RPTM Podcast Episode Twenty-Two: The Bald Eagle, The American Novel, Whiskey Rebellion, and Latinos

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution (which occurred early in the morning), the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights. They flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their boisterous cries. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots.
• Visitors to America often noticed how much colonists drank and were impressed that they “could imbibe heavily without the appearance of intoxication.”  Even though substantial alcohol consumption was socially acceptable, alcohol abuse was viewed as a moral failing, and “offenders” faced punishment and public humiliation.  
• In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the first American novels were published. These fictions were too lengthy to be printed as a manuscript or public reading. Publishers took a chance on these works in hopes they would become steady sellers and need to be reprinted. This scheme was ultimately successful because male and female literacy rates were increasing at the time. 
• "The Kentucky Volunteer" is a song published in the United States on January 6, 1794. Its music was composed by Raynor Taylor and its lyrics by "a Lady of Philadelphia." It is noteworthy for being the first musical composition copyrighted under the new United States Constitution. 
• The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania to protest a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government. Following years of aggression with tax collectors, the region finally exploded in a confrontation that resulted in President Washington sending troops to quell what some feared could become a full-blown revolution.
• Mission Indians enjoyed rights as human beings under the protection of the Spanish California monarchy. They were recognized as "Children of God." this stood in contrast to the treatment of Natives on the east coast of America, where they were guaranteed no rights.

​CHAPTERS
0:37 The Bald Eagle
5:21 Alcohol in the Late 18th Century
14:37 The First American Novel
17:41 The Kentucky Volunteer
19:33 The Whiskey Rebellion
28:57 Latinos in the Late 18th Century
34:16 Outro

RESOURCES
Bald Eagle
American Bald Eagle, US National Emblem
The Revolution of American Drinking
Alcohol and Drinking History in America: A Chronology
The Kentucky Volunteer
Whiskey Rebellion
Saint Junipero Serra
Junípero Serra