RPTM Podcast Episode Twenty-Five: Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, The Barbary Wars, and the Atlantic Slave Trade

Continuing our expose into pseudo-history: Anecdotes. The difference between history and anecdote is that history is the aggregate of past events. In contrast, an anecdote is a short account of an actual incident or person, often humorous or exciting. Anecdotal evidence is a story told by individuals. It comes in many forms that can range from product testimonials to word of mouth. It's often testimony, or a short account, about the truth or effectiveness of a claim. Typically, anecdotal evidence focuses on individual results, is driven by emotion, and is presented by not subject area experts.

Humans are more likely to tell and remember dramatic, extraordinary personal stories. Throw in some emotion, and you're more likely to believe the story. In psychological terms, statistical analysis of carefully collected data from well-designed experiments lacks that emotional kick. Sad but true. Anecdotal evidence can be a powerful tool to derive unique insights from your data if used properly. If you have a disciplined approach, that information won't mislead you; it can generate a better understanding of what you're researching.

If there's one takeaway, it's this: let anecdotal evidence drive your questions, and data analytics support the answers. The historical method plays a crucial role in your data analytics process. Systematically testing your thesis and communicating the conclusions from the results is how data helps us make more informed strategic decisions. However, do not be misled by the term "data science," as there is an art to it as well.

There is practically an infinite number of theses to develop when approaching history. Therefore, choosing the one to test is an art form; it allows and often requires creativity to gain the most valuable insights. Anecdotal evidence provides us with additional information beyond that of a typical data point. There could be counter-intuitive patterns present in those stories or variables you hadn't thought to consider.

• Lewis and Clark Expedition was led by Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lieut. William Clark, to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The journey was a significant chapter in the history of American exploration.
• Sacagawea was an interpreter and guided Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition westward from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast.
• The First Barbary War was an undeclared war waged by the United States against the North African states of Morocco, Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis. The principal cause of the war was that those states harbored and supported pirates' actions against American shipping vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.
• The legal trans-Atlantic slave trade reached unprecedented levels in the late eighteenth century. Still, by the mid-nineteenth century, every national carrier in Europe and the Americas had formally abolished the traffic. Denmark was the first nation to repeal its trade in 1803. Britain and the United States followed in 1807, with the U.S. ban going into effect in 1808. By 1836, the Dutch, French, Spanish, Brazilian, and Portuguese governments abolished their trades. During just three decades, every national trans-Atlantic carrier outlawed a massive system of forced migration that had lasted for three centuries.

 
​CHAPTERS
0:37 Intro
3:01 Lewis and Clark
15:34 Sacagawea
23:02 The Barbary War
31:36 Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
38:00 Outro

RESOURCES
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Personal Narrative: My First Immigrant Expedition Essay
Pacific Ocean and return
The Pacific Northwest
Sacagawea
The Barbary Wars (1801-1815)
Barbary Wars
Voyage of the Echo: The Trials of an Illegal Trans-Atlantic Slave Ship