Hashtag History

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the political ideology of America First. This is the concept that America needs to prioritize America—our domestic interests above those of other nations. And, in theory, that sounds like a good idea, right? Putting American families and the American economy first, not engaging in foreign conflicts are participating in international treaties that don’t directly benefit the US. But this philosophy also comes with a lot of criticism too: It weakens international alliances. When we need help, who is coming to save us when we have burned all our bridges? Through tariffs and trade wars, depending solely on domestic goods becomes more expensive for the American people. And then, of course, there are the historical parallels to times in the past when the US – so focused on the US – made the decision to allow fascism to thrive abroad. And, when we exclude ourselves so much from foreign nations, what reason would they have to intervene in our affairs when we are being taken over by fascism? In a quote from Sarah Churchwell, author of the book Behold, America: The Entangled History of “America First” and “the American Dream” - she said, “What may seem at first glance merely a patriotic or nationalistic slogan – one that implies economic protectionism – in fact has a much longer and darker history in American political discourse than many people realize." And that is the history we will be getting into this week.
While we will of course explore the philosophy of America First this week, our primary focus will be on that long and dark history behind the phrase. Its early roots in McKinley in the late-1800s and his tariff policy, in Wilson’s reelection campaign in 1916 about keeping America out of World War I, in 1940 with the Founding of the America First Committee (which boasted prominent members like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford), and then, of course, in 2016 and again in 2024 with the Trump Administrations’ focus on border security, foreign relations, tariffs, and burning our alliances with foreign nations.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
- Rachel and Leah
Editor: Alex Perez
Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing Dr. Cornelius P. Rhoads, an American pathologist who was once highlighted on the cover of Time Magazine as THE “Cancer Fighter." He served as director of the Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research, the first director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and did groundbreaking research for the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research.
But that’s not why we’re talking about ol’ Corny today. No, we are talking about him because, in 1932, he was exposed by a letter he had written the year prior while working in clinical research in Puerto Rico. In this letter, he wrote that he considered Puerto Ricans to be “beyond doubt the laziest, most degenerate, and thievish race of men ever inhabiting this sphere.” But, oh, wait. It gets so much worse. He continues in this letter to say, “What the island needs is not public health work but a tidal wave or something to totally exterminate the population. It might then be livable. I have done my best to further the process of extermination by killing off eight and transplanting cancer into several more.” But wait…there’s more…that we will get to later in the episode.
Despite this horrendously racist and alarming language/admission, Rhoads of course went on to receive several awards, such as the Legion of Merit, several honorary doctorates, and a Memorial Award in his honor through the American Association for Cancer Research (though this one was renamed in 2002 after his awful 1931 letter recirculated). We should also mention that his research was instrumental in helping the US Army develop chemical weapons during World War II.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
- Rachel and Leah
Editor: Alex Perez
Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the 2000 Presidential Election Recount, also known as Bush v. Gore, since this case did go all the way up to the Supreme Court who was ultimately responsible for making the landmark decision about who would become the president of the United States that fateful year.
Why did this election go all the way up to the Supreme Court? Well, that would be because the results of the 2000 presidential election in the State of Florida showed that Republican nominee George W. Bush had beat Democrat nominee Al Gore by a mere 537 votes (537 votes across the whole state!!!), automatically triggering a recount due to how close those results were. Al Gore requested a manual recount due to several irregularities across counties in Florida about which ballots were considered valid and which were not. He only requested this of some counties though, causing the Supreme Court to take the case and decide that the manual recounts should be halted because – by their logic – targeting specific counties disenfranchised voters. Gore was forced to concede Florida to Bush and, with that, Bush – who did not win the popular vote – received the required electoral votes and became the 43rd President of the United States. This was not decided, however, until December 12th of that year. The results of the presidential election were not known until thirty-five days after Election Day!
There is so much more than all of that to talk about. Like the fact that – oh, I don’t know – the Governor of Florida at the time was Bush’s brother. Or the fact that the Supreme Court explicitly said in their final decision that this case was not to be applied to any future cases and should not be used as precedent. Which, like, isn’t that the point of the US Supreme Court? To set precedent?
Join us to learn all about all of that and so much more!
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
- Rachel and Leah
Editor: Alex Perez
Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

We are back for Season Eighteen and, as tradition dictates, it is a Leah Takeover Episode!
This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing Howard Hughes and Project Azorian. I think a lot of people know who Hughes was -- or, at least, recognize the name -- and know that he was an American aviator, film producer, oil tycoon, and millionaire (yes, one man CAN be all of those things at once, apparently).
This week, we'll be doing a synopsis of who he was (because he lived a pretty crazy and interesting life), but then we will hone in on a very specific part of his story: Project Azorian, a US CIA covert operation that took place in 1974, in which Hughes’ name, legacy, and eccentricity was used as a cover to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 from the Pacific Ocean.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
- Rachel and Leah
Editor: Alex Perez
Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast

This week on Hashtag History for our Season Seventeen Finale, we are joined author and historian John Garrison Marks as he tells us all about his latest book, Thy Will Be Done: George Washington's Legacy with Slavery and the Fight for American Legacy. We had a great conversation about Americans’ struggle to come to terms with Washington’s legacy of slavery and how we navigate those complexities as we move forward.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
- Rachel and Leah
Editor: Alex Perez
Copyright: The Hashtag History Podcast