Stuff You Missed in History Class

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the longest roadway in the U.S. that was planned as a single unit. Its origin is connected to government efforts to provide relief from the Great Depression, and conservation of the Blue Ridge Mountains.   Research: "Restoring Western North Carolina's Infrastructure: NCDOT Receives $250 Million in Federal Emergency Relief Funds." National Law Review, 21 Feb. 2025. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828346450/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b22cedc8. Accessed 12 May 2025. "The Blue Ridge Parkway." NCpedia. Accessed on May 14th, 2025. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/blue-ridge-parkway. “Report In Full of Secretary Work’s Appalachian National Park Committee. “National Parks and Conservation Magazine.” 1924-11-25: Iss 42. https://archive.org/details/sim_national-parks_1924-11-25_42/page/n5/ Averill, Graham. “The Blue Ridge Parkway: A Monumental Drive.” Our State. 9/27/2021. https://www.ourstate.com/the-blue-ridge-parkway-a-monumental-drive/ Buxton, Barry. “Blue Ridge Parkway: Agent of Transition.” Proceedings of the Blue Ridge Parkway Golden Anniversary Conference. Appalachian Consortium Press/Boone, North Carolina. 1986. Coutant, Linda. “Helene Recovery, 7 Months After the Storm.” National Parks Conservation Association. 4/26/2025. https://www.npca.org/articles/8198-helene-recovery-7-months-after-the-storm Coutant, Linda. “Helene: Facing Loss and the Blue Ridge Parkway’s ‘Most Tremendous Challenge’.” National Parks Conservation Association. https://www.npca.org/articles/5459-helene-facing-loss-and-the-blue-ridge-parkway-s-most-tremendous-challenge “Driving Through Time: The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway.” https://docsouth.unc.edu/blueridgeparkway/ Jolley, Harley E., “Blue Ridge Parkway: The First 50 Years,” Appalachian State University Libraries Digital Collections, accessed May 14, 2025, https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/43667. Landis, Mark. “This 5,600-mile highway route was created to see 12 national parks in the West.” The Sun. 6/13/2022. https://www.sbsun.com/2022/06/13/this-5600-mile-highway-route-was-created-to-see-12-national-parks-in-the-west/ Mitchell, Anne V. “Culture, History, and Development on the Qualla Boundary: The Eastern Cherokees and the Blue Ridge Parkway, 1935-40.” Appalachian Journal , WINTER 1997, Vol. 24, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40933835 National Park Service. “Blue Ridge Parkway: Virginia and North Carolina.” From Highways in Harmony online books exhibit. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hih/blue_ridge/index.htm Roberts, Brett G. “Returning the Land: Native Americans and National Parks.” Ave Maria Law Review 148 (Spring, 2023). https://www.avemarialaw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/v21.Roberts.final38.pdf Speer, Jean Haskell. “’Hillbilly Sold Here’: Appalachian Folk Culture and Parkway Tourism.” From Parkways: Past, Present and Future. International Linear Parks Conference. Appalachian State University. (1987). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xp3kv8.33 S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. “America's Highways 1776-1976.” U.S. Government Printing Office. https://archive.org/details/AmericasHighways1776-1976 Whisnant, Anne Mitchel. “Routing the Parkway, 1934.” Driving Through Time. DocSouth. https://docsouth.unc.edu/blueridgeparkway/overlooks/competing_routes/#footnote9 Whisnant, Anne Mitchell. “A Capsule History of the Blue Ridge Parkway.” Appalachian Voice. 10/11/2017. https://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/a-capsule-history-of-the-blue-ridge-parkway/ Whisnant, Anne Mitchell. “Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History.” University of North Carolina Press. 2006. Zeller, Thomas. “Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters.” Johns Hopkins University Press. 2022. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.103002 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is a scenic road tied to the “See America First” movement of the early 20th century. The acquisition of land for the project was difficult, and displaced many families from their homes. Research: Harrison, Sarah Georgia. “The Skyline Drive: A Western Park Road in the East.” From Parkways: Past, Present and Future. International Linear Parks Conference. Appalachian State University. (1987). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xp3kv8.13 Jolley, Harley E., “Blue Ridge Parkway: The First 50 Years,” Appalachian State University Libraries Digital Collections, accessed May 14, 2025, https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/43667. Jones, Jenny. “Skyline Drive: Engineered with Nature In Mind.” Civil Engineering. April 2001. Kyle, Robert. “The Dark Side of Skyline Drive.” Washington Post. 10/17/1993. Miles, Kathryn. “Shenandoah National Park Is Confronting Its History.” Outside. 9/23/2019. https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/hiking-and-backpacking/shenandoah-national-park-segregation-history/ Nash, Carole. “Native American Communities of the Shenandoah Valley: Constructing a Complex History.” 