Born enslaved in 1818, by the time of the Civil War Frederick Douglass was famous around the United States and Europe for his work in the abolition movement. So how did this famous orator learn his trade, having never been to school? How did he escape enslavement? And how did his ideals change as war was brewing?

Sidney Morrison introduces us to Frederick Douglass in this first of two episodes. Sidney is the author of 'Frederick Douglass: A Novel'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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In May 1607, over 100 English settlers arrived at Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of North America. Traveling 50 miles inland along the James River, they established what would become the first permanent English settlement: Jamestown. But what motivated their journey? Why was Chesapeake Bay their chosen destination? And how much do we know about their voyage.

For this first of four episodes, Don is joined by Mark Summers, Educational Director of Youth and Public Programmes for Jamestowne Rediscovery. Don and Mark explore the roles of the Virginia Company, the British crown and individuals like Captains John Smith and Christopher Newport. From mutiny at sea to sealed instructions, this is the first step in a journey that echoes to this day.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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FDR and Winston Churchill spent 113 days in each others' company during WWII. FDR even saw Churchill naked. But how close were the pair in personality and in strategy? How did the personal relationship between these two giants of history shape the war? And why, in the end, did Churchill see it as a failure?

Dan Snow, of our sister podcast 'Dan Snow's History Hit', joins Don to talk about the most 'Special Relationship' of all.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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In the 19th Century, a war on the boundary between Europe and Asia had an unexpected effect. It caused the American public to re-examine one of the terms with which they described race: Caucasian.

Don Wildman is joined for this episode by the award-winning art historian Sarah Lewis. They explore how the term Caucasian came to be associated with whiteness, and how photography was fundamental to unpicking this myth.

Sarah is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. She is also the founder of the Vision & Justice initiative and author of the book discussed here: 'The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America'.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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They say that the enemy of your enemy is your friend, but did that apply to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Soviet counterpart, Joseph Stalin, during the Second World War?

Despite their ideological differences, the United States and the USSR joined ranks on January 1, 1942, attacked by Japan and Nazi Germany, respectively. Their leaders would meet for the first time almost two years later at the 1943 Tehran conference.

Don is joined by Phillips Payson O’Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews. Phillips is the author of 'The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War'.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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Why was there once a fashion for styling your hair like Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins? Why are there so many neoclassical buildings in the United States? And how was the Ancient Roman Empire once used as a justification for the system of enslavement?

Find out in this episode, as Don is joined by Caroline Winterer, William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University. Caroline is the author of five books, most recently 'How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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The leaders of the two most powerful nations fighting in the Second World War, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler, never met. They never even spoke.

In this episode, we explore the war of words between them, the involvement of each of their allies and when it became certain that war would break out between their two nations.

Don is joined by Charlie Laderman, Senior Lecturer in International History at King's College London. Charlie is the author of 'Hitler's American Gamble: Pearl Harbor and the German March to Global War'.

Edited by Sophie Gee. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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Sitting Bull, Jumping Badger, Slow - what do we know about the man who went by each of these names? How did he earn them and what was his role in the changing United States of the late 19th century?

Don is joined by none other than Sitting Bull's great-grandson, Ernie Lapointe, to hear stories passed down in his family about this Native American icon of resistance.

Ernie is a Vietnam veteran and author of 'Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sound/All3 Media

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.