From Here to History
The history podcast where Chris Swanson and Jason Weidert discuss events and people of the past with as much openness, understanding, and fairness as we can muster. Our only agenda is to inform in an entertaining and engaging way.
We teach high school, after all, and that's a tough audience. Our hope is that if we can keep teenagers interested we may be able to pull off a worthwhile podcast, too.
We try to release one episode every month. But we're teachers with busy young families so if we go a little longer than that between episodes, bear with us!
From Here to History
The Comanches, Pt 4: Until Day Breaks
The Comanche peaked and then fell in the decades between 1840 and 1880. In this episode, we discuss that story arc. From the Comanche retaliation against Texas for the Council House Massacre, through a brief peace with the Texans, drought and declining bison herds, collapsing population, and finally to the back-and-forth relations with the US that culminated in the reservation period. In the middle of this story, Quanah Parker emerges as a great Comanche warrior who would then, in an unexpected pivot, urge assimilation as the last, best hope for his people.
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You can reach out to us by email: fromheretohistory@gmail.com
Further reading:
Comanches: History of a People T.R. Fehrenbach
The Comanche Empire Pekka Hamalainen
Empire of the Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne
The Comanches: A History 1706-1875 Thomas Kavanagh
The Last Comanche Chief Bill Neely
In this YouTube Video, archer Lars Anderson recreated Comanche feats of archery
If you wish to visit Quanah Parker's Star House, contact Wayne Gipson at Trading Post Restaurant in Cache, OK