2020. https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.lib.jmu.edu/dist/9/133/files/2019/04/Native-American-Communities-of-the-Shenandoah-Valley.pdf National Park Service. “Shenandoah National Park: Skyline Drive: Virginia.” From Highways in Harmony online books exhibit. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hih/shenandoah/index.htm Roberts, Brett G. “Returning the Land: Native Americans and National Parks.” Ave Maria Law Review 148 (Spring, 2023). https://www.avemarialaw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/v21.Roberts.final38.pdf Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “The Dedication of Shenandoah National Park.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/134q1Gkk6Af0zl6bb_wekgqs0k2Wt9VPT/view Simmons, Dennis E. “Conservation, Cooperation, and Controversy: The Establishment of Shenandoah National Park, 1924-1936.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography , Oct., 1981. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4248512 S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. “America's Highways 1776-1976.” U.S. Government Printing Office. https://archive.org/details/AmericasHighways1776-1976 Zeller, Thomas. “Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters.” Johns Hopkins University Press. 2022. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.103002 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2016 continuation of our coverage of the Palmer Raids covers a series of raids on perceived threats to national security by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Thousands of people were rounded up, many without cause or warrant, and kept in horrifying conditions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy outlines all the way RFK Jr.'s claims regarding disease history make no sense. Holly talks about the section of her career that was spent working in a university library.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It’s massive in both physical scale and in scale of services. So how did it start, and how did it evolve to be the largest library in the world? Research: Cole, John Y. “America’s Greatest Library: An Illustrated History of the Library of Congress.” Library of Congress, Washington, DC, in Association with D. Giles Limited, London. 2017. “Dr. Carla Hayden delivers opening statement at Library of Congress hearing.” Committee on House Administration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LrEsNycZ4 “Library of Congress Classification.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc.html “The Library of Congress Is Your Library.” Library of Congress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ze_bpATac “National Digital Library Program.” Library of Congress. https://webarchive-beta.loc.gov/general/20150701231729/https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dli2/html/lcndlp.html “Preservation Science.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/ Reid, Paula. “Senior Justice Department officials tapped by Trump to run Library of Congress are denied access.” CNN. May 12, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/library-of-congress-trump-justice-blanche “Sale of Books to the Library of Congress (1815).” Monticello.org. https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/sale-books-library-congress-1815/ Tully-McManus, Katherine. “GOP leaders draw the line at Trump’s Library of Congress takeover.” Politico. May 14, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/library-of-congress-trump-takeover-carla-hayden-00349275 Walsh, Dylan. “Carla D. Hayden wants to spread the wonders of the library into everyone’s lives.” University of Chicago News. June 8, 2023. https://news.uchicago.edu/story/carla-d-hayden-wants-spread-wonders-library-everyones-lives See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Crohn’s disease are autoimmune diseases that share a lot of commonalities. This episode covers when and how they were first recognized and described.  Research: Aceves-Avila, Francisco Javier et al. “The Antiquity of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Reappraisal.” The Journal of Rheumatology 2001; 28:4. Arnaud, Laurent et al. “The History of Lupus Throughout the Ages.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Volume 87, Issue 6, December 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0190962220307726 Barber, Megan R W et al. “Global epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus.” Nature reviews. Rheumatology vol. 17,9 (2021): 515-532. doi:10.1038/s41584-021-00668-1 Bornstein, Joseph E. and Randolph M. Steinhagen. “History of Crohn’s Disease.” From Crohn’s Disease: Basic Principles. Springer. 2015. Crohn & Colitis Foundation. “IBD before the Foundation.” https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/about/our-beginning Entezami, Pouya et al. “Historical perspective on the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis.” Hand clinics vol. 27,1 (2011): 1-10. doi:10.1016/j.hcl.2010.09. Geller, Stephen A. and Fernando P F de Camposc. “Crohn disease.” Autopsy Case Rep [Internet]. 2015; 5(2):5-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.4322/acr.2015.001 Hyndman, I.J. (2017), Rheumatoid arthritis: past, present and future approaches to treating the disease. Int J Rheum Dis, 20: 417-419. