logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
47m 2s

162. The Oregon Trail & the Gold Rush

Goalhanger
About this episode

Fort Laramie was once a stockade where European fur traders and Native Americans lived together peacefully. But by the 1850s it became a stop-over along the busy trail of emigrants moving westwards seeking gold and religious utopias. Their effect on the environment increased tensions with the local Lakota, and peace crashed down in 1854 all thanks to the death of a Mormon cow… Listen as William and Anita are joined by Katie Hickman to discuss life at Fort Laramie and the First Sioux War.


Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com

Goalhangerpodcasts.com

Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Oct 8
297. Gaza in WW1: A Rematch For Gallipoli (Part 7)
How did British Army General Murray fail to take Gaza in 1917? Who was General Allenby and how did his tactics in the cavalry charge on Gaza City lead to transformation in the region? What are the connections between the Gallipoli campaign and the siege of Gaza? Anita Anand and W ... Show More
43m 43s
Oct 5
296. Ottoman Gaza: Gunpowder Conquests & Rising Nationalism (Part 6)
In 1516, the Ottomans defeated the mighty Mamluk Empire in the Middle East, taking control of Gaza. How did Ottoman forces roll out scorched-earth tactics on Gaza City to punish those who had rebelled against them? How did the citrus and cotton industries develop in Ottoman Pales ... Show More
57m 1s
Oct 1
295. Crusader Gaza: Saladin & Richard The Lionheart (Part 5)
Why did Crusaders travel from Western Europe to Gaza and The Levant in the 11th century? Who was Saladin and how did he conquer the Franks? How did the Mamluks defeat the Mongols in the 1200s and usher in an era of prosperity for Gaza? Anita and William are joined by Jonathan Phi ... Show More
49m 7s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
454. Fall of the Sioux: Death of Crazy Horse (Part 1)
Though the Battle of the Little Bighorn seemed for the triumphant Lakota and their allies - the largest gathering of Plains Indians ever assembled - a miraculous victory, it was for them the beginning of the end. A great council was held near the battlefield in which they made th ... Show More
54m 59s
May 2024
447. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: The Winning of the West (Part 2)
With the American Civil War coming to a close in April 1865, George Custer, cavalry commander in the Union army, and a man of dubious political leanings for a unionist officer, was sent to Texas. Reckless, daring and bloodthirsty, the conclusion of the war came as a disappointmen ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 2021
How Expansive Is Oregon Trail History? with Professor Margaret Huettl
Can you map out the Oregon Trail? If you just flashed back to playing The Oregon Trail video game in your sixth grade computer lab, get ready for a journey. Jonathan and Professor Margaret Huettl explore how Native knowledge systems established the Oregon Trail; how Native people ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2022
203. American Civil War: Aftermath & Legacy (Part 4)
In the final episode of this 'American Civil War' series, Tom, Dominic and historian Adam Smith look at the end of the conflict, the subsequent assassination of Abraham Lincoln and how the war is viewed in modern day America. Join The Rest Is History Club for ad-free listening to ... Show More
51m 12s
Aug 2021
365. Potsdam and the looting of Berlin
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War as the situation in Germany deteriorated dangerously the Allies faced off in their attempt to divide up Europe. Author Giles Milton joins Al Murray and James Holland to discuss Potsdam and the personalities who oversaw the new Be ... Show More
53m 41s
Jan 2017
In Plain Sight
In 1849, abolitionist and attorney Wendell Phillips wrote: "We should look in vain through the most trying times of our revolutionary history for an incident of courage and noble daring to equal that of the escape of William and Ellen Craft; and future historians and poets would ... Show More
33m 7s
Apr 2022
Lewis and Clark | Into the Wild | 1
In 1803, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began a westward journey that would transform America. Their mission was to head up the Missouri River and find a route through the uncharted west to the Pacific Ocean. The journey was full of risk. But no danger loomed larger ... Show More
39m 54s
Nov 2022
Two Shawnee Brothers Hold Their Ground
November 7, 1811. William Henry Harrison and his troops are camped near the Wabash river. They’ve been told to keep the peace—but Harrison wants land, and he’s come here to try and take it. Less than a mile away is a flourishing Native American settlement called Prophetstown. It’ ... Show More
42m 38s
Feb 2022
Ruby Ridge | 64
Randy Weaver and his family moved to a remote cabin in Northern Idaho when their extreme views on race and religion became an issue with friends and family back in Iowa. They wanted to live off the grid, isolated from society but after Weaver failed to appear in court on charges ... Show More
37m 26s
Sep 2022
The Atomic Bomb & the Secret City
In 1939 Franklin D Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, warning him that the Nazis might be developing nuclear weapons. America has to act fast. What follows is the creation of a secret city in the rural area of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Around 75,000 people moved to the ... Show More
27m 28s