by Jay Singleton
No one thinks they’re the bad guy. No one wakes up and says, “Today I’ll be on the wrong side of history.” So here’s the question: if nobody thinks they’re the villain… what were they thinking? On Wrong Side Of History I try to help you understand history’s bad guys the way they understood themselves. Each season takes the perspective of a person or movement that ended up on the wrong side of history to learn what they feared, what they valued, and why their ideas made sense to them.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
3/18/2026
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
May 5, 2026
<p>Up until 1916, women’s suffrage was never backed by a majority of American women. In this final episode on the anti-suffragists, we look at why many of them did not see the vote as a natural right, or even as the real source of political power. To them, governments enforced public opinion, men enforced the law, and women’s real influence came through status, moral authority, and shaping the culture upstream of politics.</p><p>Sources on <a href="https://substack.com/@thewrongsideofhistory" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IG</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wrong.side.of.his?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tik Tok</a></p>
April 21, 2026
<p>In 1895, anti-suffragists in Massachusetts were asked to do something absurd: vote to show they opposed voting. What happened next helps explain one of the strangest ideas in the anti-suffrage worldview; that the vote was only one part...and maybe even the smallest part of the whole political process </p><p><br /></p><p>In this episode, we look at how anti-suffragists understood indirect political power: shaping legislators before a vote, moving public opinion through clubs and committees, and influencing the culture that produced politics in the first place. If politics is downstream from culture, they believed women were already standing at the source.</p><p>Sources on <a href="https://substack.com/@thewrongsideofhistory" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IG</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wrong.side.of.his?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tik Tok</a></p><p><br /></p>
April 7, 2026
<p>In the last episode, we looked at separate spheres (ie. gender roles). </p><p>In this one, we go deeper into the political role many anti-suffragists thought women already had. Long before the fight over suffrage reached its peak, American women were given a civic calling: republican motherhood. </p><p>They were told the republic depended on them not as voters, but as the people who formed citizens, guarded virtue, and held together the moral center of the nation. </p><p>To many anti-suffragists, that was not a consolation prize. It was status, purpose, and power. But by the early 1900s, that world felt under attack. Industrialization, capitalism, individualism, and even socialism seemed to point in the same direction: away from the home, away from interdependence, and away from the kind of work that could not be measured, priced, or made efficient. </p><p><br /></p><p>From their point of view, the vote was never just a ballot. It was a sign that the line between the public and private spheres was collapsing and that the market and the state were moving into places they did not belong. This episode is about why so many anti-suffragists saw themselves not as dupes or victims, but as the last defenders of the moral and relational life that made a republic possible. </p><p>Full sources and research notes are on <a href="https://substack.com/@thewrongsideofhistory/note/p-191932453?r=1r319&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Substack</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wrong.side.of.his" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Tik Tok </a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/wrongsideofhistorypod/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a></p>
Discover related shows you might enjoy
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
No one thinks they’re the bad guy. No one wakes up and says, “Today I’ll be on the wrong side of history.” So here’s the question: if nobody thinks they’re the villain… what were they thinking?
On Wrong Side Of History I try to help you understand history’s bad guys the way they understood themselves. Each season takes the perspective of a person or movement that ended up on the wrong side of history to learn what they feared, what they valued, and why their ideas made sense to them.
This podcast updates daily.
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Information about guest appearances is not available.
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.
