Committed: Marriage In America
From: BackStory with the American History Guys
Series: BackStory with the American History Guys: Full Episodes
Length: 54:00
When President Obama became the first American president to publicly support same-sex marriage, he acknowledged a trend in American culture: that marriage - the laws, as well as social conventions and expectations surrounding it - have long been subject to change. In this hour of BackStory , we commit ourselves to unpacking the history of the institution and its shifting definitions in America.
By taking a look at everything from the founder of couples counseling to the town that was Vegas before Vegas was Vegas, the History Guys ask who’s been allowed to marry whom, and consider what has been at stake when couples break the rules. More than that, why have some disagreements about marriage melted away as others have become more contentious? And how have the rules we make about marriage changed the shapes of our families and influenced our society?
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
When President Obama became the first American president to publicly support same-sex marriage, he acknowledged a trend in American culture: that marriage - the laws, as well as social conventions and expectations surrounding it - have long been subject to change. In this hour of BackStory , we commit ourselves to unpacking the history of the institution and its shifting definitions in America.
By taking a look at everything from the founder of couples counseling to the town that was Vegas before Vegas was Vegas, the History Guys ask who’s been allowed to marry whom, and consider what has been at stake when couples break the rules. More than that, why have some disagreements about marriage melted away as others have become more contentious? And how have the rules we make about marriage changed the shapes of our families and influenced our society?
Timing and Cues
SENDER: VFH RADIO – CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
RE: "BACKSTORY" RUNDOWN –COMMITTED”
SHOW: BACKSTORY WITH THE AMERICAN HISTORY GUYS
HOSTS: BRIAN BALOGH, PETER ONUF, ED AYERS
TIME: 59:00
PRSS SHOW TITLE: BACKSTORYMARRIAGE
BROADCAST WINDOW: 7/12/12-9/12/12
***********************************************************************
SHOW RUNDOWN
06:00 – 19:00 SEG A
IC: Major production support for BackStory is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
OC: You’re listening to BackStory. We’ll be back in a minute.
6:00 - 19:00 The Good Counselman?
Brian talks with Wendy Kline about Paul Popenoe, the father of marriage counseling, who came to his work in couples’ therapy through his interest in eugenics.
19:00 – 20:00 STATION BREAK 1 (MUSIC BED)
20:00 – 39:00 SEG B
IC: Welcome back to BackStory…
OC: We’ll be back in a minute.
20:10 – 25:18 Baby Talk
The History Guys talk to Nicholas Syrett about the marriage of 9-year-old Eunice Winstead and 22-year-old Charlie Johns, which prompted a national uproar about the issue of child brides in the 1930s.
25:18-35:15 Listener Calls
Peter, Ed, and Brian take listener calls.
35:16-39:00 Practically Speaking
The History Guys talk about why people got married before they married for love.
39:00 – 40:00 STATION BREAK 2 (MUSIC BED)
40:00 – 59:00 SEG C
IC: This is BackStory.
OC: …at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
40:00 – 50:30 Free to Be
Ed chats with Liz Regosin about how the Freedman’s Bureau monitored the success of ex-slave marriages post-Emancipation in an effort to determine the stability of black families and the success of “the experiment of emancipation.” Peter, Ed, and Brian discuss the idea of the federal intervention in our intimate affairs.
50:31 – 57:31 Goin’ to the Chapel
Before there was Vegas, baby, there was Elkton, Maryland. BackStory producers Nell Boeschenstein and Kelley Libby take a trip to this tiny town to tell the story of its former life as the elopement capital of the country.
57:32 – 59:00 PRODUCTION/FUNDING CREDITS
***********************************************************************
Contact: Producer, Tony Field (434) 924-8922, tfield@virginia.edu
Additional Credits
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, The History Channel
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