In this episode of the Journal of American History Podcast Stephen Andrews speaks with Britain Hopkins about her article, "The Origins of the Student Loan Industry in the United States: Richard Cornuelle, United Student Aid Funds, and the Creation of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program," which appeared in the March 2024 issue of the Journal of American History. Through a consideration of key legislation and actors, Britain contributes to understandings of the origins of the student loan industry and student loan indebtedness in the United States. The article highlights how private organizations and actors—such as the American Bankers Association and the Volker Fund—worked with the Johnson and Nixon administrations to establish student loans as a primary means of funding higher education. These private-federal partnerships increasingly sought to commodify student loans on financial markets, thereby tethering access to higher education to previously excluded groups to market incorporation. The article thereby identifies the origins of student loan indebtedness as a legacy of the Johnson administration’s Great Society agenda. Stephen and Britain discuss neoliberalism, debt, and behind the scenes creation of this article. They also the historicize student debt and the complex, multifaceted issues that historically constructed the current student debt crisis.

Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaad351

Music: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band's Mabel's Dream, 1923

X: @thejamhist Facebook: The Journal of American History

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This Blogcast Episode features Stephen E. Mawdsley's article, "Hesitancy against Hope: Reactions to the First Polio Vaccine," first published in Process: A Blog for American History on January 9, 2024.

In this episode, Mawdsley uses the development of the Polio Vaccine to explicate the history public health campaigns and vaccine hesitance in the United States. He shows that "hesitancy and opposition can be effectively challenged through education and outreach initiatives that reach wider demographics to help reduce the incidence of disease."

Read the Blog here: https://www.processhistory.org/mawdsley-hesitancy-against-hope-reactions-to-the-first-polio-vaccine/

Music: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band's Mabel's Dream, 1923

X: @thejamhist Facebook: The Journal of American History

In this episode of the Journal of American History Podcast Amy Ransford speaks with Joshua A. McGonagle Altoff about his article, "Managing Settlers, Managing Neighbors: Renarrating Johnson v. McIntosh through the History of Piankashaw Community Building," which appeared in the March 2024 issue of the Journal of American History. The foundational 1823 Supreme Court case Johnson v. McIntosh drew from a 1775 negotiation between land speculators and Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw people) to subjugate Indigenous sovereignty to the plenary powers of Congress. This negotiation is usually framed as a “purchase,” but when read alongside a history of Peeyankihšia community building, it becomes clear that Peeyankihšia people intended to negotiate the right to live within, rather than own, their homelands. By moving away from the idea of a “purchase,” Joshua reveals how Peeyankihšiaki were preparing for prosperity, not declension, in the late eighteenth century. Amy and Joshua discuss sources, research, and behind the scenes creation of this article, and also the importance and implications of collaboration in historical research.

Read the article here: https://www.oah.org/publications/jah/

Music: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band's Mabel's Dream, 1923

X: @thejamhist Facebook: The Journal of American History

#JAHCast