode contains graphic language and may not be suitable for young listeners.  The second episode of A New York Minute In History explores the impact of women’s rights activists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Champan Catt, Harriot Stanton Blatch, Lucrieta Mott and Margaret Sanger. To learn more about the Women’s Rights Movement in New York and beyond, visit the New York State Museum’s online exhibit “Votes For Women.” Music used in Episode 2 of A New York Minute In History includes “When The Boys Come Home” composed by Oley Speaks, “Since My Margaret Become A Suffragette” composed by Gus Edwards and "Your Mother's Gone Away To Join The Army” composed by Raymond Walker. “Keep Woman In Her Sphere,” “The Suffrage Flag,” "Give The Ballot To The Mothers,” "Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be," "Going to the Polls," "Uncle Sam's Wedding" and “Song of Wyoming” by Elizabeth Knight from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings were also used. Check in with A New York Minute In History on Twitter or by emailing anyminuteinhistory@gmail.com. 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 Devin Lander, the New York State Historian, and Don Wildman. Jim Levulis is the producer. A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and Archivist Media.  Support for this podcast comes from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®, which helps local communities celebrate their history by providing grants for historic markers. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the Pomeroy Foundation invites you to commemorate the legacy of women’s suffrage with a Historic Roadside Marker. Recognize the people, places and events in your community that made an impact on the voting rights of women. To apply for a fully funded grant or to learn more about the Foundation’s marker programs, visit: WGPfoundation.org. The project is also sponsored by a Humanities New York Action Grant with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  

Episode 2 of A New York Minute In History will explore the role of New York in the Women’s Rights Movement from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to today.  (more…)

The first episode of A New York Minute In History explores the lives of Henry Johnson and Tommy Hitchcock Jr., World War I heroes with ties to New York. Through interviews with family members, historians and others, we follow Johnson and Hitchcock to the trenches and airfields of Europe and beyond. We explore how both men are shaped by their upbringings and the color of their skin. We examine how each is celebrated and remembered in different ways because of their actions and the social practices of the early 20th century to today. For more on the role of New York and New Yorkers in World War I, check out the exhibit "A Spirit Of Sacrifice: New York State In The First World War" at the NYS Museum. Tommy Hitchcock Jr.  Thomas Hitchcock Jr. was born in Aiken, SC on February 11, 1900. On his mother’s side (Eustis), he could trace his ancestry back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while the Hitchcocks were long considered “landed gentry” in both Massachusetts and their beloved Long Island. Tommy’s father and mother were famous for their horses and for helping to popularize polo among the wealthy elite in the late 19th century. Tommy spent his winters at the Hitchcock horse farm in Aiken while summers were spent at Old Westbury, Long Island at the family’s Broad Hollow Farm estate. An active and energetic youth, Tommy thrived in a family that epitomized the sporting class elite of the time. From the age of 10-12, Tommy was educated in Massachusetts at the Fay School, the oldest pre-preparatory boarding school in the nation. He spent the ages of 12-17 at the prestigious St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire where he excelled as an athlete and was voted class president in his final year. It was while at St. Paul’s that Tommy became an enthusiastic supporter of the Preparedness Movement beginning in 1915. The Preparedness Movement was led by Theodore Roosevelt, a close friend of Tommy’s father, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Leonard Wood. Roosevelt and Wood felt that America’s involvement in WWI was inevitable and that the country was completely unprepared. They sought to encourage America’s involvement by engaging the youth of the elite classes to participate in training camps and even enlist in Allied units where possible. Wood went on a speaking tour of elite Eastern prep schools and colleges in 1915, speaking at St. Paul’s that summer. During the summer break of 1916, Tommy took part in the Naval Training Cruise for Civilians in Long Island, which taught civilians how to be sailors. He disliked shipboard life, however, and instead became determined to become a combat pilot in the new American Air Service when American entered WWI in April 1917. Despite Tommy’s patriotic passion and despite Theodore Roosevelt’s help, he was deemed too young to serve in the Air Service. Instead, Tommy set his sights on joining the Lafayette Air Corps and serving as an American pilot in the French Air Service. Tommy joined the Lafayette Air Corps in June 1917 and spent the majority of the rest of the year training to be a combat pilot at Ecole Militaire d’Aviation at Avord, 120 miles southwest of Paris. After completing training, Tommy was assigned to the Escadrille N-87 unit and stationed in Luneville, France. On January 6, 1918, Tommy took part in his first aerial combat near Nancy, where he shot down a German plane, becoming one of the youngest pilots to do so and earning a Croix de Guerre with palm. Tommy found even more success on January 19 and 20 when he downed two more German planes and earned two more palms for his Croix de Guerre.  Newspapers across the world heralded this “boy wonder” who was on his way to becoming America’s youngest Ace. This came literally crashing down on March 6, 1918, however. On that day, Tommy’s luck ran out and he was shot down over German territory. Though he took a bullet in the leg, he survived the crash and was taken prisoner for several weeks. The Germans moved their prisoners from camp to camp