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-185X.12823 Kirsner, J B. “Historical origins of current IBD concepts.” World journal of gastroenterology vol. 7,2 (2001): 175-84. doi:10.3748/wjg.v7.i2.175 Laberge, Monique, and Philip E. Koth. "Rheumatoid Arthritis." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 6th ed., vol. 7, Gale, 2020, pp. 4474-4480. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986601640/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8b8ee977. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025. Laurent Arnaud - I6 The history of lupus throughout the ages: Lupus Science & Medicine 2020;7:. https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2020-eurolupus.6 org. “The History of Lupus.” https://www.lupus.org/resources/the-history-of-lupus Mandal, Dr. Ananya. “Rheumatoid Arthritis History.” News Medical. 7/7/2023. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rheumatoid-Arthritis-History.aspx Medical News Today. “The History of Rheumatoid Arthritis.” 5/2/2023. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/rheumatoid-arthritis-history Michniacki, Thomas. “Crohn’s Disease: An Evolutionary History.” University of Michigan Library. 2006-05 http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/96969 Potter, Brian. “The History of the Disease Called Lupus.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , JANUARY 1993, Vol. 48, No. 1 (JANUARY 1993). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/24622869 Sathiavageesan, Subrahmanian, and Suganya Rathnam. “The LE Cell-A Forgotten Entity.” Indian journal of nephrology vol. 31,1 (2021): 71-72. doi:10.4103/ijn.IJN_249_19 Scofield, R Hal, and James Oates. “The place of William Osler in the description of systemic lupus erythematosus.” The American journal of the medical sciences vol. 338,5 (2009): 409-12. doi:10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3181acbd71 "Systemic Lupus Erythematosus." National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Pamphlets, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 2001, p. 1. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A79512544/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=534bac78. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025. Thomas, Donald E. et al. “The first use of “lupus” as a disease.” Lupus. 2025, Vol. 34(1) 3–9. Tish Davidson, and Rebecca J. Frey. "Crohn's Disease." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 6th ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2020, pp. 1423-1427. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986600509/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=2687d598. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025. Van Hootegem, Phillippe. “Is Crohn’s A Rightly Used Eponym?” J Crohns Colitis. 2020 Jul 9;14(6):867-871. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjz183. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part one of this 2016 classic covers the social unrest in the U.S. after WWI. There was a fear that Communist revolutionaries would try to take over the country. Adding fuel to the fear were two bomb plots in 1919.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly shares her experience visiting the Meiji Jingu shrine. Tracy mentions that she never found out why the Triple Nickles used the spelling they did, and her use of the Wayback Machine for show research. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, also called the Triple Nickles, were the first Black paratroopers in the U.S. military, and their story is connected to the desegregation of the military after World War II. Research: 555th Parachute Infantry. “Malvin L. Brown.” http://triplenickle.com/malvinbrown.htm Aney, Warren. “Triple Nickles -- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.” Oregon Encyclopedia. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/555th_parachute_infantry_triple_nickle_batallion/ Associated Press. “Air Force Starts Probe Into Troop Bombing.” The Miami Herald. 9/18/1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/617847549/ Associated Press. “Army Lists Dead in Bomb Blast.” The Tampa Times. 9/18/1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/326171714/ Biggs, Bradley. “The Triple Nickles: America’s First All-Black Paratroop Unit.” Hamden, Conn. Archon Books. 1986. Bradsher, Greg and Sylvia Naylor. “Firefly Project and the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (‘Smoke Jumpers’).” National Archives. 2/10/2015. https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2015/02/10/the-555th-smoke-jumpers/ Cieslak, Thomas. “Equal in All Ways to All Paratroopers - The Origin of the ‘Triple Nickles’.” U.S. Army. 5/27/2019. https://www.army.mil/article/222374/equal_in_all_ways_to_all_paratroopers_the_origin_of_the_triple_Nickles Crumley, Todd and Aaron Arthur. “The Triple Nickles and Operation Firefly.” National Archives. 