Democracy: a small word and a big concept foundational to the United States. Ideally, we’re a country of pluralism and self-determination, but the reality is often different.

Many dark chapters exist in our history: Slavery and the extermination of Native Americans, Disenfranchisement, and voter suppression. Japanese internment and white supremacy. And yet, many of the ideals that surround the founding of our country do slowly bend us towards justice. So how is it that one nation could be founded on principles of equality while also oppressing so many people throughout its history?

UnTextbooked producer Anya Dua wanted to better understand these contradictions. Anya is herself an amalgamation of many different American experiences: Her mom’s side of the family were European settlers who came to the United States before it was even a country. Her dad is Indian and immigrated to America by way of Australia. Both of these are fundamentally American experiences and gave Anya very different perspectives on American history.

In her research, Anya found the work of historian Jill Lepore, and read her book These Truths: A History of the United States.

The “truths” in the book’s title—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people—are gleaned from the Declaration of Independence. In her introduction, Jill Lepore asks one question essential to a better understanding of our nation: “Does American history prove these truths, or does it belie them?”

BOOK
These Truths: A History of the United States

GUEST
Jill Lepore

PRODUCERAnya Dua

MUSIC
Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

EDITOR
Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

On April 13, 1919, thousands of Indians gathered in Amritsar, Punjab to celebrate Baisakhi - a religious holiday. Such gatherings had been banned by the British colonial government, but the people gathered anyway to celebrate and protest British imperialism.

What followed was the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre; British General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire without warning on the crowd of unarmed protesters. They fired until they ran out of ammunition, killing 379 and wounding more than a thousand people (though the final death toll has been disputed over the years.) The massacre is considered a turning point that sparked anti-British resistance for many Indians, including Gandhi. It was one of the deadliest acts of colonial aggression in Britain’s history, but for many historians, it exemplifies the kind of violence Britain relied on to maintain its colonial power.

UnTextbooked producer Hassan Javed grew up hearing stories from his grandparents about what it was like growing up in British India. They told him about how humiliation and degradation were a part of daily life for many Indians in British India. But when Hassan learned about British imperialism in school, he was shocked that his curriculum portrayed Britain as a “modernizing” force for good. He wanted more context, and his research brought him to The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire by historian John Newsinger. The book contends that all empires are inherently criminal and that Britain was one of the worst.

PRODUCER
Hassan Javed

BOOK
The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire

HISTORIAN
John Newsinger

Picture this: You’re nineteen years old, it’s a summer afternoon, and you’re driving around your hometown. You notice a group of other teenagers on the side of the road. As you get closer you realize that two of them are your cousin and nephew. You can tell by body language that things are getting heated, and tempers flaring. So you pull over. You get out of your car. You step in between your family and the other teenagers that are trying to fight them, and in the process, you put your hand on the other kid’s arm.

One more thing: you are Black, and the kid who just touched on the arm is white. Also, it’s 1966 and you live in Louisiana.

So you get arrested and charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor. In 1960’s Louisiana, it means you won’t get a jury trial, you won’t get that chance to tell your side of the story to a jury of your peers. Instead, your case is going to be decided by just one man. And that man just happens to be Leander Perez, one of the most virulent white supremacists in the American South. For the crime of simple battery, you could go to prison for two years.

This is the story of Gary Duncan.

Instead of accepting his fate, he found a lawyer named Richard Sobol and they appealed. The case made its way to the Supreme Court in Duncan v. Louisiana.

Matthew Van Meter, the author of Deep Delta Justice, explains how Gary Duncan’s case changed the criminal justice system. While most Americans assume that criminal cases are decided by a jury, Louisiana and many other states did not require a jury. This is because even though the Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to a jury trial, that only applied to federal crimes at the time. This essentially gave judges, who were predominantly white and beholden to racist laws, the ability to decide the future of people like Gary Duncan. According to Matthew Van Meter, this is just one example of how the criminal justice system has been used to uphold white supremacy.

Thanks to Gary Duncan’s case, the Supreme Court ruled that jury trials are fundamental to American justice and that all states were obligated to provide them. In spite of this victory, jury trials have all but disappeared in the United States.

There is a fundamental duality in how Asian Americans are perceived in our country. They’ve at times been held up as the “model minority”, affirming this idea that the American Dream is alive and well if only immigrants could work harder. At other times they’ve been regarded as threatening and perpetually foreign. A recent example of this is the dramatic rise in anti-Asian violence in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

In this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Victor Ye interviews Dr. Erika Lee, author of The Making of Asian America: A History. They discuss the history of Asians in America and why stereotypes from hundreds of years ago still persist today.

BOOK
The Making of Asian America: A History

GUESTS
Erika Lee, Ph.D.History Professor at the University of Minnesota

PRODUCER
Victor Ye

MUSIC
Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

EDITORS
Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

UnTextbooked producer Sydne Clarke thinks that African American history is often oversimplified or overlooked. Often that history is taught as things that happened to African Americans. We don’t often hear about the ways in which African Americans fought for and took care of themselves.

Dr. Leslie Alexander studies Black resistance movements, particularly in America. In her research, Dr. Alexander has discovered communities and people who were vital to Black activism, but are often forgotten in re-telling African American history.

In this episode of UnTextbooked, Sydne interviews Dr. Alexander about her book African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861. They talk about the creation of Black-led organizations for mutual aid, and about how African heritage influenced Black activism then and now.

BOOK
African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861

GUEST
Dr. Leslie AlexanderAssociate professor of history and African American studies at Arizona State University

PRODUCER
Sydne Clarke

The Founders of the United States envisioned the presidency as an office that would be minimal in reach. They didn’t want the USA to be a monarchy.

But incrementally, the executive branch has expanded. And now, scholars like Dr. Jeremi Suri argue that the modern presidency is crushed by its own power and unable to be fully wielded by the President, leading to decades of broken promises and deep disillusionment amongst citizens.

In this episode, UnTextbooked producer Lap Nguyen interviews Professor Suri about the shifting nature of the presidency and why FDR is such a hard act to follow.

BOOK
The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office

GUEST
Dr. Jeremi Suri, Professor of Public Affairs and History at University of Texas, Austin

PRODUCER
Lap Nguyen

MUSIC
Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

EDITORS
Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman