Segment from Monumental Disagreements

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

BackStory producers Eric Mennel and Nell Boeschenstein visit Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia to tell the story of a monument in honor of Heyward Shepherd, a free black and the first man killed during John Brown’s 1859 raid.

In Our Own Backyard

Host Ed Ayers chats with Charlottesville, Virginia, City Councilwoman Kristin Szakos about two local monuments to famous Confederate generals.

00:04:42

Mall Rats

The American Backstory hosts talk to art historian Kirk Savage about the early controversy over whether or not to build the Washington Monument on the National Mall.

00:08:22

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

00:10:18