2/5/2020. https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2020/02/05/the-triple-Nickles-and-operation-firefly/ Curran, Jonathan. “The 555TH Parachute Infantry Company ‘Triple Nickles.’” U.S. Army National Museum. https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/triple-Nickles/ Ferguson, Paul-Thomas. “African American Service and Racial Integration in the U.S. Military.” U.S. Army. 2/23/2021. Via archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20240327034226/https://www.army.mil/article/243604/african_american_service_and_racial_integration_in_the_u_s_military Forest Service Aviation & Fire Management. “History of Smokejumping.” August 1, 1980 Gidlund, Carl. “African-American Smokejumpers Help Celebrate Smokey’s 50th.” Fire management notes / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1993. https://archive.org/details/CAT77680365067/ Morris, Walter. “Base Plate.” Triplenickle.com. http://triplenickle.com/waltermorris.htm Queen, Jennifer. “The Triple Nickles: A 75-Year Legacy.” USD Forest Service. 2/28/2020. Via archive.org. https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/triple-Nickles-75-year-legacy The Forest History Society. “U.S. Forest Service Smokejumpers.” Via Archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316132550/https://foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Policy/Fire/Smokejumpers/Smokejumpers.aspx USDA Forest Service. “Operation Firefly & the 555th.” https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/smokejumpers/missoula/history/operation-firefly Weeks, Linton. “How Black Smokejumpers Helped Save The American West.” NPR History Dept. 1/22/2015. https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/01/22/376973981/how-black-smokejumpers-helped-save-the-american-west Williams, Robert F. “The "Triple Nickles": Jim Crow Was an Elite Black Airborne Battalion's Toughest Foe.” History News Network. 9/6/2020. https://www.hnn.us/article/the-triple-Nickles-jim-crow-was-an-elite-black-air See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emperor Meiji of Japan’s reign began in 1867, and it marks a time of significant change in the country’s history. After the emperor and his consort died in the early 20th century, the Meiji Jingu shrine was built to memorialize them. Research: Atsushi, Kawai. “Prefectures, Power, and Centralization: Japan’s Abolition of the Feudal Domains.” Nippon.com. Aug. 27, 2021. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01159/ Bernard, Rosemary. “Shinto and Ecology: Practice and Orientations to Nature.” Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. https://fore.yale.edu/World-Religions/Shinto/Overview-Essay Cali, Joseph and John Dougill. “Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan’s Ancient Religion.” University of Hawaii Press. 2015. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Charter Oath". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Charter-Oath The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Meiji". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meiji The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Treaty of Shimonoseki". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Shimonoseki Furukawa, Hisao. “Meiji Japan'sEncounterwith Modernization” Southeast Asian Studies. Vol, 33, No. 3. December 1995. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tak/33/3/33_KJ00000131881/_pdf Huffman, James. “Land Tax Reform Law of 1873.” About Japan. https://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/land_tax_reform_law_of_1873#sthash.qp6fLxcO.dpbs Huffman, James. “The Meiji Restoration Era, 1868-1889.” Japan Society. June 11, 2021. https://japansociety.org/news/the-meiji-restoration-era-1868-1889/ Meiji Jingu site: https://www.meijijingu.or.jp/en/ “The Meiji Restoration and Modernization.” Asia for Educators. Columbia University Weatherhead East Asia Institute. https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm “Discover Meiji Jingu: A Shrine Dedicated to the Spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.” Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/discover-meiji-jingu-a-shrine-dedicated-to-the-spirits-of-emperor-meiji-and-empress-shoken/OQVBs7hVH09QJw Meyer, Ulf. “The Spirit of the Trees.” World Architects. Feb. 3, 2021. https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/products/the-spirit-of-the-trees#:~:text=The%20Meiji%20Shrine%20is%20the%20most%20prominent,in%20Japan's%20capital%20for%20this%20hatsum%C5%8Dde%20worship.&text=The%20famous%20architect%20Ito%20Chuta%20designed%20the,Japan's%20shrine%20a%20touch%20of%20national%20identity. “Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1910.” United States Department of State. Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1910/d705 “Russo-Japanese War: Topics in Chronicling America.” Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-russo-japanese-war Steele, Abbey, et al. “Constraining the Samurai: Rebellion and Taxation in Early Modern Japan.” International Studies Quarterly. 2017. 61, 352–370. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/pegroup/files/constraining_the_samurai_9.15.pdf “The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853.” U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan Wojtan, Linda S. “Rice: It's More Than Food In Japan.” Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education. November 1993. https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/rice_its_more_than_food_in_japan#rice  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.