We found 10 episodes of The Year That Was with the tag “1919”.
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Radical and Agitator: William Monroe Trotter and the Fight for Justice
February 17th, 2020 | Season 1 | 59 mins 9 secs
1919, african-american history, american history, lynching, race riots, radicals, red summer, season1, spanish flu
William Monroe Trotter was among the richest, best-educated, and most-well-connected African-American men in the United States--and he dedicated every ounce of his privilege into helping his fellow black Americans. By 1919, he had fought with the elder statesmen of his community, been arrested in protests over "Birth of a Nation," and denounced Woodrow Wilson's racial policies to president's face. But 1919 would bring one of Trotter's greatest challenges: he would need to learn how to peel potatoes.
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There Is No Justice Here: The Red Summer of 1919
January 21st, 2020 | Season 1 | 57 mins 55 secs
1919, african-american history, american history, bolsheviks, lynching, race riots, radicals, red summer, reds, season1, wobblies
A constant threat of violence hung over the lives of African Americans in the early 20th century, an unrelenting terror that served to deter economic progress and enforce a racist social order. But 1919 was different: violence spread out of the south into northern and midwestern cities and took the form of random, terrifying riots. But the response of African-American leaders in 1919 was also different. They decided enough was enough. The time had come to fight back.
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Reign of Terror: The First Red Scare
December 19th, 2019 | Season 1 | 1 hr 1 min
1919, american history, bolsheviks, labor, radicals, red scare, reds, season1, wobblies
Americans felt under attack in 1919 as a series of riots, strikes, disasters, and bombings hit the country. After radicals attempted to blow up the house of Attorney General Mitchell Palmer, he decided enough was enough. It was time to stop the Red Menace using any means possible. But would Americans tolerate the loss of their civil liberties in the pursuit of Bolsheviks?
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Pie in the Sky: The Wobblies and the Fight for Labor
December 10th, 2019 | Season 1 | 58 mins 56 secs
1919, american history, i.w.w., labor, season 1, wobblies
The I.W.W. was a tough, militant, radical union, and its very existence terrified business owners, factory bosses, and the entire U.S. government. Since its founding, the law had been out to get the Wobblies. In 1919, as a record number of Americans went on strike for better wages and working conditions, would the union be able to help them? Would the union even survive?
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Send All Available Personnel: The United States and the Great Molasses Flood
November 26th, 2019 | Season 1 | 59 mins 19 secs
1919, american history, labor, molasses flood, season 1
The Purity Distilling Company molasses tank dominated the North End of Boston, standing 50 feet tall over the surrounding tenements. Residents of the area were accustomed to the sight of tank oozing syrup from its seams and making strange rumbling noises from its depths. And one day in January 1919, life changed forever for Bostonians when the walls of the tank suddenly, inexplicably failed. Was it negligence? Or a vicious attack by anarchists?
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The Great Tide of Our Age: Colonies, Mandates and the Failed Promise of Self-Determination
November 19th, 2019 | Season 1 | 50 mins 29 secs
1919, afghanistan, china, colonies, egypt, fascism, fiume, gabriele d'annunzio, imperialism, italy, japan, korea, league of nations, mussolini, season1, vietnam
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points promised self-determination to colonies around the globe, raising hopes of independence and freedom for millions. But Wilson and the Allies had no intention of letting occupied peoples throw off imperialism. What would be the long-term consequences of raising the hopes and then dashing the dreams of so many people?
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A Grubby Little War: The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
November 12th, 2019 | Season 1 | 57 mins 9 secs
1919, colonies, imperialism, iraq, israel, mesopotamia, ottoman empire, palestine, season 1, turkey, world history
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire set off a mad scramble for territory. No one paid any attention to what the people who actually lived in the former empire actually wanted. But in the heart of Anatolia, one Turkish general was determined to preserve his homeland.
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No Question of Undue Severity: The India Independence Movement
October 29th, 2019 | Season 1 | 59 mins 29 secs
1919, colonies, imperialism, india, indian history, season 1, world history
At the end of World War I, Great Britain promised India increased autonomy with one hand and took civil rights away with another. The furious population welcomed the leadership of a nationalist with a compelling message of non-violence and self-reliance, one Mohandas K. Gandhi. But when Gandhi organized nationwide protests, the British reacted with fear and force, especially in Amritsar, where a mob lashed out against English residents. The confrontation would end in one of the most shocking events in colonial history.
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Giving the Natives a Free Hand: The Irish Fight for Independence
October 22nd, 2019 | Season 1 | 48 mins 19 secs
1919, colonies, great britain, imperialism, ireland, irish history, season 1, world history
The Irish had tried to free themselves from British control for centuries, always to fail. But in 1922, the Irish Free State took its place among the world's independent nations. Learn how an election, a shadow government, and a key literally baked into a cake brought independence to Ireland--along with a bloody civil war.
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No Cause for Panic: The Spanish Flu Pandemic
October 15th, 2019 | Season 1 | 43 mins 8 secs
1919, american history, history, india, ireland, season 1, spanish flu, world history
The emergence of the flu virus that swept the globe between 1918 and 1920 was entirely unexpected, but the resulting pandemic can't be called an entirely natural disaster. Governments made decisions that made the flu much, much worse, and those decisions would have long-lasting consequences--and leave between 50 and 100 million dead.