Historic Headlines

150 years ago this week, a bunch of Syracusans paid to see a guy walk really fast around a sawdust track in Shakespeare Hall. In this episode I explore the sensation surrounding Edward Payson Weston, and the pedestrian sport he helped promote. For episode notes, see the companion blog post.

150 years ago this week, a small newspaper article mentioned that suffragette Bettie Bisbee went over to the Democrats. This formed the kernel of this episode's investigation, which focuses on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, and their fateful partnership with George Francis Train. For show notes, see the companion blog post.

150 years ago this week, spiritualists were supposedly guiding some people toward gold, and others toward oil deposits. In this episode, I explore the obsession with spiritualism. For images, see the companion blog post.

On January 30, 1868, the Syracuse Daily Standard devoted most of a page to a speech that Senator Morton gave on the 24th, in response to Senator Doolittle's speech of the previous day. In this episode, I read both speeches and discuss the historical context. For the companion blog post, see https://syracuseonthisday.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/historic-headlines-episode-1-doolittle-and-morton-on-reconstruction/.