Stuff You Missed in History Class

Mary Hunter Austin was a U.S. writer known for walking throughout the American Southwest. But her life of activism was far more complicated than brief bios usually  mention. 

Research:

• "Mary Hunter Austin." Encyclopedia of the American West, edited by Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2330100082/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmar...

In 1916, the National Institution for Moral Instruction had a contest to see who could come up with the best morality code. For kids. Evolving views on childhood, child labor laws, patriotism, and eugenics influenced this effort.

Research:

• “$5000 Prize Winners Announced Oct. 1” Dean Bennion in Race.” Daily Utah Chronicle. April 23, 1917. https://www.newspapers.com/image/289878324/?match=1&terms=%22Moralit...

Gertrude Chandler Warner's most well known writing is "The Boxcar Children." But that series is far from the only professional writing Chandler did – she made a career as a writer while also teaching elementary school for decades. 

Research:

• Abate, M.A. Not Hoovervilles, But Hooch: Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Childrenand The Roaring Twenties. Child Lit Educ 47, 257–266 (2016). ht...

Lillian Exum Clement Stafford was one of the first women in North Carolina to practice law, and the first woman in the South to be elected to a state legislature.

Research:

• “Letter from Elias Eller Stafford to Lillian Exum Clement, 1920.” North Carolina Archives. https://fromthepage.com/ncdcr-ncarchives/women-s-history-v5/pc-2804-lillian-exum-papers-b2f25-corr-eller-1920
• “Lillian Exum Clement." NCpedia. Acces...

This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today’s standards.

Research:

• Akst, Daniel. “Pellagra: The Forgotten Plague.” American Heritage. December 2000. https://www.americanheritage.com/pellagra-forgotten-plague
• Baird Rattini, ...

The pellagra epidemic of the early 20th century may have been the deadliest epidemic of a specific nutrient deficiency in U.S. history. Part one covers what it is, its appearance in 19th-century Italy, and the first reports of it in the U.S. 

Research:

• Akst, Daniel. “Pellagra: The Forgotten Plague.” American Heritage. December 2000. https://www.americanheritage.com/pellagra-forgotten-plague
• Baird Rattini,...

Robert Morris is one of the lesser-mentioned founding fathers of the U.S. When he is mentioned, he is called the financier of the Revolutionary War. But his story is more complicated than that.

Research:

• “18th Century Currency.” Valley Forge National Historical Park. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=42877E64-155D-451F-67DACC05A2515349
• Bill of Rights Institute. “Stamp Act R...

A spite house is a structure that is built by one party to irritate another, or to cause some sort of difficulty or even damage. And there have been a lot of them built over the years, though there aren’t a huge number remaining. 

Research:

• Bailey, Steve. “A Tiny, Beloved Home That Was Built for Spite.” New York Times. Feb. 29, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/travel/escapes/29away.html
• “Ch...

The epizootic of 1872 was a massive outbreak of a flulike illness primarily among horses in North America, Central America, and some islands in the Caribbean.

Research:

• "WHEN A FLU REINED IN NEW YORK." States News Service, 28 Apr. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622209555/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=2bf7de71. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
• Andrews, Thomas G. “Influenza’s Progress: Th...