Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838. During the Civil War, he escaped bondage and made his way to Indian Territory. Years later, he returned there carrying a badge. For more than three decades, Reeves served federal warra ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838. During the Civil War, he escaped bondage and made his way to Indian Territory. Years later, he returned there carrying a badge. For more than three decades, Reeves served federal warra ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tim Leuliette was only 23 when he found himself presenting multimillion-dollar proposals to Lee Iacocca and Henry Ford II at Ford Motor Company. Working in product planning during the 1970s energy crisis meant long nights, five-minute pres ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, on March 31, 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson walked into Perth Amboy City Hall in New Jersey to vote on a local charter. Nothing about the election seemed especially historic. But when Peterson cast his ballot, he became the first Black Americ ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1904, A.P. Giannini opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco for the people other bankers tended to overlook: immigrants, farmers, shopkeepers, and working families. Then, just two years later, the earthquake and fire devastated the ci ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up, Karen Cutler Drecktrah and her sister loved teasing their father, Jim, about his favorite song, "Kentucky Waltz." They had never heard it and were convinced he had confused it with "Tennessee Waltz." Jim insisted the song was r ...  Show more