The Disney version of Johnny Appleseed has a cheerful barefoot man in a tin pot hat scattering apple seeds for grateful pioneers to bake into pies. The real John Chapman collected his seeds for free from cidery waste, planted them into strategically fenced nurseries on land he bought ahead of the settlement line, and sold the resulting trees to colonists who used the apples almost exclusively to make hard cider and applejack brandy. He died owning 1,200 acres across three states but never touched the money, because his Swedenborgian faith taught him that suffering in this life meant blessings in the next. He wore coffee sacks as shirts, went barefoot through Ohio winters, and entertained settler children by sticking needles into his calloused feet.

Today's guest is Isaac Fitzgerald, author of *American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed*. We discuss how Chapman's father was a Minuteman who fought at Concord and later ended up in debtor's prison, why the Northwest Indian War of the 1790s, one of the worst military disasters in early American history, created the very frontier Chapman would spend his life planting, and how a forgotten Irish frontiersman named Dan McQuay who walked 1,200 miles home from New Orleans through hostile wilderness may have been the real inspiration for Chapman's rambling life.

The Disney version of Johnny Appleseed has a cheerful barefoot man in a tin pot hat scattering apple seeds for grateful pioneers to bake into pies. The real John Chapman collected his seeds for free from cidery waste, planted them into strategically fenced nurseries on land he bought ahead of the settlement line, and sold the resulting trees to colonists who used the apples almost exclusively to make hard cider and applejack brandy. He died owning 1,200 acres across three states but never touched the money, because his Swedenborgian faith taught him that suffering in this life meant blessings in the next. He wore coffee sacks as shirts, went barefoot through Ohio winters, and entertained settler children by sticking needles into his calloused feet.
Today's guest is Isaac Fitzgerald, author of *American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed*. We discuss how Chapman's father was a Minuteman who fought at Concord and later ended up in debtor's prison, why the Northwest Indian War of the 1790s, one of the worst military disasters in early American history, created the very frontier Chapman would spend his life planting, and how a forgotten Irish frontiersman named Dan McQuay who walked 1,200 miles home from New Orleans through hostile wilderness may have been the real inspiration for Chapman's rambling life.

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

A show about American history, world history, World Wars 1 & 2, the Civil War, and much more.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brodén from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.

 

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brod&eacute;n from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.
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