In 1845, the Republic of Texas stood at a crossroads. In our history, they chose to join the USA… but what if they chose another path? Was this even possible? What impact would this have had on life within Texas? And how would it have impacted its neighbours?

Today we welcome onto the show Prof. Sam W. Haynes of the University of Texas at Arlington, and he's the Director of the Centre for Greater Southwestern Studies. He's the author of Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas.

Edited by Amy Haddow and produced by Tomos Delargy. The Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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Did New Orleans' officials bomb the levees protecting the Lower Ninth Ward in 1965?

When Hurricane Betsy swept through the Atlantic Basin, it killed at least 76 people, led to a 10 foot storm surge, and was the first tropical cyclone to cause $1 billion worth of damages.

It also left many of the residents of New Orleans wondering, was all that damage really natural? Or had the authorities given it a helping hand?

Andy Horowitz, author of 'Katrina: A History, 1915-2015' joins Don for this episode to explore where this conspiracy theory came from, and whether there is any truth to it.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Supreme Court decision that sent shockwaves across America. Dred Scott v Sandford, 1857. Who was the Chief Justice responsible for the decision? On what grounds did he rule that Dred Scott, and by extension all African Americans, was not a citizen of the US? Don is joined by renowned historian Kate Masur, author of "Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement".

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Producer is Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.